Tweed crews set sail for state championships
SKIPPERS Monique Smith and Alison Blatcher will spearhead a determined Tweed Valley Sailing Club assault at the Queensland State Sailing Championships this weekend.
Smith will be joined by crewmates Kate Yeoman and Matt Andrews while Blatcher will sail with Dave Chester and Karen Vidler in the corsair class state titles at Lake Cootharaba, north of Brisbane.
Club-mates Adam Hurt, Lex Branch, Michael Mills and Tim Brown will also take part in the two-day event, lining up in the impulse class state titles.
Sailing club commodore Bill Fenelon said the Tweed sailors, in particular Smith, were expected to do well.
"Monique learnt to sail with Tweed Valley Sailing Club. She recently acquired a very good boat, has assembled a crew top heavy with sailing talent and will definitely be a front-runner," he said.
"The club is hoping to see a good result.
"Also competing are four very talented sailors in the single-handed impulse class dinghy and we expect a good result from those boats."
While those club members will be chasing success at the state titles, the remainder of the fleet will take to the Tweed River at Fingal on Sunday for the fourth round of the handicapped Summer Pointscore Series.
The event will also serve as the third round of the club's NS14 and laser class championships.
Fenelon, who with crew member Sienna Pullen is currently third in the NS14 class, is hoping to close the gap on class leader Glen Slight and Kynan Luescher.
Fenelon said organisers were expecting a sizeable fleet to line up for the regatta.
"We're averaging about 20 boats," he said.
"It's a fantastic spectacle. People can get closer to the boats than at most yacht race. They can sit anywhere along the grass there at Fingal and the boats will come within inches of them."
Racing is set to commence at Fingal at 1pm on Sunday.