The reigning world and Australian champions in the International Etchells class
will be sailing at Metung beginning on Friday, in the 2025 Australian Championship regatta.
Metung Yacht Club commodore Peter Kanat is looking forward to welcoming a world-class line-up of sailors to Metung.
An invitational race will be hosted by Metung Yacht Club this Friday, with the 2025 Championship regatta getting underway on Saturday under the supervision of race officers Ross and Kevin Wilson.
The brothers have experience with Metung’s conditions – they officiated in 2022, the last time Metung hosted the Australian championship.
In 2022 the championship was won by Tango, helmed by Chris Hampton and crewed by Sam Haines and Cam Miles.
Hampton is full of praise for the venue.
“It’s a great venue, it’s our favourite sailing destination anywhere in the world,” Hampton said.
Current world and Australian champion, Graeme Taylor, will bring Magpie to Metung for this championship regatta and he will be joined by longtime crew mate James Mayo.
Their third crew for this regatta is Ben Lamb, who sailed with John Bertrand in 2018 when they took out Grand Master status in the World Championship.
The competitors in the event will be a mix of mature and youth sailors, with sailors aged 13 to mid-30s across several yachts.
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Many of these young sailors have benefited from the expertise among the more mature fleet, who include ocean and bay sailors with some renown themselves.
Sam King is on board Toby Richardson’s yacht, Jindivik. Richardson and King sail together regularly and are bringing on board 2017 Victorian Junior Sailor of the Year, Michael Parks, for this regatta.
Local youth sailors include Jack Abbott and James McLennan.
Abbott was the helm and McLennan was one of the crew of Ireland Girl which won the Victorian championship earlier this year on Lake King.
Abbott and McLennan return in Martin Hill’s Lisa Rose, sailing with Tom Trotman and Xavier Winston-Smith, as part of a dedicated campaign for the 2025 World championship regatta.
HillPDA Sailing Team is supporting a youth team with the aim of increasing participation at the upcoming World Championship and within the class.
Hill has also founded the Club Corinthian – For the Love of Sailing program, introduced by the Australian Etchells Fleet this season, specifically out of the Royal Sydney Yacht Squadron, to celebrate amateur and youth sailors participating in competitive fleet racing.
Club Corinthian is an initiative to specifically highlighted and supporting the efforts of amateur and youth sailors on the world stage.
Hill’s overall goal is to promote youth sailing and provide a pathway to encourage more Corinthians into club racing.
Corinthian sailors, which includes youth, are very much enthusiasts, and their attendance at all regattas, big and small, is driven by the love of the sport.
“I gave the challenge to Jack Abbott to form a competitive youth team for the Melbourne Worlds in 2025 and he took it up with zeal,” Hill said.
Jack Abbott grew up sailing the Gippsland Lakes, under the tutelage of his father, Nigel, a world champion himself.
“Martin Hill is heavily supporting our campaign and has given us the opportunity to further our Etchells journey. We are being guided by legends in the class,” Abbott said.
Stephen Bull, skipper of Come Monday, and Vice Commodore of Metung Yacht Club, said the racing conditions on Lake King would challenge the best sailors.
“Lake King throws up variable wind conditions and sea states, the winds fluctuate a lot, both in direction and pressure, and the sea can be quite flat or quite choppy, depending on wind direction and strength but good sailors always adapt to varying conditions,” Bull said.