NT sailor Rachelle van den Herik reporting on QLD Youth Week
I was fortunate to attend the Queensland Musto Youth Week, held at the Royal Queensland Yacht Squadron (RQYS) 5th – 9th July. The week was filled with learning, new experiences, new friends and lots of epic sailing.
On the morning of the 5th, the Queensland 4.7 Squad, coaches Annie Eastgate and Grant Willmott, were kind enough to let me join in their training session. Sailing out of the marina at RQYS and into Moreton Bay for the first time was a bit of a shock to the system, with winds gusting up to 26 knots, white caps and swell. The first of multiple capsizes that day enveloped me in a freezing cold hug. Later that afternoon the invitation race was scheduled, however due to the winds being too strong and rainstorms looming over the bay, it was cancelled.
Day 1 was an early start, with the first signal at 9am. There were squalls of up to 24 knots which was challenging, but really fun to play with the waves downwind. We had 3 races and I came mid-fleet for all of them. I definitely felt like my downwind speed improved throughout the regatta, and I was able to identify points to focus on when back at NT squad training.
On Day 2 the wind and showers eased. We just managed to get 3 races in as the wind progressively dropped off, with the last race a bit of a slog and was shortened. By day 3 the wind was so slight we only had one, very slow, shifty, race with a shortened course. The rest of the day was abandoned. On the final day the first race was completed, however the second was shortened due to lack of wind on the second upwind beat. The last race started and then was abandoned.
I’m really glad I went as it consolidated much of my training and I’ve made some great new friends. We had a total of 9 races and I came 13th out of 23 competitors. A big thank you to Tom and Nick for your coaching, and I am very grateful for the ongoing support from Australian Sailing NT, and of course my parents and sister. Congratulations to Kristen Wadley, Orla Amos and Travis Wadley who came first, second and third respectively. For anyone considering doing a fun interstate regatta, I highly recommend this one. You will have a ball, learn heaps and make many new friends. Don’t forget to take the thermals though!
