Maybe cold, but hot racing for Waterloo Cup

Maybe cold, but hot racing for Waterloo Cup

Cold weather and rain arrived for the Waterloo Cup at Royal Queensland Yacht Squadron. 12 teams of Etchells sailors competed on the waters of Moreton Bay. Very happy to see Martin Hill, Matthew Ramaley, Peter Bellingham and Wayne Kirby travel to Brisbane for the Regatta. The conditions on the bay were mild with approximately 12 – 15 knots out of the southeast for most of the regatta, some gusts and sustained breeze nudged 18 - 20 knots on Saturday allowing for some changing of gears for the competitors just to make it interesting.

Waterloo Cup start
Waterloo Cup start

It is without saying that Martin Hill has not lost any of his skills with his team since taking the World Championships in 2018 delivering a clean pair of heels in the regatta with 5 bullets and a pack away for the boat for the last race. A superior effort all round and Lisa Rose was fast upwind as she was downwind. Martin was humble in his winnings and as always, a stalwart supporter of the fleet. Hill PDA has been a terrific sponsor of the Etchells Class in Australia.

2nd place, Matthew Ramaley, Mark Langford, Ashley Deeks
2nd place, AUS 1463, Matthew Ramaley, Mark Langford, Ashley Deeks

A tight tussle played out between Matthew Ramaley and our ever-faithful Noel Patterson. Matt held out Noel by 2 points to take a very well deserved second place with Noel coming in third for the regatta on the podium. Peter Bellingham pushed the teams hard to bring in a close fought forth and was the boat most of the locals were chasing all weekend much to their dismay no one could catch Peter.

3rd place, Waterloo Too, Noel Paterson, Will Thompson, Andrew Wiklund
3rd place, AUS 921, Noel Paterson, Will Thompson, Andrew Wiklund

On Saturday night the Etchells Brisbane fleet does what it does best and that is make everyone feel welcome. The famous mushroom sauce was plentiful at the BBQ supported by close to 50 hungry sailors, volunteers, race committee and friends. A testament to the ongoing comradeship amongst the Etchells fleet in Brisbane.

Thank you to Martin Hill for his kind words and ongoing support of the Etchells community and support of our fleets around the country. Was a wonderful surprise to see RQYS CEO Karen Baldwin supporting Etchells with her role on the race committee boat during Sunday and supporting the presentation of prizes coupled with some welcomed hot chips from the kitchen to warm us all up.

There is nothing better than an Etchells Regatta and we sincerely hope we can build a better and stronger fleet as each regatta comes along. Good luck to all competitors moving on to race the Gold Coast Championship in the clear blue ocean off the best beaches in Australia, The Australasian Winter Championships, and the Coffs Harbour Championship.

Results
See some great videos of the event at RQTV

Author: Martin Sinclair
Fleet Captain, Etchells Brisbane
Waterloo Cup bottom mark
Waterloo Cup bottom mark
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