The final day of Sail Sydney 2024 saw a light to moderate north-easterly breeze dominate the forecast, as sailors finalised their campaigns across Rose Bay and Botany Bay.
Despite facing tricky conditions on each of the race courses, sailors made the most of day four of the regatta, pushing themselves and their competitors until they passed the final finish line.
Representing Woollahra Sailing Club (WSC), Olympic silver medallist Grae Morris won 12 of the 15 races in the men’s iQFOil class, noting it’s always special to race in his home town.
“Sail Sydney was a fun regatta. It’s always good to race at home; I enjoy going back home to the family after a day on the water,” said Morris.
“Across the weekend we had a full range of conditions but managed to get all of the racing done.
“It was great to see improvements from all the other sailors across the weekend; all the training is paying off for everyone in the squad, and it’s great to see iQFOil really taking off,” he said.
In the women’s iQFOil class, Anna Cripsey (Royal Brighton Yacht Club) had a stellar regatta, earning the top spot, while Amelia Quinlan (Hunters Hill Yacht Club) claimed silver and Niamh Elisa Meehan (Royal Queensland Yacht Squadron) took home the bronze.
From Perth, Noah Karantonis (Jervoise Bay Sailing Club) finished first in the junior Kite Foil class, claiming the 2024 Junior Kite Foil National Championship title in the process.
“Sail Sydney has been an amazing event; it was great to have so many of the foilers from Australia and New Zealand make the trip here; we always have very competitive racing,” said Karantonis.
“The first day was amazing with light wind on big kites and really tight racing. Yesterday was also very good, but a few days ago we had to call it due to the wind and the rain. As always it was still really good practice.
“It means a lot to me that I’ve done well because this is such a big event. I’m hoping it opens up more possibilities and more pathways down the track,” he said.
In the Open Kite Foil class, Lucy Bilger (New Zealand) claimed gold in the women’s category while Lorenzo Boschetti (Italy) claimed the title in the men’s.
Dominating the 49erFX class across the four days of racing, Australian Sailing Team athletes Laura Harding (Blairgowrie Yacht Squadron) and Annie Wilmot (Royal Sydney Yacht Squadron) finished first with just 10 net points from 12 races.
“We had something new every day of the four-day regatta and basically something new every single race, so we waited to see what opportunities presented themselves and made the most of it,” said Harding.
Wilmot agreed, noting it was fantastic to have so many boats on the start line.
“We wanted congestion, and we wanted more boats, and we definitely got that.
In the 49er class, Jack Ferguson (Royal Sydney Yacht Squadron) and Max Paul (WSC) claimed the top gong.
“It was a challenging event, but it was good to get back into racing,” said Paul.
“We really enjoyed racing against other Australian boats and seeing what’s ahead of us for the next four years.
“We’ve got a lot of work to do before we head back to Europe, but we’ve got a great squad developing, and everyone had their moment at Sail Sydney, so the next few months will be really exciting.”
Sara Bruce (Double Bay Sailing Club) finished first in the ILCA 6 class after a strong showing across the four-day regatta. Frances Beebe and Caterina Meyer, both from the Royal Queensland Yacht Squadron, finished second and third, respectively.
Originally from England, Jake Farren-Price (Middle Harbour Yacht Club) stood on top of the podium in the ILCA 7 class after four days of tight racing saw results come down to the final start. Alexander Bijkerk (Royal Prince Alfred Yacht Club/Double Bay Sailing Club) ultimately finished in the silver medal position while local sailor Julian Taylor (WSC) finished third.
Sail Sydney took place at WSC and Georges River 16ft Sailing Club from December 6-9.
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