The 2008 Australian Schools Teams Racing Championship was hosted by Woollahra Sailing Club in NSW 11th - 14th July.

Final Day 4: The Hutchins defend their title, winning for the 4th time out of the last six Championships.

The championship saw extremes of conditions, losing the first day to too much wind and the last to no wind but still the regatta was felt by all to have been a huge success with only 4 races short of a full series. Each of the 16 teams raced at least 13 races over the weekend in breezes ranging from 4 - 18 knots.

Racing was postponed most of the final day whilst waiting for breeze. One race was sailed in the single puff that swept through the harbour before racing was finally abandoned at 1:30pm.

The sailors spent the days on the large motor boat which provided shade catering facilities. Between races there was time for the teams to mix and make new friends from different parts of the Country. The teams changed in and out of the boats alongside the motor boat, a system that worked really well.

Tayla Lovering from Kangeroo Island Community College explained how much she enjoyed sailing the RS Feva boats. 'They are great, really easy responsive and they don't hold position when stationary easier than other boats we've sailed for teams racing'.

The Tasmanian Teams showed exceptional skills finishing 1st & 2nd overall. The Team Manage of the winning Hutchins School, Murray Jones explained the reasons for their success. 'The top teams from the different schools in South Tasmania train against each other regularly which pushes the level higher. The sailors are all very committed and determined. The helms are all top Laser sailors and everyone in the team works on their fitness between sailing sessions.'

Team Captain of The Hutchins, Oliver Nicholas explained what he most likes about teams racing, 'I most like the team work and having a common goal.'

Matt Schofield from the silver medal winning team of St Virgils Guilford said 'It feels pretty good to do well but we really should have won. I enjoy sailing, especially racing and the adrenaline when you win.'

LCGS Team Captain, Simon Legge and his team explained why they like teams racing, 'It's really exciting because it's fast, intense, competitive really close racing making you good at boat handling and rules'

Regatta Website: www.woollahrasailingclub.org.au

Results: www.yachting.org.au/site/yachting/results/tas/2008/astrc/results.html

RS Feva: www.rssailing.com.au

Day Three: Tasmania still at the top of the leader board

PRO Colin Chidgey excitedly described day three's racing as 'Magnificent'.

After a short postponement to wait for the north to northwest wind to arrive, the race management team managed to get through an impressive 51 races.

Colin praised the level of the sailors and race management team. 'The sailors are of an extraordinarily high standard. The racing is really tight and the teams are always really close on points by the finish'

'The Jury, lead by chief umpire John Middleton has done a fantastic job. They have worked incredibly hard, keeping their focus all day and making quick decisions under pressure'

'Mal Maiden and his team on the change over boat have been brilliant helping the sailors swap in and out of the boats smoothly alongside the barge and entertaining the sailors between races.'

With only five races remaining the top four teams are unchallengeable. The leaders are:

1st - The Hutchins (TAS) won 11 / 13 races
2nd - St Virgils Guildford (TAS) won 10 / 13 races
3rd - BBC (QLD) won 9 / 13 races
4th - CCGS (WA) won 8 / 13 races

For the full results, click on the link at the bottom of this page.

The final 5 races are due to start at 9am Monday.

Day Two: The Tasmanian's take the lead

Sunny Sydney harbour provided a perfect mix of conditions for teams racing today with only one course change required when the winds shifted from the morning westerly to the afternoon northerly. The pause mid day made for a perfectly timed break between the 56 races that were won or lost today.

PRO Colin Chidgey expressed with great enthusiasm how, 'the racing today was great. The level of the teams is really high so it was great to watch and the races ran really smoothly'

Between 9am-11am the wind was 8 - 11 knots from the west. It cut out at lunch time and came in from the north and ranged from 4-17 knots.

Two of the TAS Teams, St Virgils Guildford and last years champions, The Hutchins are leading after day one on equal points after both lost one out of seven races. BBC from Queensland are in 3rd after loosing two races.

Day One: Racing abandoned.

Racing should have kicked off at 9am this morning but due to gusts of 25 knots PRO, Colin Chidgey has postponed racing for two hours. The upper wind limit is set at 20 knots. The kids were entertaining themselves by playing team games on the shore and enjoying the sunshine whilst waiting for the breeze to ease enough to allow the competition to begin. The winds didn't decrease so racing was abandoned for the day at 1pm.

This year the Championship is being raced in fleets of RS Feva's that Woollahra Sailing Club recently purchased.

The race course to be sailed is a starboard hand S-Course. After the start the boats must beat upwind to mark one, pass it to starboard, reach across the wind at 90 degrees from direction the wind is coming from, round mark two and head downwind to mark 3, reach across to mark 4 and beat back upwind to the finish. Races should last 7 minuets.

With this type of course there are many different opportunities to change the positions with mark traps, luffing duals, tacking matches, sailing the opposition away from the mark and covering. Teams Racers need to master boat handling skills and know the rules backwards.

The 2007 Schools Teams Racing Champions, The Hutchins School is back to defend their National Title against 15 other schools from five different states. The Opening Ceremony took place at Woollahra Sailing Club on 10th July with the traditional mixing of the waters from the different States. The entries are:

NSW:
Cranbrook School - Team Captain, Daniel Nixon
Knox Grammar School - Team Captain, Lachlan Doyle
Pittwater High - Team Captain, Jenna Walters
SA:

St Josephs School - Team Captain, Luke Stephens
KI Community Education - Team Captain, Josh Harris
St Peters - Team Captain, James Morgan
TAS:

St Virgils / Guilford Young Colleges - Team Captain, Oliver Nicholas
The Hutchins School - Team Captain, Elliot Noye
Launceston Church Grammar - Team Captain, Simon Legge
QLD:

QACG - Team Captain, Angus Rankin
BBC - Team Captain, Jack Sweep
Moreton Bay College - Team Captain, Shannon Landmark
WA:

Scotch College - Team Captain, James Louhridge
CCGS - Team Captain, DAvid Gilmore
Esperance Senior High - Team Captain, Morgan Prott
VIC:

St Leonards College - Team Captain, Richard Taylor

by Laura Baldwin

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