Teaming in Tasars
The 2000 Australian National Team Racing Championship
Over the weekend of 20-21 May many of Australia's top dinghy
sailors congregated in Sydney for the 2000 Australian National Team
Racing Championship.
The regatta used 19 of the Royal Australian Navy's red Tasar
dinghies, each sporting a mainsail with a colored panel to indicate
its membership of one of the six teams.
Between 1985-98 the RAN organised both the national team racing
championship and feeder events in NSW and Victoria used to select
state representative teams. For the past two years though, Grand
Prix Sailing has undertaken the task with Navy being the primary
sponsor.
As with last year's Championship, the two-day regatta was sailed
from Sydney 's Balmoral Sailing Club. Entries were by invitation
only, as the competition is limited to twelve teams. The aim is for
each state/territory to send the best possible team it can. This
year there were two teams each from Queensland and Tasmania; one
each from Victoria, South Australia and the ACT, four from NSW, and
the Navy team. Several teams were offshoots of the highly
successful national schools team racing program, and most teams had
national champions or Olympic triallists amongst them. The Royal
Prince Alfred YC team included James Spithill - Australia's skipper
at the recent Americas Cup competition in New Zealand.
Australia's Tasar racing fraternity was to be seen in a number of
teams. The ACT team was led by Bruce Paine (NSW Tasar
Champion), Shane Guanaria and Stu Friezer sailed for NSW teams,
while joining me and Nick Grey in the Navy team were Rick
Longbottom and Jude Kennedy, and Wayne Hale with Steve Jones.
A round-robin format was used for the competition, so that each
team sailed 11 matches, and a total of 56 races were completed. An
M shaped course was used and, as the average length of each race
was about 12 minutes, the legs of the course were short!
Fortunately the weather conditions were favourable, enabling the
program to be completed as planned. On the Saturday, light NW
breezes of between 3-8 knots prevailed. Sunday's racing began in
stronger breezes which then gradually decreased in strength as the
day progressed.
Although we in the Navy team had multiple state and higher-level
Tasar championship credits, we were conscious of our lack of recent
practise in the highly tactical and combined skills of team racing.
We were right to be! Boat handling and tactical skills proved far
more important than boat speed. In our first set of five match
races we won just one. Too often a single silly slip led to
place-changes which couldn't be recouped. However, with stronger
winds giving greater emphasis to boat handling for the second set
our results improved, and a 2 win to 1 loss record achieved. This
ratio was reversed in the final set of three matches though, with
the result that the Navy teams finished with a 4-7 win-loss ratio
and seventh place overall.
The intensity of team racing is such that with multiple matches
being sailed it's difficult to keep track of how teams are faring.
As the event progressed though, the large scoreboard in Balmoral SC
showed that the best teams were consistently winning.
By late on Sunday afternoon, it was clear that the winning team
was one assembled by Hugh Stodart, from Middle Harbour YC in
Sydney. It won 10 of its 11 races. Second was the team from Royal
Prince Alfred YC on a count back from Connells Point SC (both from
NSW). Fourth was Queensland's Lucus Downs team, last year's equal
winners who then represented Australia in the World Team Racing
Championship in the USA.
The Championship is unique in Australia, and has a good
reputation. The Tasar is probably the only class of dinghy in
Australia (with the possible exception of the Pacer) suitable for
it. Being one design, highly maneuverable, and easy to sail for
people of average dimensions are the qualities which favour its use
for team racing.
Team racing is high-octane competition! If ordinary racing has
become a bit 'ho-hum' for you, why not try it out with a few of
your Tasar sailing chums?
Good sailing,
Martin Linsley