Blind Sailing Australia

2008 Australian Blind Sailing Championships
Albury-Wodonga Yacht Club
17th – 19th October 2008

The Organising Authority is the Albury-Wodonga Yacht Club
in conjunction with the Noelex Yacht Association of Australia and Noelex Yacht Squadron Inc.

The Inaugural Australian Blind Sailing Championships were hosted by the Albury-Wodonga Yacht Club from 17th – 19th October. Sailed in a club member supplied fleet of Noelex 25s the Championships were supported by the Noelex Yacht Association of Australia and Noelex Yacht Squadron.

The event was conducted in the Blind Sailing International integrated fleet racing format. Crews are made up of two blind or vision impaired sailors (helm & mainsheet trimmer) and two sighted sailors (headsail trimmer & a tactician who cannot operate any equipment) with divisions for B1, B2 and B3 vision-classified helms. AWYC Noelex owners made up the final member of each crew.

While the number of competing teams was small, the Championships were well organised by the Club and nine races were conducted over two warm sunny days with favourable breezes.

Experienced blind sailor, Paul Borg from Victoria’s Gippsland Lakes Yacht Club, aided by crew Jane Bellamy (main) and Morgan Staley (tactician), posted a clear win in the overall competition. They finished 6 points clear of Joan Andrews (Albert Park Yacht Club – VIC) sailing with Roy Jewel and Terry Caldwell.

There was only 1 point between the 3rd and 4th placed teams. Anthony Fowler (Sailability Rushcutters Bay – NSW), with crew Don Scott and Julian Clements, held out the South Australian team of Peter Aspinall (Adelaide Sailing Club), Michael Zannis and Bob Schahinger.

Division winners were:
B1 Division - Joan Andrew, Roy Jewel and Terry Caldwell (VIC)
B2 Division - Anthony Fowler, Don Scott and Julian Clements (NSW)
B3 Division - Paul Borg, Jane Bellamy and Morgan Staley (VIC)

Racing conditions were excellent, with consistent 5-12 knot breezes allowing groups of 30-45 minutes heats to be sailed back to back before crews changed over into the next provided boat. Nine races were completed over the two days.

The Championships were an opportunity to identify and prepare teams for the IFDS Blind Sailing World Championships, being held in Rotorua, New Zealand from 13-21 March next year.

While blind and vision impaired sailors from three States were gathered together in one place, plans were also hatched to formally incorporate an Australian Blind Sailing organisation to help grow participation, provide avenues for skill development, and support teams competing at an international level. It is hoped that the new organisation will promote the Australian Blind Sailing Championships as a regular annual event.

IFDS 2009 Blind Sailing World Championships

New Zealand will host the 2009 IFDS World Blind Sailing Championships from March 12 – 21, 2009. Being sailed on Lake Rotorua in the central North Island, these World Championships will bring together blind and vision impaired sailors and their sighted support crews from around the world to compete in this prestigious international event.

In the heart of New Zealand’s thermal district, Rotorua offers a wide range of activities for visitors. A variety of accommodation types are on offer to suit all needs and budgets.

A fleet of Noelex 25 trailable yachts will be supplied for the event that will be sailed using the Blind Sailing International integrated fleet racing format. It is anticipated that up to 30 crews from 10 countries will participate across the three divisions.

Organisers are now seeking expressions of interest from international teams. To register your interest, and ensure you are kept up to date about the event, email info@2009worldblindsailingnz.com.

The event website www.2009worldblindsailingnz.com is the place to visit for all the event details. The Provisional Notice of Race and a range of information is now posted and this will be progressively updated with new information as the competition draws nearer.

Homerus International 2008

A word from our Australian Skipper Kylie Forth

Hi everyone

The Australian Blind Sailing team consisting of my crew Ryan Honschooten and myself have recently returned from the Homerus International Match-Race Championships for Blind People, and we are delighted to bring back fourth place in this competition. After the hurried formation of our team just three months before last year’s championships, which was my first as Skipper and Ryan’s first as crew, we were determined to improve on our eighth placing in that event. Consequently, we embarked on an intensive, year-long training program with audible buoys so that we could prepare ourselves mentally and physically for the event.

We began this year’s competition ranked ninth of the nine teams competing. However, winning four of our seven races moved us five places up the ladder. At the beginning of the final day of racing we were ranked fifth below Spain 2, who were said to hold a guaranteed fourth place, but our success in our final two races enabled us to swap places with them. It was a challenging but rewarding four days of racing as we set ourselves against the best blind match-racers in the world, and we have learnt many valuable lessons which will assist us in future competitions. We are very happy with our results in this regatta, and we are determined to improve our rank once again in next year’s championships.

Thanks to the support of our club Royal Perth Yacht Club, to Sailability WA and the Royal Perth Yacht Club Charitable Trust throughout our preparation for this championships. Thanks also to our sponsors: the Blind Sporting Council, Association for the Blind of WA, Goldform Holdings Pty. Ltd and Platform Shoes (Gosnells Markets). Without your generous support we would have been unable to finance the trip. Our most sincere thanks to Tim Brand of Royal Perth Yacht Club who lent us his boat without charge, and to the Rotary Club of Perth, who funded and organised the manufacture of the set of audible buoys we have been using for training purposes. The use of this specialised equipment meant that we were much more prepared for the competition than some other teams, and we were able to begin racing feeling mentally prepared for the challenge ahead. Finally, we would like to thank our coach Brad Knight and team manager Sally Wynn who not only ensured that we received intensive training in the months leading up to the regatta, but provided sighted and moral support during the championships. We would not have been able to do it without them.

Thanks also for your messages of support, encouragement and congratulations while we were away. They were greatly appreciated and it helped us to know that we had so many people barracking for our success.

Our next challenge is the World Blind Sailing Championships in Rotorua New Zealand next March. In this integrated fleet-racing event we will team up with two sighted crew members, who will help us to navigate through the larger fleet of competitors. While this event will not use the audible buoys favoured by Homerus, our participation in this event will give us invaluable experience which will improve our independent sailing. It will also provide us with an opportunity to experience a form of blind sailing which promotes inclusion and integration of all sailors. This will assist us to introduce more people with vision impairments to sailing in Australia, and eventually to increase Australia’s representation at international championships. .

We look forward to giving you the next update regarding our team’s endeavours.

Kind regards

Kylie Forth and Ryan Honschooten

Australian Blind Sailing Team

New Zealand sailor Paulien Eitjes has won back to back titles in the Homerus International Blind Match Racing Championship, this year sailed at Sulzano on Lake Iseo, Italy.

Racing commenced on Thursday, October 2 with three teams entering from Italy, two from Spain and one each from Australia, New Zealand, Israel and the USA.

Sailors competing in this event must be IBSA classified B1 or B2 – legally blind. The championships are sailed in two identical Nitek keelboats by a two person crew with a sighted observer on board. Three "beeping buoys", each with a unique signal, set out the course and each boat has its own sound signal that changes when on port or starboard tack.

Eitjes (NZL), sailing with experienced Italian crew Alberto Prudenzano was favourite for the event, having claimed a startling victory on debut at last years championship in Palermo. Luigi Bartanza & Elisabetta Bardella (ITA2) were the most experienced Italian combination, both having been in the medals during previous events. The Australian pairing of Kylie Forth and Ryan Honschooten, both from Perth in Western Australia, had lost all their races in last years event but had trained hard during the year with the aim of improving their place on the leader board.

The weather on day one was difficult - cold and misty with a light 2-4 knot breeze. Eitjes/Prudenzano (NZL) had a convincing first race win over Israeli/Rosenzveig (ISR) to stamp their authority on the event. They backed it up with another win later in the day but Bertanza/Bardella (ITA2) also took two wins. There were cheers all round when Forth/Honschooten (AUS) defeated Pesaresi/Malerba (ITA3) in race 3 to record their first win in international competition. Later in the day, after freezing in the transfer boat waiting for the breeze to steady, the Australians were beaten by Parente/Malipiero (ITA1) but went on to defeat Israeli/Rosenzveig (ISR) with the boat speed to overcome a port/starboard penalty incurred at the start.

Day two was cut short by the arrival of a 25 knot squall, sending everyone scurrying for shore, but Eitjes/Prudenzano (NZL), Israeli/Rosenzveig (ISR), Bertanza/Bardella (ITA2) & Bersani/Bisio (USA) all recorded wins. Halfway through the event, Eitjes/Prudenzano (NZL) and Bertanza/Bardella (ITA2) shared the lead with 3 points and Forth/Honschooten (AUS) were 1 point adrift.

Clear sunny skies and steady breezes enabled organisers to complete 10 races on day three. The leading New Zealand and Italian teams both won their encounters with the Australians, who then lost their heat against Gimeno/Giner (ESP2). Despite this setback, the Aussies sailed two of their best races of the series against quality competition.

On the final day, the light breeze slowly built to 10-15 knots, providing excellent racing conditions. Forth/Honschooten (AUS) won both of their encounters and finished their regatta in dramatic style by having Bersani/Bisio (USA) black flagged before the start. But it was not enough and Gimeno/Giner (ESP2) had sailed more consistently to take third overall.

The final series was sailed between Bertanza/Bardella (ITA2) & Eitjes/Prudenzano (NZL). Heat one was a convincing win to Eitjes, but the Italians came back to win the second. In the last race it was an easy victory for Paulien Eitjes & Alberto Prudenzano to take out the Championship.

After racing, the cheers from the assembled crowd were almost as loud for the Australians as they were for the winners. The 23 year old Kylie Forth, who lost her eyes aged three and who is also an above-knee amputee, is very popular amongst the Homerus competitors and officials.

Now having won two Championships in a row sailing with Italian crews, Paulien Eitjes has proven a determined and skilled sailor who really enjoys the tactical challenges of the match racing discipline. It was a well earned win.

Even while celebrating her win in Sulzano, Eitjes already had her next objective in mind. She is also aiming to record sequential wins in the IFDS Blind Sailing World Championships B2 Division, with the next Worlds being held on Lake Rotorua, New Zealand, in March 2009. Eitjes coach, Gary Smith, will join her crew as tactician for this event as he did for the 2006 Worlds in Rhode Island, USA.

I am sure that people would like to know what’s happening around the country. If you know of participation, development or racing activities that provide opportunities for blind and vision impaired sailors, let us know so we can include details on the website.