Article Courtesy of David Stewart, Lakes Mail:
SOUTH Lake Macquarie Amateur Sailing Club is preparing for the biggest event that it will ever stage.
The club, at Sunshine, will host the NSW Youth Championship on Lake Macquarie over the October long weekend.
“This will be the biggest event our club will ever run – we are expecting close to 350 entries this year,” SLMASC spokesperson, and four-time Olympic windsurfer for the USA, Lanee Beashel, said.
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Event Information
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Sailors will be competing in 17 classes of boat.
“The classes are for youth sailors only, and some are the pathway boats that kids are sailing and racing on to hopefully get to the Olympics in the future, or gain experience to become professional sailors,” Ms Beashel said.
With so many classes being contested over the one weekend, four courses will be set up on Lake Macquarie.
Mannering Park Amateur Sailing Club and Wangi Wangi Amateur Sailing Club will be ‘partner clubs’ for the event.
SLMASC will provide two courses, with the partner clubs to each provide a course.
Among the solo sailing classes to be contested are windsurfers, Sabots (a strong class at Wangi Wangi), Lasers, Optimists and BIC O’Pens.
Among the double handed boat classes (requiring two sailors) are International 420s, 29er skiffs, Flying Ant Skiffs, Manly Jrs, NS14s and Nacra 15s.
The Optimist class is considered one of the training boats for future Olympic and professional sailors.
“The Opti is probably one of the most sailed boats in the whole world, and a lot of the top America’s Cup sailors learned to sail in Optis,” Ms Beashel said.
SLMASC hosts the only learn-to-sail program in the Optimist dinghie class on Lake Macquarie.
“For the open Optimist class at the championship, we will have the top kids in the country flying in from all over the country to compete,” Ms Beashel said.
The championship, from September 29 to October 1, is expected to attract hundreds of visitors.
“I’ve booked out Point Wolstoncroft Sport and Recreation Centre [for event accommodation], and a lot of the sailors will be commuting by boat every morning, and after the racing,” Ms Beashel said.
