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FIFTY-eight boats have already entered to compete in the second leg of the SA Youth Tri Series, which will be held at the Brighton and Seacliff Yacht Club this weekend, with even more entries expected during the week.
The regatta follows on from the first leg of the inter-club event that was held in Port Lincoln over the October long weekend and will be followed by the final leg at the Adelaide Sailing Club on December 17 and 18 this year.
The three-part regatta is used to give youth sailors across the state the opportunity to get big fleet practice ahead of their respective national championships, which will all be held at various clubs on the South Australian coastline in January.
Optimist Open
The Optimist Open fleet put on a show at the first leg of the Tri Series in Port Lincoln with close and competitive racing right throughout.
Brighton and Seacliff’s Alexi Wigglesworth managed to come away with the win for the first leg, beating Adelaide’s Ben Hinks on a count back.
Harry Higgins (Brighton), Taran Sanderson (Brighton) and Thomas Chambers (Goolwa) were third, fourth and fifth respectively and will all be in the top bunch again at the second leg this weekend.
Other local Opti young guns such as Jonas Barrett (Brighton) and Quinn Auricht (Brighton) missed the Port Lincoln leg of the Tri Series but are expected to be competing at the second leg and will be in the mix at the front.
Expect this to be a highly competitive fleet with many sailors capable of winning races, but if either Alexi or Ben can sail well, they may break the series wide open.
Alexi Wigglesworth (Brighton) was the winner of the first leg of the Tri Series in Port Lincoln.
Optimist Intermediate
The Optimist Intermediate fleet had only two boats competing at the Port Lincoln Tri Series event and they were both able to mix it with the open fleet and achieve some great results.
Ian Irwin (Goolwa) was the winner of the intermediate fleet finishing ahead of Finlay Bunt (Largs Bay) in what was a competitive battle.
The fleet is expected to bolster up at the second leg this weekend, which is sure to make for some more great intermediate racing.
Optimist Green
Sailing on a separate course at the first leg of the Tri Series in Port Lincoln, the Green Fleet put on a great display of racing and improvement.
Archie Kretschmer (Largs Bay) was the most dominant in the fleet and managed to come away with the win clear of his fellow club mates Fraser Baker (Largs Bay) in second and Murphy Cowen (Largs Bay) in third.
The Green Fleet is a fully coached fleet and all sailors that enter are given professional support right throughout all of the Tri Series events.
Archie Kretschmer (Largs Bay) was the winner in the green fleet at the first leg of the Tri Series.
O’Pen Bic
Although there were no Bics that made the trip over to Port Lincoln for the first leg of the Tri Series, we can expect a solid turnout for the second leg at Brighton and Seacliff.
A great class for those learning to sail, the Bics focus on participation and having fun on the water.
Last year’s Tri Series winner Hugo Spees will be tough to beat again if he sails at this weekend’s event.
Laser
The South Australian Laser fleet is improving in leaps and bounds this year with a number of talented young sailors joining the mix and creating strong competition.
In either the radial or 4.7 rigs, a mixed fleet of five boats made the trip over to Port Lincoln with even more expected at this weekend’s event.
Josh Hinks (Adelaide) was the pick of the boats in Port Lincoln, coming away with a win ahead of John Gordon (Adelaide) in second and Angus Bubner (Ceduna) in third.
Sarah Short (Adelaide) and Sarah Dredge (Adelaide) were also highly competitive and are proving that the girls can match it with the boys in what is a highly demanding class.
Laser 4.7 sailor Sarah Dredge had a bit on during a gybe at the Port Lincoln Tri Series event.
International Cadet
International Cadet racing is going up in leaps and bounds this year and the fleet at the first leg of the Tri Series backs that up completely with 11 boats and 22 sailors making it to the start line.
The numbers are expected to increase significantly for this weekend’s event as well with a total of 16 boats registered.
Sam Paynter and Gil Casanova (Port Lincoln) finished first in the Port Lincoln leg only one point ahead of Elise Franson and Rachel Huczko (Largs Bay) in second and six points ahead of Alyssa and Mitchell Kelsey (Port Lincoln) in third.
The teams of Sam and Gil, and Alyssa and Mitchell, are also in preparation for the upcoming world championships, which will be held in Argentina later this year.
The cadet racing is always highly competitive so expect to see another great display this weekend.
Sam Paynter and Gil Casanova in Full Speed Ahead (Port Lincoln) were the winners in the international cadet at the first leg of the Tri Series.
420
Although only 420 sailed in the first leg of the Tri Series, we can expect the fleet to bolster this weekend.
A number of 420 sailors travelled to New Zealand in October to compete in the Pacific Rim Teams Racing Regatta and were therefore unable to make it to Port Lincoln.
Port Lincoln-based 420 sailors Tom de la Perrelle and Tate Petralia competed at the Port Lincoln leg and look quick on their home waters. These guys will give it a good shake if they make it to Adelaide this weekend.
Results – for full results of the Tri Series in Port Lincoln head to bit.ly/TriSeriesResults.
