4:55 AM Mon 22 Mar 2010 GMT
Etchells 2009 winter champion, Melbourne's Damien King, plans to return to Mooloolaba this June to defend his title in the Musto Etchells Australasian Winter Championship.
King achieved a closely fought victory in the series in 2009 after taking on the fleet of 54 Etchells in the six race series to become the thirteenth winner in the 13 years of the annual event.
'We won last year so it would be nice to come back to defend our title. Any excuse to do another Etchells regatta is a good one along with the chance to escape the freezing cold Melbourne winter.
'Last year we chartered a boat which was very handy for us. The boat was sitting on the trailer when we arrived. It hadn't been touched four or five years. We got in there and cleaned out a few buckets full of cockroaches, won the regatta and then the boat sold for way more than the owner originally had it listed for,' King said.
With the Notice of Race and Entry Form now released several other inter-state and international Etchells sailors are talking up their return to Mooloolaba for the annual warm winter championship.
Current Victorian state champion Jake Gunther will be fitting the winter event into his hectic sailing schedule. 'I am doing the Finn Master World Championship in Croatia in late May then back for the mid-winters before heading off to the Etchells world championship in Ireland in August.
'The winters are important for me in terms of preparing for the world championship. The opportunity of getting a 60-boat start line and do some fleet starting is so critical to our preparation.'
Hong Kong's Mark Thornburrow and Jamie McWilliam will ensure an international field of competitors. McWilliam currently leads the Royal Hong Kong Yacht Club's Etchells 27-boat fleet pointscore. Thornburrow returns to familiar territory after taking out the Mooloolaba hosted 2009 Etchells Queensland State Championship in November last year.
Tasmania's winning helmsman, Nic Rogers, will make a welcome return to Etchells racing this year. A prolific winner in the International Dragon class, taking out his tenth Prince Philip Cup last year, the 2000/01 Etchells national champion, will return to the Etchells fold for this year's winter championship.
The Musto Etchells Australasian Winter Championship will be held from 10 to 13 June 2010. The Notice of Race, Online Entry and Entry Form are now available on the event website
www.mooetchells.yachting.org.au
by Tracey Johnstone
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Sailing
