Edward Jukes, Charlie Chidlow and Theo Altson represented RBYC over the long weekend participating in their first Optimist State Championships after progressing through the Tackers Program at RBYC and now sailing in the GreenFleet on Sunday afternoons building their skills and experience.
There were 70 young Optimist Sailors that converged on Sandringham Yacht Club from clubs around Vicotria as well as NSW and South Australian to battle it out for the Title. They were greeted with intense 35 degree heat each day as well as strong Northerly winds which tested them to the limit.
The boys from RBYC did amazing in the big winds in their first States sailing in the GreenFleet.
Edward Jukes finished in 6th position overall and his highlight was a Race win in Race 7. Theo Altson finished 9th overall with his highlight being a 2nd in race 3. Charlie Chidlow finished 11th overall and sailed his first ever boat “Wild Thing” which was purchased a day before the regatta demonstrating his commitment to long term Opti Fun.
The boys had a great weekend hanging out, swimming and pier jumping between races and having a lot of fun meeting many new friends.
It is great to see how they have progressed over the year. If you have or know kids who want to have fun and play around in boats you can clearly see a pathway through sailing Optimist at RBYC through the Tackers program, then into GreenFleet allowing them to have a crack at a State Championships.
Contact the sailing office if you are interested in your Kids joining Tackers and progressing to GreenFleet.
Brendon Jukes
