Victorian Radio Controlled Laser Championships
by Cliff Bromiley 3 Jul 2009 12:23 BST
28 June 2009
Consistent sailing wins gold at Waterways
Brendan Lee from the Waterways club at Aspendale Gardens, displayed extraordinarily consistent sailing skills to win the gold medal at the 2009 Victorian Radio Controlled (RC) Laser sailing championship. The event, in its second year and hosted by the local club, was held in perfect conditions at Waterways on Sunday 28th June.
The degree of Brendan’s domination was illustrated by his seven first and five second places in the sixteen races held between 10am and 4pm. In a field of fifteen boats, his worst placing at day’s end was 9th and he would have held onto the gold without taking any of the two ‘worst race’ discards that accrued after the sixteen races.
“I surprised myself to be honest”, Brendan said at the end of the day, “after a pretty mediocre performance in Sydney a few weeks ago at the NSW championship I knew I had to seriously lift my game to be anywhere near the medals today. It takes a lot of concentration to hold it together for sixteen successive races and I was feeling it near the end when I had my two worst performances.”
Competition for the lesser silverware was far closer with Simon Dubbin getting up for 2nd place over fellow local Scott Fleming only in the last couple of races. This was a reversal of form from the New South Wales title in late May when Scott picked up silver and Simon bronze. Derick Warne completed the domination of the Waterways sailors to take the trophy for 4th.
Special mention is due to 5th placed Grant Gillespie from Colac who had received his brand new RC Laser earlier that week – this is the best novice performance yet seen at an RC Laser championship event. Ted Stevens, another newcomer from the bay area showed a strong hand with a first placing in an early race and would have undoubtedly been well up the leader-board at the end of the regatta but for missing some races in the middle of the day.
The contingent of three sailors from New South Wales found the local conditions sometimes challenging but no doubt learnt plenty to improve next year on their 6th, 8th and 9th positions.
The day started somewhat nervously with heavy mist blanketing the lake as we scratched our heads wondering where the predicted wind had gone. With a few similarly foggy heads being treated with doses of cappuccino and latte from the very good lakeside café, the short delay was put to good use. Just as the race briefing was getting under way, we welcomed the arrival of a mild zephyr from the north that soon cleared the water of fog and filled our large sails enough to glide the boats gracefully around the course. After a few races in relatively serene conditions befitting our mood, the tempo increased as the breeze strengthened and most of the sailors were quick to switch to the standard B rigs. Conditions remained perfect throughout the day as the breeze steadily increased. Occasional gusts were challenging on the down-wind legs and the odd wind shift between east and north-east provided tactical opportunities that the local sailors were quick to recognise and take advantage of.
A wonderful day was had by all - in the usual RC Laser tradition of good competition in good company. The race officials, Mike Pender (Principal Race Officer), Bill Hutchinson, Bill Brunsden & Rob Clack (Race Officers) and Margaret Lee (Scorer) did an outstanding job of running the event in a professional way that ensured the competition was fair and a good time was had by all.
Dubbin, president of the host club commented, “The best thing about this championship was the spirit in which everyone raced. We were all trying to win each race but never at the expense of fun and fair play. This is a hallmark of RC Laser sailing and a credit to the sailors and to the race officials.”
On the weekend of 15th/16th August this year, the inaugural Australian RC Laser championship will be held at Rodd Point on Sydney Harbour. There is great interest in this event with a strong fleet of skippers entered from across Australia.
The RC Laser is one of the most popular professional level radio controlled yachts in the world. A quarter scale model of the iconic Laser dinghy, it was designed by renowned yacht designer Bruce Kirby and is sailed all around the world. According to Dubbin, the advantages of the RC Laser are its one-class design, its rugged construction and superior sailing performance. “Another thing I love about the RC Laser”, says Dubbin, “is that to travel to interstate regattas, we simply check the bag onto the plane just as we would a suitcase. It is that easy”.
Radio controlled sailing is a rapidly growing sport in Australia appealing to enthusiasts of all ages and skill levels. The boats are entirely wind-powered and the skills involved are essentially the same as sailing a full-size dinghy – ability to tune the boat, manoeuvre for position at the start-line, pick wind shifts, trim for boat speed and round buoys are all essential skills for the front-runners. Although there is a lot of skill involved at the top level, an attraction of the sport is that novices are able to quickly master the basic skills. Even championship events like this one attract and welcome sailors of all levels.
For information about joining the Waterways Club visit www.radiosail.com.au