QLD Sailor Wins Victorian Optimist States

Klaus Lorenz (right) and Tom Lidgett

VICTORIAN OPTIMIST STATES 2010

By Klaus Lorenz

The 2010 Victorian Optimist State Championships was an extremely close regatta for the competitors and was very well run by the race committee. The championship was held at Sorrento Sailing & Couta Boat Club on Port Phillip Bay. Overall there were about 80 sailors split equally between the Green (novice) and Open Fleets. All were Victorian sailors but for 5 from NSW and I, the only sailor from Queensland. Among the fleet were all but one (Jack Falsenthal) of the East coast members of the Australian Optimist Sailing Team (AOST), some of whom will be sailing with me in the New Zealand Nationals in April and in the European Championships in Poland in July.

I was staying with the family of James McLennan, also an AOST member, at a relative’s house, and I was able to borrow a boat from another Victorian AOST member, Jack Falsenthal, because he had flown to Freemantle to take part in the WA State Championships.  I brought down my own sail.

The first day was cold and it looked like 20 knots as we drove down to the club. I found and rigged my boat before joining the Victorians and their coach, Ivor, who will also be our coach in NZ, for a briefing.  My on-water partner was Tom Trotman so we sailed out to the course together and did some two-boat testing. The water was really choppy and with heaps of current running through the course. There was about 20 knots of wind as well so the chop was standing up heaps.

In the first race I was in a good solid position at the top mark and finished in 3^rd  place.  I had started at the committee boat end of the line, and did so for the next 3 races because the wind was reasonably settled. I finished the second race with another third and then followed up with a 2^nd and a 1^st.

We had a BBQ at the yacht club for dinner that evening and just sat and talked to the two Victorian team coaches, Ivor and George (both from Ireland, and very funny).  We went to bed at 9:30. We   woke up at 7, and Gary, James’ Dad, drove us down to the club as we were running late.

For the second day it was freezing cold with about 20-25 knots steady. All my gear was wet from the day before so that was even worse. The breeze was oscillating a lot between neutral and left shifts. All I tried to do for the next races was start on the bias and then pick the shifts from then on. Hiking was really hard but I pushed myself to do it and finished up with another 1^st, a 5^th, a 2^nd and a 3^rd. I was really happy with my performance, and very pleased with all the hours I had spent in physical training. I finished up winning the open regatta by 1 point from Tom Lidgett who was the 1^st. Victorian.

It was a really close regatta (all of the top sailors in the regatta were within a very few points). and I was naturally very happy that a Queensland sailor had won.

As always, I’d like to thank my parents for sending me, the McLennan family for hosting me, and Jack Falsenthal, who lent me his boat.