SA Laser Nationals
Offshore Durban: 30 April – 3 May
Fifteen year old Megan Robertson from Mossel Bay has just
returned after competing in the recent SA Laser Nationals offshore of Durban.
The hugely talented sailor competed in the 4,7 class finishing fourth overall and was the third lady in the highly competitive division. She finished ahead of highly experienced Frances van Breda who was competing on her home ground.
“The Laser Nationals was hosted at an amazing venue; the
vibe was great and very welcoming. Going into the regatta I knew I was slightly
overweight for the 4.7s but I took a chance because I got told there was a cold
front moving up the coast. It never came.” The beaming, tanned lass stated.
“On the first day I did quite well, finishing the day
lying second overall and still capable of getting into the top spot. Over the
next few days my position dropped with the light winds causing me problems. The
rest of the fleet was smaller and lighter than me and on the water, they moved
quicker.” explained the young Curro pupil.
"Overall I didn’t do too badly, I finished fourth tied
for third. Elsje had more first places than me, so she was awarded the bronze.
But really, the best thing about the regatta has to be the venue, one of my
favourites offshore of Durban.”
The previous week, Robertson competed in a warm up event
in Richards Bay, the KZN Open Provincial Championships and came first there. “I
absolutely loved Richards Bay. Again, the venue and vibe was memorable and the
racing on the courses they set out was great fun. On the one day we got to sail
offshore in heavy winds and big swells, I loved that as offshore sailing is my
thing.”
Asked what she learnt from her week in KZN, she replied,
“At Richards Bay I got taught the lesson of not thinking you are the best and
learn from the more experienced guys sailing. That lesson helped me to win the
regatta at the end of the day. And in Durban my upwind sailing improved
tremendously through big swell and chop in light winds.”
The future star is now challenging herself, moving into
the Radial class, “I'm now getting onto a radial and starting training towards
qualifying for ISAF Youth Worlds. I have a few months to train as the big event
is at the end of the year in Langkawi, an island off Malaysia.”
Results
Standard
1 Rudy McNeill (PYC), 2 Rudolph Holm (AYC), 3 Alistair
Keytel (ZVYC), 4 Colin Dibb (FSC – Australia), 5 Thomas Baumgarti (YCI
–Brazil), 6 Marcello Marcia (VLC), 7 Alan Keen (ZVYC), 8 Trent Bingham (PYC), 9
Campbell Alexander (PYC), 10 Michael McNeill (PYC), 11 Rowen Clark (PYC), 12
Lance Burger (ZVYC), 13 Anthony McMillan (PYC), 14 De-Wet Nel (DYC), 15 Byron
Watt (PYC), 16 Ralph Thomas (ZVYC), 17 Andre Bestha (DYC), 18 Thomas Sutherland
(ZIC), 19 Deon van der Walt (LDYC), 20 Clive Whitburn (VLC), 21 Myles White
(PYC), 22 Nicholas Matter (HMYC), 23 Anthony Arbuthnot (PYC), 24 Andrew Russell
(ZYC), 25 Rob Goulden (PYC), 26 David Curtiss (PYC) 27= Henri Frencken (PYC),
27= Brett Clark (VLC)
Radial
1 Dylan Long (TSC), 2 Calvin Gibbs (IYC), 3 Georgou
Divaris (KYC), 4 Sam Lombaard (PYC), 5 Ruben Heard (ZYC), 6 James Hellstrom
(GLYC), 7 Iliana Boura (VLC), 8 Dominic van der Walt (LDYC), 9 Jethro Brophy
Tintinger (PYC), 10 Damian Muller (DAC), 11 Tyron-Lee De Jager (ZYC), 12 Andrew
Walford (PYC), 13 Ken Holliday (ZVYC), 14 Megan Eccleston (WYC), 15 Peter
Clayton (BSC), 16 Nicholas Forshaw (HMYC), 17 Emma Clark (VLC), 18 Mugammad
Peters (DYC), 19 Ross Gaughran (PYC), 20 Tommy Madoda (DYC), 21 Alison
Bradfield (ZLC), 22 Megan van der Walt (LDYC), 23 Nicola Burger (ZVYC), 24
Matthew Russell (ZYC), 25 Brendan Geraghty (BSC)
4.7
1 Kai Leslie (ZVYC), 2 Sarah-Jane Deary (ZVYC), 3 Elsje
Dijkstra (ZVYC), 4 Megan Robertson (GLYC), 5 Frances Van Breda (PYC), 6 Hannah
Fokkens (ISC), 7 Hannah Tiedt (PYC), 8 Kirsten Clark (VLC), 9 Gen Matter (HMYC)
ENDS
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