Left to Right: Annalise Gilbert (NSW), Shari O'Brien (QLD), Sam Treharne (NSW)
Bayside Sailboard Club members win the Bic Techno 293 OAMPS Australian Mid Winter Youth Championships 2010.
After four days of racing Reece Baillie claimed 1st overall and in the boys division, followed by Shari O’Brien in 2nd overall and 1st in the girls division. A fleet of 11 Techno 293’s from Queensland, New South Wales and the Northern Territory fought it out on Waterloo Bay, Manly in Brisbane 3-6 July.
The day before the competition, a ‘Have-a-go Day’ took place at the Royal Queensland Yacht Squadron with the boards and tuition provided by Bevan McKavanagh of Glide Industries (Bic Importer). It was well attended by boys and girls alike, complete with sailboarding, paddleboarding and a BBQ.
Day one saw gusty southwesters 20-25knots for the first two races. The fleet was smashed 300m out from the harbour, as the contenders had rigged their biggest sails. Annalise Gilbert (NSW) and Laird O’Brien battled on, making it to the wrong start line before being rescued along with the rest of the Techno fleet. Only Reece Baillie managed to sail the 4kms to the start off Green Island. He finished the day with two 1st places. There were no other Techno finishes.
Day two majority of the fleet rigged their smaller sails, only to have the South Westerly winds fade to below 10knots. Reece won 3 closely contested races from Ashley Hayworth (NSW) with two 2nds and Shari with one 2nd. Ashley Hayworth threw away a chance of a win by attempting another lap of the course taking the pressure off Reece Baillie and forfeiting 2nd place to Shari O’Brien.
Day three the winds were light and around to the South. The first two races were a repeat of day two’s results, with Reece Baillie 1st followed by Ashley Hayworth. However, Sam Treharne (NSW) took the third race from Reece Baillie followed by Shari O’Brien in 3rd.
Day four the winds were very light swinging from South East-North East with competitors battling against the strong tide between Green and King Islands. Shari O’Brien won the first race of the day by going further to the East than the rest of the fleet, to find the breeze (following the dolphins). Ashley Hayworth finally broke through for a win in the last race of the series.
Overall there were four different race winners over the course of the 10 race championship.
Left to Right: Ashley Hayworth (NSW), Reece Baillie (QLD)
Girls Trophy Presentation. 1st Shari O'Brien (QLD), 2nd Annalise Gilbert (NSW), 3rd Sam Sterling (QLD)
Overall Trophy Presentation. 1st Reece Baillie (QLD), 2nd Shari O'Brien (QLD), 3rd Sam Treharne (NSW)
