Young sailors dominate at Nationals
During the recent Mirror Dinghy National Titles raced at Henley Beach in Adelaide, Connell's Point Sailing Club members dominated the top of the fleet.
Emily Roberts, 10, crewed for Adelaide local Damian Carey, who successfully defended his national title.
Young Sailors with their with trophies (L-R): Annabelle Branch, Luke Roberts, Emily Roberts, Ben Roberts, Phoebe Branch, Hayley Roberts - Credit John Veage/St George & Sutherland Shire Leader
Her brother, Luke Roberts, 13, placed second with his skipper Douglas Raftesath and local father-daughter duo Jon and Phoebe Branch,13, placed in third.
The racing was close with the each of the top three boats winning race heats during the course of the regatta.
The top female skipper was mother-daughter duo Karen and Annabelle (13) Branch, who placed in fourth.
Other Connell's Point Sailing Club members placed in the top 10, with Ben Roberts and Charlotte Raftesath in sixth and Hayley Roberts, who sailed with her mother Sarah in ninth .
Hayley was one of only two eight-year-olds to participate in the event.
Mirror dinghies are a popular boat for teen and parent/child combinations, and female participation is growing each year, with over 40% of competitors being women or young girls.
The Mirror is a small sailing dinghy (10 foot 10 inches) which is perfect for parents and kids to sail together, or kids to learn to sail.
It is raced competitively at club, state, national and world levels.
Several Connells Point crews are heading to the World Titles in August this year, they are held biennially, with this year's regatta in Ireland being the first since 2019 due to Covid-19.
Competitors are expected to attend from Australia, England, South Africa, Japan and the Netherlands. The fleet will comprise top Mirror sailors from these countries, including prior world champions and ex-Olympians.
Jon and Phoebe Branch will be looking to improve on their 10th placing at the previous World Titles with some of the other CPSC juniors representing Australia for the first time.
Roberts and Raftesath - Credit John Veage/St George & Sutherland Shire Leader
The Branch family were also successful at the Weta Trimaran National Titles in Victoria, with Jon and Annabelle Branch winning the regatta, and fellow Connell's Point sailor Keith Chidzey and Phoebe placing second.
Another Connell's Point teen sailor had success at the 420 National Titles, also held in Victoria in early January .
Elia Sellers placed sixth in a highly competitive fleet ,the 420's are a feeder class for the Olympic 470 dinghy.
Connell's Point Sailing Club's social sailing, training and racing programs have produced many top ranking sailors for 85 years. Any learn to sail enquiries can be directed to discoversailing.cpsc@gmail.com.
