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6:46 AM Tue 24 Feb 2009 GMT
The bar has been raised in Etchells racing as many of the sailors found out when they came together during the recent Etchells Pre-Worlds series in Melbourne.
Three weekends of intense racing in fleets of over 25 yachts provided many of the Australian sailors with the chance to shake themselves out of their comfort zone as they prepare for the Audi Etchells World Championship to be conducted in Melbourne by Royal Brighton Yacht Club from the 5 to 14 March 2009.
The first series was taken out by Melbourne Fleet Captain and World Championship Event Organising Committee Chair, Jake Gunther on Dr Evil. Queensland's James Dagge (Una Mas) was in second place with Melbourne sailor, Kirwan Robb (Pedro), in third.
In the second series Mornington's Mark Bulka and his team on Critical Balance took out first place ahead of Mark Bradford (Roni) and Damien King (Barry).
Gunther slipped back to fourth place for this series. "I think we suffered in the short course racing. We were okay when the courses were longer. Our sails are getting older as we are saving our best set for the Worlds. A lot of guys were there with pretty fresh gear.
"Beyond that, I think fundamentally we didn't sail very well. The other side is the standard is lifting and the reality is we were thrown by that lift. As a consequence at times we took some risks that we should not have done. Normally we would not sail that way, but it was quite a good precursor to the Worlds because it probably said to us we need to settle down a little bit and expect to be in the mid-fleet quite a lot."
Bulka is pleased with his team's results from last weekend. "We had a good weekend. With 25 boats out there it was a good hit-out. I raced with my world's crew Stephen Young and James Ryssenbeek."
RBYC Principle Race Officer Harry Tedstone in his final regatta before retiring said he found the quality of racing among the fleet was exceptional. "Each weekend was a mini series. The first one was sailed in fresh with winds up around 20 to 22 knots while the second was raced mainly in light winds.
"Last weekend the fleet were very aggressive in the starts. The first two they charged the start line and we had two general recalls. They were on fire.
"This was my last formal job as Principle Race Officer. I was very happy to do it with such an important class and an important event. The quality of racing was excellent as it always is with the Etchells. They are a competitive class sailed by some of the top skippers in the country. It was excellent racing with close mark roundings. The racing was very competitive."
This weekend the Etchells will be back out on Port Phillip for their last chance to polish their skills and test their equipment as they compete in the Entire Port Phillip Championship on Saturday 28 February and Sunday 1 March.
click here to go to Entire Port Phillip Championship
by Tracey Johnstone
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