Temperatures Soar at Optimist Oceania and Australian Championship

8:38 AM Sun 10 Jan 2010 GMT

'Optimist fleet leaving Adelaide Sailing Club' Janet Jerwood Click Here to view large photo

2010 IODA Oceania and Australian Championships

The International Optimist Dinghy Association Oceania Championship incorporating the Australian Championship has finished today at Adelaide Sailing Club. The championships followed on from the successful OziOpti High Performance and 'Green' fleet training clinics hosted by Brighton and Seacliff Yacht Club.

Ninety four open sailors and 47 'green' sailors represented eleven countries. The Oceania Championship includes sailors from Australia, New Zealand and the Pacific Islands, but the event was also open to sailors from other parts of the world and sailors from Singapore, Hong Kong, Japan, PNG, USA, Germany, Denmark, France, and the UAE also attended.

An extreme weather pattern with temperatures in the low 40's accompanied by light winds was made even harder by challenging tidal conditions.

The onshore postponements gave more than the usual opportunities for International and Interstate camaraderie and fun and games. Sailors, coaches and parents had plenty of time to make new friends and rekindle old friendships.

Nine races were completed by Saturday 9th January, and the sailors arrived on the final morning hoping for the breeze to fill in. Unfortunately by 1330 hrs it became clear that there would be no racing and the championship was over.

Singaporean sailors Samantha Neubronner , Jia Min Audrey Lim and Jillian Lee took the first three places in the Open Championship demonstrating the Singaporeans skill in lighter breezes.

Australian Champion, Nia Jerwood with her coach Diego Figueroa - Janet Jerwood

Eleven Year old, Nia Jerwood from Western Australia won the Oceania and Australian Championship, finishing 6th place overall. Second Australian was Lachlan Gilmour also from WA, third place went to Jack Felsenthal from Victoria.

The Australian Team travelling to Langkawi, Malaysia for the 2010 IODA World Championship is Nia Jerwood, Lachlan Gilmour, Jack Felsenthal, Douglas Campbell and Sam Blackburn.

The Green Fleet was won by Laurene Hautier from New Caledonia, representing France and the first Australian was Eva Lorenz from Queensland.

by Janet Jerwood