The 2021 Australian Para Sailing Championships in the SKUD 18, along with the SKUD 18 Australian Open Championships, will be held as part of the Queensland Hansa Class Championships at Southport Yacht Club from 8-10 October.

Open fleet racing in the SKUD 18, Liberty, Hansa 303 and Hansa 2.3 classes will be conducted over three days, with the scores of SKUD 18 teams that include eligible para sailors extracted to decide the Para Sailing Championship winners.

With Sail Melbourne cancelled due to Covid this year, the Para Sailing Championships for the Hansa 303 One and Two Person were held in conjunction with the Hansa Nationals in Canberra at Easter. The second part of the Para Sailing Championships will be the SKUD 18 competition being held in conjunction with the open fleet competition in October.

Ross Manning, 2019 SKUD 18 Para Sailing Champion and leader of the Queensland Para Sailing Academy based at SYC’s Hollywell facility, is looking forward to the regatta at his home club.

“We are hoping to attract a fleet of up to fifteen SKUDs from four States and as many Hansa 303s. If conditions permit, the SKUD 18s will race offshore and the smaller boats will race on the Broadwater,” he said.

The 2021 Australian Para Sailing Championships in the SKUD 18 will be held at Southport Yacht Club in October (David Staley photo)

Other Para Sailing activities schedule before and during the regatta are:

· Para Classification on 7 & 8 October – Register Here

· Para Sailing Forum on 8 October after racing

2021 is the commencement of the period when all existing para-classifications need to be reviewed. In most cases, para-classifications will remain valid until 2024. There is no fee for para-classification.

We ask that all athletes interested in the above activities register at the earliest opportunity.

Australian Sailing President, Daniel Belcher, said “Australian Sailing is pleased to be sanctioning annual Australian Para Sailing Championships as part of the sport’s inclusive competition pathway.”

The event webpage is now live with essential information such as the Notice of Race and Online Entry links – Click Here