Windsurfer One Design Australia: Deb's Nationals Report, day 3: Australia Day

Today dawned cloudy with some early-morning drizzle, and very little wind. The schedule was quite tight, with the marathon scheduled to start at midday in front of the crowds, so freestyle was held at 9 am, with the top sailors starting first, rather to the alarm of Robbie Treharne who only woke up at 9. Chris dragged me out of bed at 7am and was down at the club by 8, anxiously tuning the board and practising his tricks. The decision to hold the top performers’ freestyle heats in such light winds was somewhat controversial, but Dennis Winstanley was a standout performer as usual, in spite of the early hour, with his usual Everoll. He even managed to pull off a pirouette on the rail, and then had to do another to achieve the aim of falling off for his dismount! But the most amazing trick of the day had to be Robbbie Treharne’s back somersault through the boom, which he managed to complete by landing on the board without dropping the sail. So much for waking up 15 minutes before hitting the water. Stay tuned for a freestyle montage on YouTube, as soon as I get some bandwidth and someone to do the editing.

Freestyle heats were not complete by 11am, when the marathon briefing was due, so some competitors faced disappointment at the postponement. By this time, though, the crowds were building up, promising a big audience for the spectacular Le Mans marathon start. If you haven’t seen one of these, it’s a sight not to be missed, so check out my YouTube video when it uploads. The shallow water and crowded beach proved challenging for some competitors, but luckily in a marathon there’s plenty of time to catch up.

The course this year featured a long and gruelling two laps of the bay, round South Channel marker and in to Rye Pier, past Blairgowie, back to Sorrento and round again. Even one lap for the youth competitors was challenging. The wind was light for most of the race, with strong tides in some areas leading to a very spaced-out fleet. The race was very much a lightweights’ race, with 8 out of the top 10 sailors being lightweights or women. Annalise Gilbert again stood out, overtaking her father Stewie (I have photographic evidence) to place 12th overall - a fantastic effort. Sheena McKinnon also showed great form to finish ahead of her at 7th position overall, with Tonia Lloyd in third place. Among the juniors, first round was Annalise Gilbert, followed by Chris Stenta and Angus Williams; in the youth, Matt Ivshenko placed first (second overall in the entire fleet), followed by Sam Treharne (6th overall) and Ashley Heyworth (15th overall). Full results below.

Plans for more freestyle heats in the afternoon had to be shelved, with the last competitor only arriving at the finish at 4pm, to great cheers and accolades. Well done to Jeremy Trotman for making it round in such tough conditions, in his first ever Windsurfer regatta.

I was lucky enough to be invited out on a friend's yacht, and so managed to get some good photos of mark roundings etc. Check them out at this link to Picasa.

Marathon results:

Rob Treharne	777	Open	Male		1
Michael Lancey	AUS171	Open	Male		2
Matthew Ivshenko	117	Youth	Male		3
Martin Stone	164	Master	Male		4
Paul Ivshenko	17	Ancient Mariner	Male		5
Samuel Treharne	1177	Youth	Male		6
Sheena McKinnon	600	Open	Female		7
Jason Morris	320	Master	Male		8
Steve Newman	1977	Ancient Mariner	Male		9
Dennis Winstanley	18	Master	Male		10
Annalise Gilbert	111	Junior	Female		11
Andrew Divola	AUS968	Grand Master	Male		12
Darren Garner	AUS 96	Master	Male		13
Stuart Gilbert	10	Grand Master	Male		14
Ashely Heyworth	AUS960	Youth	Male		15
Mark Lloyd	AUS 476	Grand Master	Male		16
Matthew Stenta	1336	Youth	Male		17
Greg Johns	1	Grand Master	Male		18
Stephen Walsh	40	Grand Master	Male		19
Stephen Barton	520	Grand Master	Male		20
Warren Holder	1KT	Ancient Mariner	Male		21
Christopher Thompson	249	Grand Master	Male		22
Daniel Bainbridge	7	Grand Master	Male		23
Timothy Forster	108	Ancient Mariner	Male		24
Robert Stenta	2776	Grand Master	Male		25
Gerald Nailon	27	Grand Master	Male		26
Jim Kariotis	33	Ancient Mariner	Male		27
Jorn Krohnke	AUS60	Ancient Mariner	Male		28
Tonia Grimshaw-Lloyd	303	Grand Master	Female		29
Paul Grimshaw	307	Grand Master	Male		30
Jeremy Trotman	1218	Grand Master	Male		31
Nick Bez	11	Master	Male		DNF
Quentin Grimshaw	Q9	Master	Male		DNF

WOMEN
Sheena McKinnon	600	Open	Female		7
Annalise Gilbert	111	Junior	Female		11
Tonia Grimshaw-Lloyd	303	Grand Master	Female		30
YOUTH
Matthew Ivshenko	117	Youth	Male		3
Samuel Treharne	1177	Youth	Male		6
Ashely Heyworth	AUS960	Youth	Male		15
Matthew Stenta	1336	Youth	Male		17
Jack Lloyd	229	Junior	Male		1 LAP
JUNIOR
Annalise Gilbert	111	Junior	Female	1
Christopher Stenta	1397	Junior	Male	2
Angus Williams	789	Junior	Male	3
Nina Long	73	Junior	Female	4
Owen Long	02	Junior	Male	5
Lucy Heyworth	2	Junior	Female	DNS
SUB JUNIOR
Will Divola		Sub Jnr	Male	DNS