Sailors Prepare for Spectacle

Mooloolaba yacht club is buzzing with excitement as 250 sailors prepare for the Saint Malo Etchells Australian Winter Championship.

This is the seventh year of winter Etchells and the event is gaining in popularity with the Etchells World Championship being held in Mooloolaba in July/August 2004.

The programme for this years event starts today at noon local time with the Saint Malo celebrity challenge for sailability. Six yachts will be competing in the river between the wharf and Mooloolaba Yacht Club. Will Kristy MUNRO beat John BERTRAND or will Justin KANE cop a flogging from Joe NATOLI? To assist the celebrities their Etchells will be crewed by a sailor with disabilities and an able-bodied sailor.

On Thursday (5 june) at 7.00pm, John BERTRAND shall be presenting the ‘saint malo a night of sailing – americas cup 2003’, always an entertaining evening for both sailors and the general public. Tickets are available at the yacht club. Friday morning is competitors briefing at 10.00 am and race 1 shall commence at 12 noon.

Saturday morning is an excellent opportunity for the public to see the yachts and the sailors at the free barbeque breakfast, sponsored by advanced sports sunshine coast. The free breakfast commences at 7.00am to 9.00am, and the yachts start departing from 9.00am to 10.00am. Races 3, 4 & 5 start from 11.00am. Sunday at 11.00am is the start of race 6 & 7 and the final race 8 shall start at 10.00am monday. Presentation to the winner shall take place upstairs in the yacht club at 4.00pm on monday (9 june).