I’d like to start with a massive thank you to the Ron Tough Foundation for all the support I have received throughout my sailing journey. This support has not only made me a better sailor but it has also helped me being able to compete in bigger regattas overseas.
Australian Nationals
2025 started with the Australian O’pen Skiff National titles in Mordialloc, Victoria in January. We had one day to train after getting our charter boats but sadly we were not allowed on the water due to gale force winds. Fortunately the remainder of the regatta had excellent varied conditions through-out. The yacht club was fantastic and had a real country easy going vibe and the regatta was run perfectly.
To make things interesting Oliver Tiedemann from New Zealand made the trip over. He pipped me at the 2024 Worlds in Lake Garda coming 4th overall. I was looking forward to the Challenge ahead.
The regatta consisted of 16 races with a mix of wind strengths and direction. I had a very successful regatta winning 13 races, but was pushed all the way by some great sailors. I learnt some valuable technical rules from the umpires.
I am happy I was able to defend last years title and I am looking forward to competing next year in Manly, Sydney.
Nishinomiya, Japan.
July 2025
We left our home on Christmas Island on the Friday flight, with the usual delays, getting to bed in Perth at about 3am. Luckily the training, that the WA O’pen Skiff crew had organised for the sailors
going to the worlds, was not until the Saturday afternoon. We were lucky enough to have Will Drew and coaching us. I sailed Saturday and Sunday afternoon before flying out to Japan Sunday evening. It was great to dust the cobwebs off and get a feel for the boat again after not sailing for some time.
We flew via Hong Kong, and on the second leg of the journey to Japan I started to feel very ill. By the next day Dad and Myself were both feeling awful. We had caught something bad with extreme fever and chills. There was nine days before the start of the worlds, that was supposed to be a short holiday, to get better. The worst of it was over around day 5, but I still had a cough and snot during the two training days prior to the regatta. Luckily I was feeling mostly over it by race One.
The Venue for the Worlds was Nishinomiya harbour which is a large shipping harbour adjacent to the famous man made Island
Airport, Kansai International Airport, and near Osaka. The Harbour was surrounded on most sides by concrete seawalls and Tsunami walls. The exception being on the direction of the
prevailing onshore winds, were there are no barriers, allowing for a lot of choppy water and waves to enter the race area. It always felt rougher than it should have for the amount of wind.
We arrived at the venue a few days before the regatta started to get familiar with the venue. Thanks to Mike, an Australian living in Japan with his Japanese kids- Koa and Haku, I was given a chance to get out on the water briefly. We got to know Mike
and his family at the 2023 Worlds in Rimini, Italy. It was very windy, 20+ knots, and there were large waves. This looked promising for the regatta as by all accounts it was supposed to be a light
wind regatta.
I had two more days before the invitation race to train with the other 10 Australian team mates. We were coached by Breanne Wadley and Aiden Hodzic. They were fantastic and helped through-out the regatta. The first training day was very light and the other was pretty windy again. It was a good hit-out leading in to the event.
More than 10 countries competed over the 5 day regatta with a maximum of three races allowed per day. This was the first year of the O’pen Skiff World Championships were a limit was set on the amount of competitors. Sailors generally had to qualify to represent their countries.
The invitation race was sailed in about 18 Kts of wind. It was good to get a feel for the course and how the umpires adjudicate. That evening the opening ceremony was held, it was good fun. We walked to a temple and watched a traditional ceremony where we were blessed with good luck for the regatta. It was very cool to be around all the competitors from different countries and catch up with friends I had met in past regattas.
The following day the regatta began. It was very windy, around 18kts again, and got windier each race. I finished the day with a 2nd, 1st, 1st result which I was very happy with. A Hawaiian friend, Lucas Doran who I met last year at the Lake Garda Worlds, was coming second with a 3rd, 2nd, 2nd. There was no room for a bad result.
The next day we had another three races, it was windy again. Well it looked windy, but in the first two races the wind was actually really fluffy. Maybe it was caused by the hot and humid conditions. Thankfully the wind in the last race filled in to around 18kts again. I finished with a 1st, 11th, 1st result. I learnt in the second race that it’s a good idea to stay clear of all boats at the top mark because I got caught-up in the mark rounding chaos and couldn’t catch up.
Day three the wind was fickle and lighter, about 8-12kts. There was lots of chop and backwash from the tsunami walls making it hard to sail in. The wind gradually filled in to around 15 kts in the last race. I finished with a 1st, 12th, 1st. The pin end in the second race was very favoured with a late wind shift that I didn’t pick and then to make things worse I missed the shift up the first leg. It took the rest of the race to try and catch up.
Day four was sailed in light to moderate sloppy conditions and was extremely tricky to sail in. I was constantly on the edge of hiking, then sitting in on the boat, so I had to be constantly moving in and out without rocking the sail too much. I finished the day with a very satisfying 5th, 1st, 1st result.
I woke on day five knowing I had already won the regatta. The wind was lighter again around 5-8 kts all day. I went out with the mind set of finishing the regatta as strongly as I could. I finished the day with a 3rd, 3rd and in the last race a very enjoyable and proud 1st. Dad had managed to be on the support boat and swam over to congratulate me after the last race and help with the Aussie flag. I couldn’t believe it, I had just won the O’pen Skiff World Championships.
As the wind in the regatta lightened day by day the lighter sailors, especially the Japanese boys, became more of a threat each race and the bigger sailors started to struggle a bit. I was very proud that I had a very consistent regatta in all conditions winning 9 of the 15 races. It was a fantastic regatta with some very tricky conditions and some really fun windy conditions. The other sailors were extremely good and kept me working hard right up to the finish line.
We really enjoyed our time in Japan, regardless of the heat and tsunami warning, and would love to return one day, in winter this time, for some snow boarding. In the end I had a great time and made many new friends. I would like to thank my parents and all the coaches that have helped me during this event and over the years. Once again I would like to thank the Ron Tough Foundation for their financial support and encouragement.
Thank you.