Middle Harbour sailor at Para Sailing Championships

Sailability Middle Harbour's Brett Stevenson has taken on his first major regatta this month.

The Australian Para Sailing Championships were held as part of the Sail Melbourne International Regatta at Royal Brighton Yacht Club during January.  Sailed in conjunction with open fleet racing in the 2.4mR and Liberty classes, the race scores of eligible para sailors were extracted to decide the Australian Para Sailing Champions.  Melbourne served up a range of conditions, starting with very strong winds on the first day taking their toll on equipment and athletes. Days two and three saw moderate to fresh breezes before a blow-out on day four.  To finish the regatta, a gentle breeze enabled three good races.

Brett didn't make the podium for the Australian Para Sailing Championships (Robert Crofts from WA was 1st, Tracey Odiam WA 2nd and Russell Phillips VIC 3rd) but he finished a very respectable 6th out of the open fleet of 9 boats comprising para sailors and non-classified sailors.  It was after all just his second competitive event since coming to sailing.  Over his week in Melbourne, Brett went through the Para Classification process, received coaching from Paralympic Gold Medal Coach Grant Alderson, attended a Para Sailing Forum and met a group of sailors who compete in Para Sailing events around Australia and overseas.

For more information about the regatta, view https://www.sailing.org.au/news/para-sailing-champions-decided-in-melbourne