QLD announce reps for Audi King of The Docklands Match Racing C'ships

1:29 AM Wed 6 Jan 2010 GMT

Audi Australian IRC Ocean racing champions Sean O'Rourke, Greg MacAllansmith and Adrian Finglas have been chosen to represent Queensland in the Audi King of The Docklands match racing championship later this month.

The three highly skilled sailors who have an excellent knowledge of racing in the SB3 Dart One-Design Sports boat were chosen by their National champion skipper Rod Jones to compete under the Alegria 'battle flag' for the Mooloolaba Yacht Clubs Oceanburo racing team.

Specialist helmsman Sean O'Rourke is no stranger to the 'cut and thrust' style of match racing and thrives on being challenged for his right to sail in uncontested space.

Furthermore the young skipper has a mature tactical brain backed by a super cool attitude which has helped him gain the respect and recognition as a gifted match racing skipper.

His older crew mates Greg MacAllansmith and Adrian Finglas who shared the deck space with Sean O'Rourke on the Rod Jones owned and skippered Archambault A40 Alegria when they mastered light winds to clinch their deserved Australian championship on the final day of the Audi Hamilton Island Race Week last August possess the career results to be ranked as a serious challenger.

The burly MacAllansmith has never backed away from a tactical 'dog fight' and his experience gained from racing with Kai Timm in the 2009 World SB3 Dart championship in Portugal particularly with the attention to maintaining a fast shape in the sails will cover his role while Adrian Finglas has the personal resume to make the important decisions as tactician.

His career which includes winning a World championship and coaching others to do the same is backed by his coaching experience with the Australian Olympic Team in Beijing and more recently his appointment as the senior high performance coach for Yachting Queensland's talented Queensland Academy of Sport Sailing squad.

During 2009 Finglas overcame a limited preparation to win the 505 Australian championship Silver Medal then was the crew coach when Jason Muir combined with the Sunshine Coast's Bucky Smith to score a runaway win in the Audi World Etchells championship in Melbourne while also coaching the Yachting Queensland youth squad to win five individual Gold Medals at the 2009 OAMPS National championship in Geraldton (WA).

He has the uncanny skill which helps to make the difference between finishing ahead of the pack and this will help to mould the Alegria racing team into a formidable challenger when the sails are tensioned to decide the 2010 Audi King of The Docklands match racing champion.

Predicting a Queensland win in this intense style of racing in a strict One-Design class is not smart but the three chosen to race under the successful Alegria 'Battle flag' will not let Queensland and the States proud sporting history wallow in the water when the battle lines are drawn on the testing Melbourne course this month.

Team manager Rod Jones who unselfishly stood aside to promote the helming career of Sean O'Rourke has the mateship and confidence that the trio of experienced crew mates will become worthy challengers.

by Ian Grant

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QLD announce reps for Audi King of The Docklands Match Racing C'ships

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