During the September school holidays, I was able to attend the Queensland Youth Camp and Championships 2019, hosted by the Keppel Bay Sailing Club in Yeppoon. I left a week early from school so I could participate in the three-day training camp, and three-day regatta. 

I flew to Brisbane on the 19th of September, rigged up my sister’s boat that afternoon and trained with the 4.7 Laser squad at the Royal Queensland Yacht Squadron (RQYS); thanks to coaches Annie Eastgate, Paris van den Herik and Alex Dunston.

On Sunday 22nd of September, with the help and support of the Tonks family, Old Tom (Charlie Tonks 4.7 Laser) and Reckless Rebel (my sisters Laser 4.7) were in tow, and on their way up to Yeppoon. Arriving mid-afternoon, we unloaded the boats and at registration we scored free pineapples! 

Early the next morning, many tired faces emerged, psyching themselves up for fitness at 7:00am, getting everyone pumped up, and energized. Mini circuits focusing on hitting certain parts of the body such as abdominals and cardio, were run by all of the coaches; (I think they had the most fun out of all of us!) This was the routine every morning of the three-day training camp.

When fitness was finished we were greeted by the not so pleasant surprise of a sewage contamination in Keppel Bay. This meant it was not safe for us to launch from the sailing club. To use the time efficiently, while we waited for an update on the sewerage spillage, our coaches dived straight into some theory and nutrition lessons. 

Mitch Kennedy, from the Australian Sailing Team, gave all of the participants a nutritional talk about the food and fluids that sailors should be fueling their bodies. He also went into depth about the windows of time the body absorbs the most energy e.g. thirty minutes after the last race has been completed. After this we spilt off into our class groups, and the Laser 4.7’s and Radials discussed the boat controls and how to use them efficiently. 
The sewerage situation had not improved by lunchtime so we found ourselves trundling down Yeppoon main beach with boats in hand. Thanks to the help of parents, coaches, and friends, all the seven classes (about 80 boats in total), ended up one kilometre down from the club. This is where we stayed for the rest of the training camp. 

When launching into Keppel Bay there was the challenge of the waves. The first launch was one of many launches that would find our boats bumping into each other, filling up and half sinking, capsizing on top of each other, and only just, just getting out of our boats in time before a wave beached us on shore. 

With centerboards in, and fixed rudders finally attached, we headed out on the water. Our amazing coaches George Morton, Conrad and Grant Wilmont, assessed all our abilities on the first day. We did figure of eight drills, and small races so they could gain an understanding of what to focus on throughout the three days. Some of the main things we worked on were starts, boat speed and boat handling. We did many drills including sitters and swoopers, two boat tuning/speed testing, rabbit starts, downwinds, figure of eights into races on the whistle, mini two-minute start races and boat rugby. 

The winds ranged from around seven to fourteen knots, with lots of chop, proving to be very different to the flat waters of Darwin. The training days would usually consist of one morning session starting at 8:00 with a briefing beforehand and ending at 12:30. This was followed by an afternoon session with a briefing and then on the water at 1:00 going through till 3:30. Our boats stayed right up on the dunes at night, as the sewerage contamination stopped us from bring them back to the club. 

The three days of training went be very quickly, but it had been an amazing experience, with lots of new knowledge, concepts and drills to take home. Again, a big thank you to George, Grant, and Conrad. 

 
Day one of racing Thursday 26th, brought the wind and the waves with it, gusting up to 15 knots. The courses were two windward/leeward, with a trapezoid and upwind finish. The big waves and swell meant that there was a lot to be gain when sailing downwind, it was also heaps of fun surfing the waves! There was a total of twenty-five 4.7 Laser competitors. We had two races that day. 

Day two was a lot quieter than the first. The conditions were fairly slight, only six to nine knots, then increased in strength throughout the day. The chop was still persistent, so that was something to be mindful of, as well of storm clouds which dictated small wind shifts and favoured sides. We had a total of four races that day, two in the morning, two in the afternoon. 
Saturday was the third and final day of racing. The conditions were again very similar to the previous day, with light winds, chop, and some small storm clouds. A big effort was put in by all the competitors, race committee, coaches, and other support boats out on the water to complete three races in a row. 
I managed to come 9th overall out of 25 laser 4.7. Huge congratulations to everyone who sailed the regatta, especially Isaac Schotte, Travis Wadley, and Talia Bulstrode, who gain first, second and third respectively. For all results please refer to this link.

 
A special thank you to the Tonks family for accommodating for me, Australian Sailing, Northern Territory coaches Tom Winter and Nick Fewster, and mum and dad, for your ongoing support. 

The Keppel Bay Sailing Club put on an incredible event which brought together a beautiful community of sailors. Many memories were made over the week, that I’m sure all the competitors will remember for years to come. A final thank you to all the Keppel Bay Sailing Club, its staff, members, race officials, coaches, and all of the volunteers for making the week a such a positive experience. 

Rachelle van den Herik