2009 International Canoe Australian Championships

3:47 AM Mon 22 Jun 2009 GMT

'2009 National Champion Hayden Virtue - 2009 IC Australian Championships' Les Virtue

Clear blue skies and great sailing conditions greeted the Australian International Canoe (IC) fleet at Toukley Sailing Club for the 2009 National Championships. The fleet featured a broad range of sailing experience ranging from current world and national champion Hayden Virtue to several sailors competing in their first nationals in this exhilarating and challenging class.

The racing at Toukley was organised as part of their regular 'Brass Monkey' event and saw the IC's sharing the water with everything from Maricats to some pretty tricked out Contenders, which made for some exciting action on water and a fantastic atmosphere on the shore.

Race 1 kicked off in a light 8-12 knots, and from the hooter sounding it was clear that Hayden Virtue (AUS30 Miracle Drug) was once again going to be the boat we all had to try and catch. Hot on Hayden's heels were Alex Kalin (AUS26 Josie) and Phil Stevenson (AUS21 Hollow Log) who swapped positions most of the way around the course until Phil was able to open up a gap on the final downwind leg to take second. Fourth place, and first Nethercott home was Mal Smith (AUS19 Backbone) ahead of the recently launched new rules boat Flatpack (AUS31), and the Nethercotts of Geoff Carne (AUS6), Julian Clements (AUS8) and Frank Raisin (AUS12).

Race 2 was run back to back with race 1 and in similar conditions the top five results were the same however Julian, a junior sailing his first IC nationals, was able to find some pace to come home in sixth. Pete Armstrong sailing the second of the flatpack design new rules IC's (AUS32 Serendipity) finished his first race in the new boat coming home in a respectable seventh place.

Day one ended with Hayden Virtue well and truly in control, and a number of other sailors working on their boats in the fading light; Christian and Pete were doing the most work on the 'flatpacks' with both boats having only just been completed (AUS32 was launched the day before the regatta) days before the Nationals.

Phil working Hollow Log to the finish of heat 3 - 2009 IC Australian Championships - Les Virtue

Day 2 kicked off with clear blue skies again, and the fleet made their way to the start line at a relatively civilised 1030 for the start of heat 3. The breeze for heat 3 was around the 12-15 knots but there were some big holes out there and it was Alex who looked like he had control off the startline. A bad tack at the top of the course saw Hayden take the lead, however Alex was able to keep the downwind flyer Phil behind him to finish second. Christian Knott brought the Flatpack home in fouth place just ahead of Mal who once again was the fastest of the Nethercotts. The fleet headed in for lunch where they learned that Pete's regatta in AUS32 was over thanks to snapping a rudder shaft; fortunately for him NZ sailor Pardo was unable to make the event and so Pete rigged AUS7 to compete in the Nethercott for the rest of the nationals.

Start of heat 4 - 2009 IC Australian Championships - Les Virtue

Heat 4 and we were now halfway through the regatta, it was looking pretty obvious that Hayden was going to win the Nationals but there were still a few surprises to come. The big surprise for the fourth race was Frank's speed around the course; overcoming a mediocre start he only narrowly missed leading around the top mark and brought his Nethercott home in fifth place - only five seconds behind Christian in his new rules IC. Hayden maintained a clean scoresheet, with Phil second and Alex third, and the fleet assembled for Heat 5 (another back to back race).

Heat 5 was similar to heat 4 with a 10-15 knot breeze fading out to 5-10 by the end of the race. Hayden cleared out off the start, leaving Alex, Phil and Christian to scrap it out for the minor placings (and eventually finishing in that order). Frank again showed his prowess in the patchy conditions to be the first Nethercott home in front of a fast finishing Mal.

With only two heats left to run, it was Hayden Virtue still out in front with Alex Kalin and Phil Stevenson still battling for second place. Malcolm Smith and Frank Raisin were also battling it out for fifth place overall and first Nethercott, which would make for an interesting last day especially as the weather report said it was going to be windy.

Heat 6 kicked off on the final day and the weatherman had gotten it right, there was wind but it wasn't consistent with gusts coming through at over 20 knots but then the wind dropping out in places to around 12. Most classes stayed on shore until the start sequence commenced and the IC's were no exception. Eventually the fleet headed out and were pretty soon roaring up and down the start line in the fresh breeze and ready to race.

Hayden shot off to an early lead with Phil and Alex in pursuit, Christian was experiencing some rig issues and despite having good speed was pointing about 10 degrees lower than everyone else which let the Nethercotts of Malcolm and Frank fight for fourth position. The wind increased during the race and this took its toll on the fleet with junior Julian opting to head in rather than risking damage to his boat, and Christian ripping the self tacker out of his and being forced to retire. At the finish line it was Hayden, Phil, Alex followed home by Malcolm, Frank, Peter and Geoff (Carne).

The final race, heat 7, was again run back to back and it was going to prove to be a tough end to a great regatta. The IC's were the only class scheduled for 2 heats and so all eyes were on the 5 remaining IC's which took to the startline.

Hayden took off to an early lead, but with Alex not starting it was up to Phil to try and hunt him down. Frank and Mal were still battling for first Nethercott, and were doing well to hold off Pete and Geoff in the windy conditions. Gusts were now regularly coming in at over 20 knots it was getting pretty hard out there; both Hayden and Frank said it was the fastest that either of them had sailed in their respective boats, and it was going to get tougher. Hayden had taken his 7th bullet and completed a clean sweep of the regatta when a squall came through knocking down every IC on the water. Phil was unlucky to just be rounding up around the last mark to the finish when he was hit and by the time he recovered he lost second place to Malcolm. With five boats on their sides, Pete had retired, all over the course an extra safety boat was deployed to assist. Impressively all boats were able to right themselves and finish the race; Phil came in third, Frank fourth and Geoff fifth.

Pete punting AUS7 upwind - 2009 IC Australian Championships - Les Virtue

Overall it was a fantastic regatta, Toukley sailing club ran the Brass Monkey event superbly and the weather provided a little bit of everything over the three days. On the water it was obvious that Hayden is still the one to beat, his speed across the conditions and boat handling around the course showed why he is the current World Champion. But it wasn't all bad for the others; Alex had excellent all round pace and was able to run faster than Hayden upwind on occasions.

Phil Stevenson has recut his una rig mainsail and is still devastatingly quick downwind, if he can find a bit more upwind pace he will be challenging for the lead again soon. The Flatpacks definitely had some issues that need to be sorted, however AUS31 showed some excellent downwind speed and will definitely improve when her rig is sorted. No big changes in the Nethercotts, however the close racing shows that this is a great path into this fantastic class.

I'd like to thank the Toukley Sailing Club for putting on a fantastic regatta, and to all the IC sailors who competed in the 2009 Nationals. Congratulations to 2009 National Champion Hayden Virtue, and Nethercott Champion Malcolm Smith, you both sailed very well.

1st AUS30 Miracle Drug Hayden Virtue 1,1,1,1,1,1,1

2nd AUS21 Hollow Log Phil Stevenson 2,2,3,2,3,2,3

3rd AUS26 Josie Alex Kalin 3,3,2,3.2,3,13C

1st Nethercott AUS19 Malcolm Smith

Nethercott IC winner Mal being led by Frank - 2009 IC Australian Championships - Les Virtue

If you are interested in International Canoes then please check out the website www.intcanoe.orgor email the class at internationalcanoe(at)hotmail.com. Next years Nationals are scheduled for June in Queensland.