ASHLEE & BRAYDEN DAUNT READ MORE ►p.58 HAYDEN BARNEY: SCHOOLS RQYS sailors from Moreton Bay College, Iona College and The Southport School travelled to Goolwa, SA, in 2024 for the Australian Secondary Schools Teams Racing Championship. “The majority of the Queensland-based school sailors are RQYS Members and attend regular training and racing,” Hayden said. “It was a great event with some of the most competitive racing in the coldest Australian temperatures. The secondary school sailing system comprises students from Years 7-12 racing in Pacers without spinnakers. It makes for some of the best learning environments for junior sailors, who are paired with senior school skippers. Throughout the four-day event, the 22 teams completed close to 300 races, including finals. Iona was the top-placing Queensland school (4th) and Moreton Bay (19th) brought home the 3rd Female Team position, qualifying for the Teams Sailing Interdominions at Royal Akarana Yacht Club in NZ. A great event and I look forward to sharing many insights with Squadron coaching groups.” JORDAN BARNEY “I had the privilege of training for and competing in the OK Dinghy Nationals and Worlds alongside the Queensland team, and I was met with open arms from the squad and Ok Dinghy community, attending many of their training sessions and getting all the tips and tricks from highly-experienced sailors from across Australia and the world. Many of the class’s greats helped with my boat set-up, and this goes to show the kindness and welcoming nature of the team we have at RQYS. “With the help of the Queensland OK Dinghy Association I was given “Joan’s Respite” which has competed in many past world championships and was the perfect boat to get me through the challenging conditions we were able to experience. It was awesome to experience close racing in a large fleet and how my tactics needed to change to better suit the conditions and the racing style of the class. I finished with the 1st Youth Sailor in the Nationals and Worlds with an overall position of 47th Gold fleet (Nationals) and 7th Silver fleet (Worlds).” SAMMIE COSTIN Sammie (previously featured in recent Mainsheet editions) is back on track after having a break for six months following shoulder surgery, and has LA 2028 firmly in her renewed sights. After qualifying for the Australian Women’s IQFoil division for the Paris Olympics — and narrowly missing out on selection! — Sammie is full-steam ahead with a big European campaign planned for 2025, but is starting down here at the other end of the world with the NZ National Championships in Auckland before heading to Europe. HARRY, WILBUR & RUBY Too late for the previous Mainsheet, this trio of RQYS ILCA4 Youth Squad sailors competed in the East Coast Championships on the Georges River in Sydney in December 2023. Day 1 proved quite challenging, contending with oscillating west to sou’westerlies of 6-8kn fighting a 2-3kn current, but Harry gave a near-perfect performance, coming away with two bullets, Ruby close behind with a 2nd and 3rd, and Wilbur with a 6th and 8th, after getting bounced around just a bit on the starts. Day 2 was windless but Day 3 saw a big improvement and an early start with 12-15kn sou’westerlies gusting 17kn. Harry was consistent, Wilbur found his sweet spot and Ruby came home strong. At racing’s end, RQYS came away with a clean sweep on the podium: Harry 1st, Wilbur 2nd and Ruby 3rd (as well as 1st Female) and, as proud RQYS representatives, they stayed strong as a team throughout the regatta! RORY MEEHAN Rory certainly demonstrated his prowess over the past year, competing in prestigious international events, his top three results speaking to his dedication and skill. In the IQFoil Youth & Junior European Championships (at Embrun, France in July), he scored 5th in this highly competitive international regatta, against the best youth sailors from around the world. At the Princess Sofia Regatta (Palma, Spain; March), Rory competed in his first International Olympic-class regatta, placing 62nd overall, coming in 2nd place of the Australian competitors. “We did five days’ training with the squad and our coach Tom Squires to get familiar with local conditions … Beach launching with high surf and lots of seaweed proved challenging and took a good bit of getting used to, but I learned a lot, invaluable for future years and my drive towards LA 2028.” HARRY HOGAN, WILBUR BRIGHT & RUBY CARTER RORY MEEHAN JORDAN BARNEY SAMMIE COSTIN ASHLEE & BRAYDEN DAUNT SCHOOLS @ RQYS
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