11:05 PM Sun 24 May 2009 GMT
Newport sailor Julian Plante is one of many skippers looking for his second Etchells Australian Winter title.
Plante has achieved success as a helmsman in dinghies, skiffs and keelboats, with seven Australian championships and four State titles in Etchells, J24's, NS14's, and teams racing.
His best result on the Etchells international scene was fourth in the 2004 Etchells Worlds but he, like another eleven skippers, has not managed to take a second Australian Etchells Winter crown.
For the 13th year in a row on the June long-weekend, a big fleet will be assembling in Mooloolaba on Queensland's south east coast, for the Musto 2009 Etchells Australian Winter championship (June 4-7th).
Plante tells the story . 'I won the Winter Nationals Back in 2000. I hadn't been in the class that long. I was pretty excited to win that one; it was one of those regattas where it all came together quite nicely. I managed a third in 2005 and am back after a few breaks.
'I think this will be my eighth Mooloolaba Etchells regatta and we are campaigning hard this year with our North Sails boat North Star.
'Nick Garland and I have been racing Etchells together since 1999. He took a sabbatical for the Worlds, his wife gave birth on the last day, so it was just as well. Michael Dunstan sailed with us as at the Worlds and he's very talented. So we will have a good combination.
'The kind of racing you get in Etchells fleets is very different. The speed differentials are very small; it depends a lot more on how you position the boat and play the fleet and keep your lanes clear and that makes it challenging.
'This is certainly shaping up as another great regatta. Damien King and his Melbourne crew will be a good marker; they were second in the 2009 Worlds in Melbourne.
'It is a quality fleet. GT and Wharro (Graham Taylor and Grant Wharington) have each won an Etchells Winter title and with Mothy (Steve Jarvin) up front, they will be on the pace. Mark Bulka and Alistair Gair will be dangerous. Threats will come from everywhere. There are seven or eight crews that can win this title.
'It's a regatta that everybody likes to go to . one of the highlights on the calendar.'
'Everyone loves going to Mooloolaba because of the location. It's an ideal spot to sail and is not too cold for most of us coming from the south at that time of year.
'I think Mooloolaba makes for an interesting winter regatta because it is not a one-way track. You occasionally get a sea breeze, but generally you get quite a bit of land breeze or you can get the funky kind of southerly.
'So picking the shifts is vital. Racing is not completely reliant on speed, although I still believe the guys who do best here are those that manage a little bit better speed than everyone else, but are able to sail a bit more conservatively.
'It's a good offshore course, certainly fair, and a big fleet. A lot can be learnt here.
'Last year Jason Muir (the 2009 World Champion) had a pretty good chance of winning in Mooloolaba, he'd already had two thirds in previous years.
'He had quite a good scorecard going into the last day but they weren't carrying a light wind jib. At that stage and on the one day it was light and really bumpy, they had a shocker. It basically threw them out. I think in hindsight it was good for them because they learnt that they would probably need to carry a light jib. At the Melbourne Worlds that lesson stood him in good stead and he won the title.'
'We will drive or maybe 'swim' north next week . just would not be anywhere else but Mooloolaba on the June long weekend!'
The Musto Etchells Australian Winter Championship 2009 is proudly supported by Musto Australia, Queensland Events Regional Development Program, Sunshine Coast Regional Council, Newport Apartments, The Wharf Tavern, The Wharf Mooloolaba, Sail-World.com, Waterfront & Coastal Property, Sun Air Bus Services, QuestPhoto.net, Ullman Sails and Sunsport Marine.
More details at www.mooetchells.yachting.org.au/
by Rob Kothe
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