Etchells Worlds Championship
Royal London Yacht Club
Cowes, United Kingdom
August 31-September 10th
The International Etchells Class concluded its 2016 World Championship held in Cowes, United Kingdom at the Royal London Yacht Club. The fleet was comprised of 58 Etchells vying for the title of World Champion. The field consisting of 58 boats included 16 Corinthian teams. Nine races were scored over the events six days of racing.
The 2016 World’s Champion is John Bertrand (AUS) representing the Royal Brighton Yacht Club, with a crew of Paul Blowers (GBR) and Ben Lamb (AUS),.
Second place overall for a second year in a row went to Steve Benjamin (USA) representing the Seawanhaka Corinthian Yacht Club, with crew members Michael Menninger, Ian Liberty and George Peet, all of the USA.
Third place was Noel Drennan (AUS), representing the Royal Hong Kong Yacht Club, with crew members Brian Hammersley and Andrew Mills from GBR.
The wet conditions also included a considerable amount of chop with wind speeds averaging 15-20 knots throughout the regatta and 25 knots with gusts of 30 knots on the windiest day.
The large fleet was full of well experienced Etchells veterans and breaking into the top 10 proved challenging. St. Mary’s College of Maryland sailing team alumnus Ian Liberty crewing on the 2nd place finisher and top USA boat, Stephen Benjamin’s Scrimtar and had this to say about the regatta,
Q: What is it like racing in Cowes?
“Cowes is one of those big current venues. There is almost no time between tide changes so you have to stay on top of it and know where it is going to switch first. There a few major underwater features such as banks, shoals and channels on our race course which play a big role in the racing but as always, pressure is the priority and at the end of the day you just have to go with what you can see.”
Q: What things are top boats doing in this regatta in your opinion?
“Start clean, know the current, and be able to sail fast through a wide range of modes. Lanes can be tough to come by so you have to be able to get creative to stick to your plan. With the current being such a big factor, sometimes you have no choice but to live in a bad lane so you just have to find a mode to make it work for a little while. There are also huge opportunities for gains in the high traffic areas so always having a good exit out of the crowded mark roundings is key. We have it easy with Benj because he is such an experienced driver and has great natural instincts on the helm but it is crucial to be able to see the situation developing and talk about the exit strategy well in advance. We also make sure that we are working harder than anyone else before and in between races to gather information and make sure our boat setup is perfect for the conditions.”
Congratulations to John Bertrand and his team on winning the 2016 Etchells Worlds!