Although it may seem as though warmer weather is a long way off, the reality is that the new sailing season is not that far away. During the off season, a few developments have occurred at a National Level.
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The Notice of Race for the 43rd Mirror Class National Titles have been posted by Balmoral Sailing Club in Sydney, NSW. For a copy of the notice of Race
Click Here
- In other announcements, Albany in WA is to host the 2011 World Mirror Sailing Championships, conducted by Princess Royal Sailing Club.
For those who think that 2011 is too far over the horizon, The next Mirror World Championships are scheduled to be held at Pwllheli (Wales), U.K. from 23 July to 1 August, 2009. So for those that haven't alrerady started, now is a good time as any to start thinking about the coming season and what your plans will be.
With the depth of talent that is evident in our Mirror fleet, participation in both the National Titles at Balmoral,and next World Titles in Wales are events that should be considered seriously. To participate in such events is not only great fun, but also offers the opportunity to learn and gain experiences in sailing that are often difficult to obtain when sailing in smaller fleets.
So what have you been up to over the winter break? Some sailors may have been have been getting stuck into some required maintenance of their boats, playing around with their rig set up or ordering a new set of sails for the coming season and planning a campaign trail for the coming year(s).
For those not inclined to do such things during the cooler months, you can keep up to date with Mirror and other sailing related information through our LINKS page on this web site. Here you will find other State Associations, International Mirror Sites, Sailing Bodies and other information.
There are also links to a number of Mirror related books, both local publications, and some from overseas. Amongst them are two more recent publications which may be of interest to some.
The 2008 State Titles have been held at Deviot Yacht Club on the Tamar River in the north of the state. Light winds and strong tides allowed for six races to be completed over the duration of the event.
The overall title was won convincingly by Jessie Atherton and Katherine Maher in Kamikaze. Six straight wins in tricky conditions made them both deserved winners. Simon and Joshua Baker in Dirty Deeds were awarded the title of Junior State Champion. While Kyle and Callan Robinson took out the Sub Junior title with their mirror In The Green.
It is interesting to note that 3 of the first four boats in the overall championship were helmed by our younger skippers. Fizz which was helmed by Robert Hunt finished in second position overall. Robert would potentially be a sub junior / junior competitor if he was able to team up with a crew that met the required age criteria.....maybe there is a requirement for a third mirror in the Hunt Family Fleet!
Another observation is that the first nine boats (over half of the fleet) were able to produce performances where they finished in the top 3 of any one heat. This is a good indication that the racing is at a close standard, and that sailors should not be discouraged if their final result was further down the fleet or not what they had hoped for. Many would have the ability to be consistently at the top of the fleet with a little more practice and persistence.
For Result Tables, Click here.
PLEASE: email this seasons pics to the Webmaster !
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NOR 2009 Nationals: