Musto Etchells Winter titles - sailing for the adventure

11:54 PM Thu 28 May 2009 GMT

'2008 Musto Winter Etchells, day three, the biggest and one of the best' Peter Duncan www.Questphoto.net

The One Design Etchells yacht racing circuit is one of the most active in the world.

For the past 12 years Mooloolaba on Queensland's Sunshine Coast has hosted the Australian Winter Nationals, a credit to the venue, when you consider World Championships and Australian Summer Nationals move location every year.

Sailors will gather from around the Asia Pacific for the Musto 2009 Etchells Australian Winter titles being sailed from June 4-7th.

A week before the event, Trevor Martin the Mooloolaba fleet captain says 'We already have more than 50 entries from around Australia and the Asia Pacific with more expected over the weekend. Next week hundreds of sailors, supporters, family race officials and media will descend on Mooloolaba for this very popular annual event.'

Sailors from every Australian State, Hong Kong and New Zealand will be showing their support and sailing in this regatta.

New Zealand sailor Lindsay Kennedy sails the Australian Etchells circuit because it's both good sailing and it is a regular adventure holiday with his Kiwi mates.

Just before heading for Auckland airport he commented 'I've kept an Etchells boat in Australia for the last few years and I enjoy the quality of the racing the Etchells provides and the fleets sizes in the regattas that we are able to participate in.

'We enjoy the regattas. We enjoy the adventure. It's not to win a gold medal or anything.

'The Australian Summer Etchells events are all around the country, so we have seen quite a bit of Australia over the years. I've been to Mooloolaba Mid-Winters for the last couple of years; in fact I've been there three or four years over the last decade.

'We are coming over on the weekend and will be towing my boat from Melbourne, travelling up the Hume Highway to Sydney. With the coastal floods we will go up to Newcastle and then take the New England Highway north. It's a good way to see different parts of Australia.

'There are four of us on this 2009 adventure. Trevor Swinburne and I are old friends and we have been sailing together for the last eight years. Rob Bassett is another friend of mine and has his own Etchells, but is getting together with Trevor and I and another mate John Collingwood, to do the Mooloolaba regatta. It's a holiday for us.

'There's going to be a really good fleet. We thought it might have been a little quiet this year because it's so soon after the World Championship in March in Melbourne, but it's (Mooloolaba) such a great place to sail in the winter, the numbers are holding up.

'After this regatta we will take some extra time on the Sunshine Coast, then take the boat down to Lake Macquarie (NSW) so it will be ready for the next big Etchells regatta.'

by Rob Kothe