The recent Open Skiff World Titles were held on Lake Carcans, located near Maubuisson, Southern France.

There was a good representation from Australia, with 9 sailors, 3 of which are based in Queensland.

There were some challenging conditions during the regatta as Europe was experiencing an extreme heat wave, which meant most days the average temperature was 36 to 40 degrees. The sun didn’t set until around 10pm, so racing normally started around 2 o’clock and finished at around 6 to 7pm. With a range of wind strengths throughout the regatta it was great for all sailors.

The Aussie team had the amazing opportunity of having Chris Nicholson as the team coach during the regatta. There was a large fleet with representatives from a diverse range of countries with 238 competitors in total.

We are all very proud of our Aussie team. We had two sailors in the under 17s team with Ollie Ross placing 30th overall and Josh Golinski placing 44th. In the under 15s fleet Grace Golinski placed 148th, Connor Harris placed 70th, Russel Harris 68th, Banjo Nicholson 51st, Sophie Drummond 40th, Corrado Dorrington 34th and Addison Newlan 22nd.

It was a great effort from all sailors and an experience they will never forget. 

Article by Addy Newlan