Sabot National Championships: A great success for Tassie team
by John Adams 8 May 2022 06:46 BST
9-12 April 2022
In March a big blue shipping container filled with sabots from Tasmania made the long journey to Teralba, Lake Macquarie, for the 58th Australian National Sabot Championship. The sailors followed a couple of weeks later and in early April all 11 sailors, support crew, and families, converged on the Teralba Amateur Sailing Club's lawns to unload, rig, and join in the sailing fun.
The sabot class has managed to maintain its program of annual national championships throughout the pandemic thanks to the flexibility of its national association and the supportive relationships with hosting clubs.
Tas Sabot Association President Michael Jones explained that the Teralba nationals was originally scheduled for the traditional post-Christmas period, but due to a local Covid outbreak, was rescheduled to April. "This was a boom for Tasmania's sailors, increasing the team from just two, to 11", he said.
The bigger team warranted container transport - and with generous support and expertise from DSV Air and Sea, boats, spare equipment, two support RIBs and associated gear was transported to and from the event.
The team did the Tasmanian sabot community proud - being seen on and off the water with team uniform of traditional blue shirts, red sailing bibs and red hats. The team chant was developed new this year and reflected the experiences of the current Tasmanian sabot fleet.
"We had great fun and a late night working out the chant before we loaded the container", said team co-captain, Penny Tassicker. "With references to the Tasmanian weather and the age of the Tasmanian boats, it was light but also reinforced our commitment to do our best and show the other zones what we can do", she said.
Fellow co-captain, Liam Jones was the top placed Tasmanian, with a 14th overall. "The Tasmanian Team came together really well and we are all super proud of what was achieved on and off the water. I had hoped to finish in the top 20 so to have placed at 14th was great. We learnt heaps from the other sailors and can't wait to sail with the Tassie team at the end of the year in our home waters", he said.
For all 11 sailors it was the first time they had sailed at the national event and their enthusiasm and sportsmanship stood out among the fleet. "We were very impressed with the way the sailors managed the regatta, as well as their results across the fleet, the generosity shown by DSV to support the Tassie Team has been incredible and key to making it happen this year", Michael Jones said. "We're excited to be hosting the next nationals at Port Dalrymple at the end of this year and it was a valuable experience for all the sailors. We've got training activities between now and then, as well as looking at some of the latest developments with boat setup that we learned about at the nationals. We're pretty excited about the end of the year", he said.
The team's overall results were:
Sabot week
Scratch
4th - Grady Frith (Port Dalrymple Yacht Club)
5th - Jess Wardell (Port Esperance Sailing Club / Kingston Beach Sailing Club)
10th - Harry Frith (Port Dalrymple Yacht Club)
Handicap
3rd - Grady Frith (Port Dalrymple Yacht Club)
6th - Harry Frith (Port Dalrymple Yacht Club)
13th - Jess Wardell (Port Esperance Sailing Club / Kingston Beach Sailing Club)
National Championship
Scratch
14th - Liam Jones (Port Dalrymple Yacht Club)
22nd - Wellington Adams (Kingston Beach Sailing Club)
29th - Penny Tassicker (Wynyard Yacht Club)
30th - Nicholas Schoe (Royal Yacht Club of Tasmania)
35th - Liam Tassicker (Wynyard Yacht Club)
36th - Mark Rawson (Royal Yacht Club of Tasmania)
41st - Arthur Adams (Kingston Beach Sailing Club)
42nd - Brooke Teahan (Port Dalrymple Yacht Club)
Handicap
1st - Nicholas Schoe (Royal Yacht Club of Tasmania)
2nd - Liam Tassicker (Wynyard Yacht Club)
4th - Liam Jones (Port Dalrymple Yacht Club)
6th - Brooke Teahan (Port Dalrymple Yacht Club)
14th - Arthur Adams (Kingston Beach Sailing Club)
16th - Wellington Adams (Kingston Beach Sailing Club)
19th - Mark Rawson (Royal Yacht Club of Tasmania)
22nd - Penny Tassicker (Wynyard Yacht Club)
Spark or 3.5 sail
1st - Arthur Adams (Kingston Beach Sailing Club)
For more information visit Tas Sabot Association Facebook page m.facebook.com/groups/199898410357022