Sibling rivalry makes waves
TASMANIAN sailing brothers Paul and Tim Burnell will be international rivals in the world championship for the SB20 one-design sport boat class to be sailed on the River Derwent in early January.
Paul, a world champion dinghy sailor as a teenager, will sail The Honey Badger with his teenage sons, Ollie and Toby, and 12-year-old Bailey Fisher, representing Australia in the world championship.
Tim, a prominent yachtsman who until recently was based in the UK, is now back living in Hobart and will sail on British boat Marvel, owned by British sailor Richard Powell.
Tim and Paul teamed up with Powell to contest the Cowes Week SB20 Grand Slam in August, with Paul helming Marvel. They finished a close fifth overall in the international fleet, including winning one race.
In the 2017 world championship, also sailed at Cowes, Marvel placed seventh overall and second for the Corinthian Trophy, but this time without Paul on board.
Last weekend Tim joined Paul on-board The Honey Badger to compete in the BMW Showdown Regatta on the Derwent.
A black flag in race three didn’t help, but against strong local competition they finished seventh in the 26-boat fleet.
“The boat [Marvel] is on its way to Australia and by January I’ll be changing nationalities again and sailing for the Brits,” Tim said.
“I think it’s going to be a great sailing event on the Derwent and I’m looking forward to racing against Paul and his boys.”
A fleet of 64 SB20s is expected to contest the world championship from January 2-11, including 20 boats and crews from overseas. The event is co-hosted by the Royal Yacht Club of Tasmania and the Derwent Sailing Squadron.
Heading the overseas entries will be 2017 world champion Jerry Hill with his boat Sportsboat World.
Hobart’s Michael Cooper, who was runner-up at Cowes in Export Roo, will head the Australian fleet.
A container-load of the overseas SB20s is due in Hobart next week, with entries for the Worlds officially closing on Wednesday.
Early entries include boats from Russia and the Netherlands, with three youth entries also coming from France and one from Ireland to provide competition to the two Hutchins School boats.
At least five predominantly all-women crews are also expected to contest the worlds, with Colleen Darcey, steering Pride of Athena, the topplaced of four female crews in last weekend’s BMW Showdown Regatta.
Honour for Bugg
TASMANIAN Matt Bugg, a silver medallist at the Rio Paralympics, was named Australian Sailor of the Year with a Disability at an awards ceremony in Sydney last week.
The honour capped off a list of immediate past successes, including a second place in the 2.4mR class Para World Sailing championship in Germany in June.
Earlier Bugg had won the Australian 2.4mR championship and was named Tasmanian Athlete of the Year by the Tasmanian Institute of Sport.
He was also part of the Australian Paralympic team that last year won the group Sailor of the Year with a Disability award.
Other Tasmanian finalists vying for the prestigious Australian Sailing Awards of the year were coach Richard Scarr and instructor Greg Rowlings.
Thomas Spithill of New South Wales, was named Coach of the Year, and Kate Hyde of Victoria, was Instructor of the Year.
A lifetime achievement award went to David Kellett for his tireless dedication to participation in sailing, improving the sport’s competitive infrastructure, and service to its administration.
Mr Kellett was vice- president of World Sailing between 1998 and 2008.
The full list of winners in this year’s awards was headed by America’s Cup-winning skipper Glen Ashby, who was named Male Sailor of the Year, and Natasha Bryant and Annie Wilmot, who were named Female Sailors of the Year.
Ashby guided Emirates Team New Zealand to a 7-1 win over Oracle Team USA in the 35th America’s Cup in June, topping a career that included a silver medal at the 2008 Olympics and 15 world championships across three multi-hulled classes.
Bryant and Wilmot were recognised for their outstanding performance in the Youth World Sailing Championships in the 29er Class in New Zealand in December.
Other winners in the wide range of categories at the Australian Sailing Awards were: Finn Alexander (Youth Sailor of the Year), Jenn Suffield (Sport Professional Award), Nicole Douglass (Sport Promotion Award), Royal Freshwater Bay Club, WA (Club of the Year), Barry Johnson, Western Australia (Official of the Year), Jack Winning, Western Australia (Volunteer Award), and Simon Hoffman (CYCA SOLAS Trusts Bravery Award).