Queensland Etchells State title - Young champ Gough gets his chance

2:15 AM Wed 11 Nov 2009 GMT

'Keeping a watchful eye -Etchells Australian Winter Championship 2009' Sail-World.com /AUS &copy Click Here to view large photo

Queensland Hobie 16 Youth champion skipper Andrew Gough (16) will mix with some elite sailors when he contests The Wharf Tavern Queensland Etchells State title off Mooloolaba Beach this weekend.

The exceptionally talented teenager a member of Yachting Queensland High Performance Squad has accepted the invitation to gain further valuable experience when he contests the highly competitive series with 2008 Americas Cup sailor and former Mooloolaba Etchells Winter series Gold Medallist Mark Bradford.

Gough maybe small in physical stature but he has achieved some outstanding career results and is more than capable of measuring up to the challenge of racing against the best in the class including defending champion Vaughan Prentice.

He will be sailing in good company with skipper Mark Bradford veteran Etchells sailor Brian Hillier and Australian Olympic team coach Adrian Finglas.

The opportunity will expose Andrew Gough to an important tactical learning curve sailing for the first time alongside Adrian Finglas who has personally achieved some outstanding results as a coach and tactician this year.

Besides setting the training schedules which allowed the Queensland Youth team to win five Australian championships in West Australia Finglas also played a major role when Jason Muir steered Racer XY to win the Audi Etchells World championship in Melbourne and was the tactician on board when Mooloolaba Yacht Club's Rod Jones steered Alegria to win the 2009 Audi Australian IRC championship at Hamilton Island in August.

As expected Andrew Gough is excited to have the opportunity to experience the demand of racing in the Etchells which is perfectly described as the supreme test of mental and physical torture where the slightest error can mean the difference between a major place and finishing back in the pack.

Hopefully his role will lead to more teenage sailors being invited to race in a class which needs an injection of youth to survive.

He will be encouraged to 'spread the word' among his Yachting Queensland Youth Squad mates but first the talented teenager will absorb the experience in what is expected to become a energy absorbing tactical match race off Mooloolaba Beach before the 2009 Queensland Etchells champion is crowned on Sunday.

Wharf Tavern Etchells Queensland State Championship 2009 - Tracey Johnstone &copy

The pre-title form guide suggests defending champion Vaughan Prentice will be the skipper to beat he is a tenacious competitor who excels under pressure in tight match racing.

Prentice returns with an experienced crew including Darren Hutchison, Chris Anderson and Australian Laser Youth champion Curtis Skinner.

Their clash against the Mark Bradford combination will be one of the highlights in the six race series however both crews are expected to be challenged by the local trio of Sunshine Coast sailors, skipper David Turton, younger brother Andrew, and the experienced bow-man Darryl Spicer.

All three have 'done the hard yards' in the conditions off Pt Cartwright and possess the local knowledge regarding current flow and variations in the wind, which should allow them to match the pace of their more favoured Brisbane crews.

by Ian Grant