The Yachtsman 2017-2018 Yachtsman 2014-2015 | Page 33

13_Yachtsman 2015.qxp_Yachtsman Magazine 19/08/2015 4:30 pm Page 33 Club Yachting One Design Report By Jason Antill Stars in Mid-Winter One Design Regatta Over the years the One Design Racing has been driven by individual fleets like Etchells, Melges, J Boats etc. To some extent these different classes saw themselves as competing with each other but to reverse the overall decline in One Design participation the Club is taking a more encompassing approach based on the racing product these classes all enjoy. That being a shorter, multiple race format, and regattas. affiliation with the RPAYC. Max Tunbridge has been involved in re-establishing an Australian Association and look to next season holding a Blue Star event which has been off the calendar for many years. The Tuesday night program has provided an excellent training environment and we have built the fleet to 6 boats now resident on the hardstand. Rob McMillan, Jason The 2014/15 season saw us add 2 important elements to the program expanding Antill, Mark Hunter, Bob Fowler, Nicholas Hord (17yo) and Niall Powers (18yo) the Club’s standard Saturday summer schedule. The first being Alternate Tuesday This season saw Rob McMillan and Andrew Gavenlock dominate the season with a evening windward/leeward spinnaker racing with 2 or 3 races being achieved starting guest appearance by Matt Visser and James Mayjor pressing hard in the July Mid at 6pm during the daylight saving months. Also the introduction of quarterly regatta Winter Regatta. weekends. Both initiatives have seen growing momentum and the recent Mid - Winter One Design Regatta was a standout success held on the 11-12 July saw nearly 50 entries across the classes. At the opening of the event, former Olympian, Richard Coxon gave a passionate talk on the role and life of One Design Racing at the Club, providing a strong motivation to continue the rebuilding. Represented classes were the Melges 24, Club Elliott 7s, Dragons, Star Boats, Etchells, 11 metres, and 5.5 class. The benefits of the Club’s Integrated disAbled Program (IdS) was also on show with Dan Fitzgibbon and Liesl Tesch’s Skud 18 sailing in the event. Star Boat Report 2014/15 season saw the reintroduction of the International Star Boat to the Royal Prince Alfred Yacht club. A class with a long international tradition and a strong One Design Boats coming around the bottom mark 2015 Edition 33