In the 470s, Mal Page and Matt Belcher scored an OCS and a 6th day 1 of the Delta Lloyd Regatta.  Mal said ‘It was windy, but sailable.  We were going fast enough, but our lack of preparation and lack of competition showed today.  We were not taking opportunities when we saw them.’

‘It is great to be sailing again with the best boats in the world.’

‘My arms a little longer from today.  The Estate Master spinnaker had lots of pull.  I think maybe at my age I need to get some ratchets on the front two sails!’

‘Obviously the start of the regatta was not good, but that is not the point of this regatta.  Its more for competing and remembering how to race.  To start the preparation towards the Worlds later this year.’

Meanwhile, EM tactician Nathan Outteridge and crew Iain ‘Goobs’ Jensen had a tough day in the 49er, with equipment problems in one race (malfunctioning trapeze harness) and unlucky capsizes and a spectacular cartwheel in the second.

The forecast is for moderate winds tomorrow and ‘a lot of sun’, according to the organisers.

Estate Master trimmer Malcolm Page and his 470 skipper Mathew Belcher are in Medemblik in the Netherlands preparing for the Grade 1 Olympic class Delta Lloyd regatta. Malcolm is combining his preparations to defend his 470 Gold Medal with Farr 40 competition.

‘We’ve enjoyed some fine, sunny days training in the lead up to the Delta Lloyd regatta, but forecasts suggest it’s about to turn nasty, with heavy rain on Tuesday and cold conditions for the first day of the regatta on Wednesday. That’s actually pretty normal for here, so we feel right at home!” said Malcolm.

Tactician Nathan Outteridge is also sailing in the Delta Lloyd Regatta on his 49er with new crew Iain Jensen. This will be their first major regatta together and another step towards defending Nathan’s World Championship.

Not to be outdone, EM skipper Martin Hill has taken up Laser sailing at home to keep his skills sharp before the entire Farr 40 crew can get together again. That happens on the 15th of June in Porto Cervo where final training starts for the 2009 World Championship.

The Estate Master crew will fly exclusively with young airline Etihad to the Farr 40 World Championship in Italy in June.

Established in 2003, Etihad Airways is the flag carrier airline of Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. Etihad is based in Abu Dhabi, the capital of the UAE.

This will be Estate Master’s second Farr 40 Worlds. Their first was last year in Miami where the team finished 16th in the 33 boat fleet, learning a great deal in the process.

Skipper Martin Hill said ‘We’re really excited to be able to attend this year’s Farr 40 Worlds in Porto Cervo and very proud to announce we’re going there with the help of a World-Class airline in Etihad. Etihad are no stranger to global competition having won over 30 awards since being named ‘The world’s leading new airline’ in 2004.’

EM sandwiched off the start on Day 1 - Sam Crichton ©

The Estate Master Sailing Team finished 2nd on the 2008-09 Australian Farr 40 Circuit – which is good – but were a disappointing 4th in the season ending Hamilton Island National Championship.

Winner of the Nationals (and the Aussie Circuit) was Guido Belgiorno Nettis in Transfusion. Kokomo (Lang Walker) was second and White Cloud (NZL; Brett Neill) was third with EM just a point behind.

“I am particularly grateful for the encouragement and support of Lang Walker and Lisa and Martin Hill and I am pleased my fellow Middle Harbour Yacht Club member can join me on the podium of the 2008-09 Australian Farr 40 Circuit”, commented Belgiorno Nettis.

Frustrating would be one word that comes to mind when describing the final day of racing in the Australian Championship as the nine teams sailed in a soft 6-9 knot easterly with a rolling swell.

On the plus side, Estate Master managed to correct many of their speed and positioning errors of days 1 and 2 and only a doubtful false start penalty from the race committee prevent them from being boat of the day on the final day of the Nationals.

2009 Hamilton Island Farr 40 Australian Championship Final Results:

The 10-member Estate Master Sailing team used to produce a large garbage-bag full of rubbish every day we went sailing.

We’d eat and drink and in our need to concentrate on sailing the boat to the utmost efficiency, we’d just throw all wrappers, bottles and scraps into a big garbage bag which went into a bin on shore at the end of the day

Of course we all recycle stuff when at home, but somehow it seemed ok to put recyclable bottles in with the garbage when on the water, especially when we were in competition mode and didn’t want the fuss.

Now, thanks to eco-crew member Andrew Verdon we produce 1/5 of the rubbish each day by simply separating out our recyclables and putting them in the recycle bin at the end of the day. We saved 120 water and sports drink bottles from going to landfill in the previous 3 weeks alone.

It’s hardly revolutionary, but in a sport that is seen as ‘green’, it’s probably something we should have done a while ago and certainly encourage all yachties to do the same.

Of course, the next step is to find an efficient way to re-use the bottles rather than throw them away.

Estate Master finished 3rd in a wet and cool Farr 40 sprint series this weekend on Sydney Harbour. Unusually for Farr 40s, all of the 8-race series was held inside the heads in gusty and shifty conditions which produced some dramatic lead changed and damage to some boats.

Sputnik, skippered by Ivan Wheen, won the regatta by two points from Transfusion with Estate Master a further six points behind.

The Estate Master crew was up against it with slow starts to each day but came back strong once they settled in and finished the regatta with two race wins. Skipper Martin Hill was extremely pleased with the crew’s team work and their mental toughness in difficult conditions.

Estate Master are in equal first place with Guido Belgiorno-Nettis’s  Transfusion in the Farr 40 Australian Grand Prix series after 7 regattas.

Nine boats from Tasmania, NSW and New Zealand raced the series and all will be on the start line again next weekend for the 2009 Hamilton Island Farr 40 Australian Championship.

Estate Master trimmer (and Olympic Gold medalist) Malcolm Page was last night named Australian Institute of Sport Athlete of the Year for the 3rd time in four years.

Mal shared the award with skipper Nathan Wilmot as well as fellow Olympic 470 Champions, Tessa Parkinson and Elise Rechichi. Page and Wilmot’s AIS Team of the Year award was the pair’s third, having won the award in 2007 and 2005.

The teams’ coach, Victor Kovalenko, was also recognised by the nation’s peak sports body with the Coach of the Year award.

Adding further to the tally for the sport, The Australian Sailing Team, which is supported by Estate Master skipper Martin Hill, also won AIS Program of the Year.

Page had to miss Farr 40 training last night due to the awards, but is expected to be fresh for this evening’s training.

Malcolm Page trimming on Estate Master