The Alfred's News Alfreds News November-December 2017 | Page 21

Members’ News
Laser Gosford Coast Regatta
A team of 9 Laser sailors headed up to Gosford for this year’s round of the Coasts. We had a great forecast for Saturday
and a shocker for Sunday – which is essentially what we got! Saturday’s southerly allowed us all to get 3 great races,
held in a solid 18-20 knots.
The course was very well setup by RO Col Chidgey and we all had a blast across the bottom reach – not that we could
see much on the way due to spray everywhere. In the 4.7 fleet, the 2 lightweights Jack and Morgan found it tough going,
especially by the end of the 3 rd race, but Tom had a solid day with a 5/5/4. Over in the Radials, we had a mix of the
young, the still just about young and the young at heart. We also had a great day and were very relieved that a 4 th race
was not called. Over in the Standards, Liam had a solid and very enjoyable (but lonely) afternoon – he needs some RPA
team mates to join him on these events (come on guys)!
Sunday’s light forecast dawned true to form, so we had a short hold onshore as it dropped, then disappeared then came
back from the SE. We headed out, got a reasonable light race in just before it went around to the NE. The 2 nd race
became a bit of a tough one with the breeze all over the place – most of us by this stage were wishing we had stayed
ashore, but that’s not why we travel to these regattas. With time running out, we headed in without doing the 6 th race,
which allowed a nice relaxed pack up prior to Presso. Nathan was the only RPA award winner for the weekend, with first
U17 in the Radial and a 4 th overall, but he was pushed very hard by Jarrah in 5 th and who’d had a great first day. Well
done to all the sailors, especially the youngsters for handling Saturday’s conditions so well.
If you have not done a Laser regatta yet, then next month there is the perfect opportunity for you to get out there and
do it! Laser States are being held at Double Bay SC on the weekend 18/19 November. It will be huge, so get your entry
in. If you need assistance getting there, then just ask and we will sort you out!
By Steve Bryant
Vestas 11 th Hour Racing Wins Race 1 Volvo Round the
Round
Stacey Jackson is one of two women on a nine-person crew for Vestas 11th Hour Racing in the Volvo Ocean Race
Sailing successfully around the world is no guarantee of gainful
employment in the sport.
Stacey Jackson returned home to Australia in 2015 from the last
Volvo Ocean Race short on sleep but long on experience. She
applied for a job as a boat captain for a sailing team.
“I was turned down at the last minute when they realized Stacey
Jackson was a female’s name,” she said. “They even said it to me
over the phone, and I just thought, I don’t get more qualified for
this job than this very minute.”
But Jackson did get a job offer in August because she was a
qualified woman. It came from Charlie Enright, the skipper of
Vestas 11th Hour Racing, a team in the Volvo Ocean Race. It was
late enough in the recruiting process for this year’s race that
Jackson had lost hope.
“I had probably already given up a couple months previous,” she
said. “It was a lay day of a regatta I was doing in Hamilton Island in
Australia. And my phone rang at 7 a.m., and I was like, ‘Who rings someone at 7 a.m. on a lay day?’ But when I saw it
said, ‘Charlie Enright,’ I picked up.”