International Optimist Dinghy Association – South Australia

The Notice Of Race for the Nationals being held at Royal Prince Alfred Yacht Club, Pittwater NSW, 9th -16th January 2011, is available here www.optinsw.yachting.org.au

SPRING 2010 OPTI COACHING CLINIC

VENUE: SOUTH LAKES GOOLWA

DATES: 25^th & 26^th September 2010 from 9.00 am

COST: Members $10 / day Non-members $40 / day

COACHING FOR ALL LEVELS

Topics to be covered:

Beginners Fleet: Rigging the Boat and Basic Sailing

Green Fleet: Basic Speed, Mark rounding, Starting

Open Fleet: Improving Speed, Advanced Boat Handling, Strategy and Tactics

SCHEDULE

Saturday 25^th September 2010

9am Arrive at South Lakes (adjacent to GRYC) and rig boats

9.30-10.00am Briefing

10.00-12.00pm On the water coaching

12..00-12.30pm Lunch

12.30 – 1.00pm Briefing for afternoon session

1.00 – 3.00pm On the water coaching

3.00 – 4.00pm De -brief session

Sunday 26^th September 2010

9.30-10.00am Briefing

10.00-12.00pm On the water coaching

12..00-12.30pm Lunch

12.30 – 1.00pm Briefing for afternoon session

1.00 – 3.00pm On the water coaching

3.00 – 4.00pm De-brief session

Places are limited

For a Registration form please contact the IODASA Secretary, Emma Short

Email emma@optisa.org.au Mobile 0422 995 711 Fax 8131 0058

Open fleet before the start

An inspiring display of determination in some challenging conditions marked the 4^th International Optimist Dinghy South Australian State Championships last Saturday.

Eighteen entrants turned out for the day’s racing at the Brighton and Seacliff Yacht Club, with the weather warm and overcast, and a light offshore breeze at rigging time.

The larger fleet was great to see, with sailors from Adelaide and Largs Bay Sailing Clubs joining the B&SYC regulars, plus Naomi Kirkwood travelling over from Melbourne to join the fun.  SASI Coach Brendan Todd was on hand to brief the kids and stayed on-water throughout the day, providing guidance and encouragement.

SASI Coach Brendan Todd stops for a chat

On sailing out for the first race, the kids discovered the light offshore had a little more bite than could be felt on the beach, with winds of 10-15 knots on the course favouring the heavier sailors.

Todd Marsh took the first heat in the Open fleet followed by James Kirkwood and George Redmond.  Heat 2 of the open fleet was won by Opti new-comer Laura Groom, followed by Todd Marsh and George Redmond.  Both James and George showed they’d really learnt a lot from their trip to the windy VIC states a few weeks earlier.

It was great to see an even balance in the Open Fleet with four girls competing.  Along with Naomi from Victoria and Laura from Largs, Emily Patching, was out there in a boat her step-dad had arrived with the day before, after a seventeen hour round trip to Melbourne.  Sarah Short missed the morning racing, nursing a back injury after falling head first off the monkey bars at school the day before – she should stick to sailing.

George and Todd before the start

The Green fleet raced a triangle inside the Open fleet course and lost a few entrants to the relatively heavy and very shifty winds.  Chelsea Higgins led around the first mark closely followed by Joal Mackenzie, Rory Clark and Lachlan Nairn, but the strong gusts on the first reach caused many casualties with most of the fleet nose-diving – it was then a race to see who could bail the quickest and get back in the race!  Heats 1 and 2 went to Joal MacKenzie (1^st), Rory Clark (2^nd) and Chelsea Higgins (3^rd).  Special mention goes out to Lachlan Nairn in ‘Sharkbait’ who hung on tight in the pre-lunch session in only his 3^rd race as helm.  Along with Chelsea, we had a strong female contingent in the Green Fleet, with Izzy O’Brien in her first Opti adventure and Annabel Short on her fourth time out.  Unfortunately along with Angus Higgins, Ali Bernaud and Matt Meaney, they pulled out in the trying conditions.

Seacliff South Easters are notoriously shifty and unnerving, so it is an absolute credit to all the kids for just being out there.

A welcome break for lunch allowed the winds to moderate, and time for Brendan to brief the helms on his observations from the morning before sailing out for the afternoon session.

The breeze shifted further to the East and settled in strength in the afternoon and a speed of 10-12 knots after lunch saw both fleets back to full strength.  Still the classic Seacliff South Easterly provided plenty of lead changes on the first leg of the open fleet with Todd Marsh claiming heat 3 followed by Laura Groom and Alex Higgins.  Further moderation in the breeze saw some of the lighter competitors featuring at the front end with Emily Patching in her new boat ‘Tiger Bite’ taking out heat 4.  Also coming home strong in the afternoon session was Alex Higgins finding the going a bit easier, not having to hang over the aft quarter as much and winning the last race of the day.

Provisional results for Open Fleet races:

Chelsea Higgins leads the pack in the afternoon session

The Green Fleet enjoyed the lighter conditions throughout the afternoon and was buoyed by a few additions to the fleet.  Joal Mackenzie continued his winning form but for Heat 5, where the lead was snatched by Annabel Short at the Leeward mark.  Rory Clark put in a great effort all day with 2nds in every race and Matt Meaney, Lachlan Nairn and Angus Higgins were all smiles after finishing all their afternoon races.

Provisional results for Green Fleet races:

Final results:

Open Fleet

Green Fleet

The Travellers trophy went to Naomi Kirkwood having come all the way from Melbourne with her Opti on the roof of dad Graham’s car.

The judge’s (Shorty’s) special award went to Lachlan Nairn for his gutsy efforts in the pre-lunch session taking on the often-gusty conditions and always wearing a smile.

SA Optimist State Champoin, Todd Marsh

A great day was had by all – our thanks go out to the Brighton and Seacliff Yacht Club for hosting the race, Tony Gold and Doug Nairn as race officers, Brendan Todd for his coaching of the kids throughout the day, the IODA-SA parents and friends for their efforts and support and of course, to the entrants for coming out and having a great time.

Pictures from the event can be found here.

The IODA-SA team

The weather was overcast and raining and there was very little wind as the Optimist fleet arrived at Adelaide Sailing Club for the Fisher Peterson Tillett Regatta. There was much anticipation of the forecast 15-20 knts, but the drizzling rain didn’t stop. The Race Committee started the first race in a very light SE breeze but abandoned it when the wind completely died before anyone could reach the top mark. The fleet was towed in for a very welcome sausage sizzle and an opportunity to shed wet gear.

Eventually a 4-8 knt northerly arrived as the rain abated and the fleet returned to sea. Three races were completed in the afternoon in the light breeze. Alex Higgins convincingly won all three races but by the third race, Joal Mackenzie was closing the winning margin. James Kirkwood sailed well, coming second in the first race. Naomi Kirkwood from Port Melbourne Yacht Club took on board the coach’s advice for the third race and finished third in that race. Chelsea Higgins was easily identified with her hot pink sail numbers and showed consistent determination to keep up with her older brother Alex. This was George Redmond’s last regatta in the International Optimist class, finishing a very successful season. Prize winners: Alex Higgins – first overall, Joal Mackenzie – first on handicap, James Kirkwood – second on handicap, and Chelsea Higgins – third on handicap. Thank you Adelaide Sailing Club for including the Optimist class in the FPT regatta this year and for a most enjoyable day for our young sailors and their families. Results

The Fisher Peterson Tillett regatta is Adelaide Sailing Club’s annual youth regatta.  All youth and junior classes can participate.

The Fisher trophy is for the Holdfast Trainer class and the Tillett trophy is for the International Cadet class.  The Peterson trophy is for all other classes on yardstick. All Optimist sailors entering the SA & Open Optimist Championships are invited to compete for the inaugural “Opti Cup”.

Details are available on the Adelaide Sailing Club website.

The 4th SA State Championships will be held at Brighton & Seacliff Yacht Club on Saturday 27 March. Competitors from interstate are invited to compete for the Open prize.

Entries are now open online – the Notice of Race is now available for download!

UPDATE! The Sailing Instructions are now available for download.

Why not head over, stay for the Fisher Peterson Tillett regatta at Adelaide Sailing Club on Sunday and have a great weekend’s sailing.

2009-10 IODASA membership form

Hope to see you all there!

The IODA-SA Team

6/7 February, Adelaide Sailing Club

Shorty with a trailerload of Optis and Zoom!

Five International Optimists from B&SYC entered the OAMPS South Australian Youth Championships. On day one (Saturday), the morning races were abandoned after an attempt to start the fleet, as the wind was swinging 180 degrees. The Opti parents managed to assemble Shorty’s new Zodiac and Mercury in time to get out there and tow the fleet back to shore. That was an interesting exercise straight out of the box, with the only instructions in French.

After lunch a fresh sea breeze kicked in with the incoming tide. The first race was in about 15 knots with very choppy seas and the second was in up to 20 knots. George Redmond won the first race with James Kirkwood second. James and Sarah Short both reached the first top mark together, just behind George, but after an altercation on the mark and resultant penalty turns, George had just surfed away in the strengthening breeze. Meanwhile Joal Mackenzie was beginning to struggle in the strengthening breeze, so we “Zoomed” over and swapped him out with our own intrepid Opti expert, Ian “Captain Kirk” Kirkwood.

Positions were reversed in Race 2. James showed us how to fall out of the boat upwind and recover without losing more than two boat lengths. George had a spectacular capsize just as he was about to take the lead, with his rig sliding out of the mast step. “Zoom” was on hand to put it back in for him. The race committee abandoned the planned 3rd race as several of the Holdies and Optis had retired in the strong breeze. The course was a triangle/loop with finish downwind.

Andrew Short provided on water coaching and “Zoom” proved to be an ideal viewing platform.

After sailing, Brendan Todd (SASI HP coach) provided a comprehensive debrief with video footage to illustrate his points.

On Sunday, four races were held in about 8 knots and sloppy sea. A windward/return course was used. The Optis had trouble fighting through the wall of Holdies and whoever broke through “The Wall” first had the advantage on the fleet. Sarah and James had the boat speed on the others upwind, but Joal and George (despite his weight disadvantage) were definitely the quickest down wind. They had their plates all the way up and the boat healing well to weather, i.e. sprit vertical. Sarah managed to pull off a win in all four races, but James was breathing down her neck all the way to finish a very close second in Race 5. The conditions were perfect for Joal who was sailing in his first Opti regatta. Joal managed a second in Race 4, his first finish in a “Real Race”.

Stuart Kirkwood made a “Lightning Flash” appearance in Race 6. He missed out on the home made muffins on board “Zoom” between races. Shorty had to ask the PRO to delay the next start after we drifted off while enjoying our afternoon tea.

It was great to see that all sailors have taken another quantum leap in boat handling, speed and racing skills. Now we just have to work on those starts…

B&SYC Opti Kids at the presentation

Sarah Short (DNF, DNS, ABN,1,1,1,1) equal points 1st on count back,

James Kirkwood (2,1,ABN,3,2,2,4) equal points 2^nd on count back,

George Redmond (1,2,ABN,4,4,3,2)3^rd,

Joal MacKenzie (DNF, DNS, ABN 2,3,4,3).

TEAM OPTI B&SYC

The regatta is complete – results for the series are up to date and available here.

It’s been a busy time but we’ve finally gotten around to uploading some pictures from the presentation event for the Gulf of St Vincent Classic presentation.

You can find them here.

The IODA-SA Team

Daily report on sailing at the 2010 IODA Oceania Championships courtesy of Optiworld.

Results