Sydney Yachts commends Sydney 38 National Championship winners

6:00 AM Tue 3 Mar 2009 GMT

'Sydney 38 Acuity' Andrea Francolini &copy Click Here to view large photo

In overwhelmingly consistent form, Tony Walls' Sydney 38 Acuity held an eight point lead to claim victory in the Australian Sydney 38 Championships, proudly sponsored by Line 7 in collaboration with Sydney Yachts.

Traks Gordon, coach of team Acuity, believes the team earned the result they produced.

'The crew of team Acuity are all great sailors in their own right however they lead busy business and family lives. This placed a huge restriction on the number of sailing days per year,' Traks reported. 'The team goal was set high and therefore we had to work smart rather than hard to succeed.

'Skills were prioritised and then honed in targeted specific training sessions, sails were designed for the expected conditions and limited in their use, the boat was carefully developed and prepared throughout the year and all events leading up to the nationals were treated as stepping stones with specific, non result oriented measurable objectives.

'On this occasion the team experienced a true peak, clearly superior in speed, handling and fleet management. Nobody can be singled out for the success; nobody was carried for the ride. The team in this event was greater than the sum of its parts and a real pleasure to watch race.'

Acuity's exceptional crew work saw her win 'Boat of the Day' for two consecutive days, with Easy Tiger snatching the title on the final day thanks to some clever tactics.

Winner of the Corinthian division (non-professional crew) The Goat received a full winch service voucher, courtesy of Sydney Yachts' dedicated service division AM Care.

Promoted as a relaxed and friendly regatta, the Australian Championship was the first to be run by the class owners. The strong 13 boat fleet was hailed a success as competitors enjoyed not only the on-water competition, but post-race social activities.

Sydney Yachts would like to congratulate all who sailed in the 2009 Line 7 Sydney 38 Australian Championships.