BRISBANE BLOG 3:

Mulder-lite.  A local brew best served up breezy

You know that you are at a top class event, when with 3 weeks to go until a World Championships kicks off, the big worry for the organisers is the lack of rain to turn the grass outside the sailing club green because “it looks so much prettier then”.

The ever present scorching sun that has baked the lawn in front of the Royal Queensland Yacht Squadron to a crispy brown is just one headache for event organiser Suellen Hurling. Her other issue is the traditional reticence of competitors to register early. Currently, Suellen’s master list has 60 paid up entries, though there is hope that as the big day draws near, more local Contender owners will commit to attending the Championship, with sailors in other classes now looking at the availability of competitive boats that would allow them to enter. The final numbers are in line with predictions from the organisers, although they are only just 50% of the numbers that the class can attract at a top European location. It is easy to explain the difference as just another outcome of the global credit crunch, as getting boat, gear and helm around to the far side of the world is far from cheap. However, those that make the effort will be rewarded with a tightly run championship is a location that has to be considered in the same league as top sailing spots such as Lake Garda.

Although not as big as recent fleets at European Contender events, the upcoming Contender Worlds, the 40^th in the history of the class, is lacking nothing in the quality of the competition. Even with a number of the big gun previous winners of the event choosing to stay at home for Christmas, the competition will be intense at the front of the fleet. Odds on favourite to take the Championships for an incredible 8^th time has to be the current holder of the title, Italian ace Andrea Bonezzi. Andrea grew up sailing in the strong thermal breezes on the Italian lakes, so is unlikely to be fazed by the brisk sea breezes expected at Brisbane. As usual, Andrea will be sailing one of the immaculate cold moulded wooden boats built by his father Vito. These beautiful boats may be seen by many as a pre-requisite for winning boat speed, but Australians are not lacking in the belief that they can do things better their own way. The Australian built, all glass Dinghy Sports package is looking as if it could be very competition in the bouncy conditions that are so much a feature of Moreton Bay.

Andrea, as reigning Champion, may appear to have the advantage but the local conditions have thrown up unexpected winners in the past. Other top European title contenders will undoubtedly include Germany’s Christoph Homeier, who is a known threat in breezy conditions and Dane Lars Bo Rasmussen. For once, none of the British ex-World Champions will be attending, but they are more than made up for by Highcliffe’s Simon Mussell, an acknowledged  flyer when the going gets tough.

The Royal Queensland Yacht Squadron is one of the top Contender locations, as this is their third hosting of the event (only Medemblik has held more) yet amazing an Australian sailor has never taken the title here.

When the event was held at Brisbane in 1988, it was won by Brit Steve Daniel. One of the Aussie sailors he beat on his way to the title was Steve Grimes, who is just one of a large contingent of ‘local’ sailors competing this time around. Based on recent international form, the best hope for a home win would appear to be with Jono Neate, who has been busy building up the big race experience, both at home and abroad, that is so necessary to compete for the top prize. Geoff Fisher and Chris Sutherland both have proven boat speed, but the real hot ‘white hope’ for the host club has to be local Matt Mulder. Matt, who has shed some 20 kilos to get down to a fighting weight inside the magic 100 kilo mark, has been busy developing his own breed of power sailing, that allows him to crash upwind through the steep but short seas, work the boat effectively downwind and yet hold things together when the conditions get seriously bouncy – as they can when the stiff nor-easters meet the strong ebb tides found out in the bay.

Top local Contender sailor Matt Mulder may have gone slimline compared to last year, but he still packs the power to drive his boat to the max in the brisk Brisbane conditions. If the strong winds blow, then Matt could be very much one of the front runners for the event, despite compromising his own preparations to ensure that the planning for the Championships runs smoothly.

Photo courtesy Suellen Hurling.

Watching the club sailing at the weekend, Matt looked in imposing form and a top class result for him here would be nothing sort of fully deserved, given the time and effort he has been putting in both afloat and ashore. As the driving force behind the event, Matt has worked tirelessly to ensure that the Class’s 40^th Worlds are a great success, maybe he can top that with personal success for himself.

David Henshall

Bearfacemedia/Royal Queensland Yacht Squadron, Manly