MEDIA RELEASE 28 March

The Hansa 303 One-Person fleet was the only one out racing on Day 4 of the 2025 Hansa and Para World Championships at Pittwater, while the other classes enjoyed a lay day, although some chose to go out and practice in preparation for Saturday’s races.

Three races were run under gloomy skies with the sun teasing by poking its head out every now and again. So, six races have been sailed in total, with three more scheduled for Sunday’s showdown. On a tight scoreboard, six internationals hold the cards – and it could go to any of them. However, Gauthier Bril (FRA) is the one to beat.

Bril has sailed the most consistently, counting four wins and a pair of second places in the six races. And despite taking the lead on the first day of the competition, fired a warning salvo: “I need to try harder, I’m here to do my best.” In other words, second places are not good enough!

His leading margin is slim though, as Piotr Cichocki (POL) is one point behind. Jens Kroker (GER) has come into the picture today, his 10 points with a drop in play mean he is just four points off the lead.

After scoring 2-1-5 results, Kroker, who skippered German Paralympic Sonar teams to silver, gold and silver medals at the 2000, 2008 and 2012 Paralympic Games respectively, has Davide Di Maria (ITA) on equal points with him, but is fourth on countback. And Spain’s Pau Toni Homar is breathing down their necks. Sunday will be all to play for.

Kroker said this afternoon, “It was a very intense and challenging day on the water, because it was very, very shifty. You had to go with shifts, but keep looking at the bigger picture at the same time. The top sailors did a very good job all day. Many of the same people finished in the top places.”

To make the point, after winning the second race of the day, Kroker was in 12th or 13th place in the third race and moved up to finish fifth overall.

“I was able to move up. A lot of the sailors were moving up and down quite a bit.”

The top sailors move into the Gold fleet for Sunday’s races, while the other half go into the Silver fleet. They are planning three races for Sunday in the Gold and Silver fleets.

“The weather forecasts for Sunday look very challenging – up to 30 knot gusts. They might start us two hours early. They will decide in the morning,” Kroker said.

On his chances of winning, the German sailor said, “I am more like a leisure sailor these days, I have no time to practice anymore, which makes it more challenging. Once you reach a certain age and you are doing other things, it becomes difficult to practice.”

Kroker was complimentary of RPAYC which is hosting the Worlds.

“This is really an outstanding example of inclusion. They are marvellous. There are lots of volunteers who are always kind and happy and willing to help. The Club is setting an example. I will take it home to Germany to my work, Turning Point, to see if we can replicate what they have done here at the Club.”

Turning Point unites several hundred years of experience in sailing for people with disadvantages. And Kroker says, “Those affected by a disability often lack the necessary self-esteem and courage to discover their talents and realise them in a self-determined way. Our focus is to help turn that around.”

On the ground at RPAYC and running around at this event is Chris Mitchell. As RPAYC Commodore, Rob McClelland, pointed out in his speech at the opening of the Worlds on Monday: “Of course, none of this would have been possible without one man’s vision—Chris Mitchell. Chris is the founder, designer, and driving force behind the Hansa class.”

Mitchell, it transpires, had been all over NSW prior to the event: “We collected around 70 boats from around NSW, mainly thanks to Sailability NSW, plus brought 25 of our own boats to the Alfreds. We collected Libertys and took them home and fixed and buffed them,” he said.

“We went past Orange to get boats, Port Macquarie, Moruya, Sydney, Gosford and put them in the Crystal Bay carpark at the Alfreds. It took around two weeks to get them all here. We started on the 10th of March and last ones came in on 22nd March,” Mitchell explained.

When Sunday afternoon comes around, all those who own their own boats will leave first and then Mitchell will spring into action again.

“We bought some discs and marked all of charter boats with them, so that when they come out of the water on Sunday, we can recognise them straight away. We got some second hand carpet and we’ll put them on that in carpark and then we’ll take them back to where we collected them from on two trailers.”

Mitchell said, “It’s terrific seeing all these people here sailing the boats, but this is just a milestone, a step, we think in terms of vision for the future.”

And some of that future involves trying to get sailing back into the Paralympic Games in time for Sydney 2032.

During the event, Mitchell is not sitting idle either. “I am running around fixing competitors’ boats. I also go on the water with Jackie (Jackie Kay is the International Hansa Committee Association Treasurer/Secretary). We went out with Allen Stormon yesterday and tomorrow we’re going on Pretty Woman with Richard Hudson.”

“The Alfreds are fantastic. The dockmaster, Phil Burgess, and past commodores Russell Murphy, the volunteer’s coordinator and Allen Stormon, who is coordinating measurers. Everyone is pitching in,” Mitchell ended.

Racing at the Worlds continues tomorrow from 1pm, weather permitting, when all but the 303 One Person classes are back on the water for the penultimate day.

A total of nine races are scheduled for each class. The Closing Ceremony and Presentation will follow the last race on Sunday.

The Worlds take in the Hansa World and International Championships, Australian and NSW Hansa Class Championships plus the Para World Championships.

Seventeen nations are competing at the Championships hosted by Royal Prince Alfred Yacht Club (RPAYC) on Pittwater in NSW: Australia, Canada, Chile, France, Germany, Great Britain, Hong Kong, Italy, Japan, Netherlands, New Zealand, Poland, Portugal, Singapore, South Korea, Spain and USA.

For all information on the event, including entries, please visit: https://hansaworlds.org/

For all information on RPAYC and its facilities, please visit: https://rpayc.com.au/

By Di Pearson/Hansa Worlds

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MEDIA RELEASE

27 March 2025

Day 3 of the 2025 Hansa and Para World Championships on Pittwater arrived and all were keen to launch from Royal Prince Alfred Yacht Club (RPAYC) to start the day’s sailing after avoiding the morning downpour which had transformed into a blue sky and sun right on time.

The Hansa 303 Two Person fleet was back on the water today. The aim was four races after the class only completed one on the opening day due to the extremely difficult conditions dealt out by the wind gods. And four races it was. 

Chris Symonds and Maunela Klinger (AUS) came out all guns blazing and the Tasmanians were leading – until a drop came into play. Piotr Cichocki and Olga Górnas-Grudzien (POL) are at the top of the leaderboard after dropping their 15^th place from Race 1 on Tuesday. 

In second is the British pair of Rory McKinna and Jess Wong, who dropped a 13^th place also from Day 1, while Symonds and Klinger have been relegated to third overall, their drop being a sixth place. This class is shaping up to be a humdinger.

Cichocki explained, “Some of these crews are lighter than ours, so sometimes it’s hard when it’s on the edge, but that is sailing conditions, so it’s OK,” he said.

“We are trying to stay in front and hope they have to come to try and catch us,” he said, citing the two teams behind them as their major competition. “But there are a few others as well. Our day went really great, it was good sailing conditions.”

Two more races for the Liberty’s and with six now sailed, Yuen Wai Foo (HKG) still leads – on countback to Charles Weatherly (AUS) – again. The day did not go according to plan for the Hong Kong sailor. He retired from Race 5, but bounced back to place third in Race 6.

Weatherly’s 2-1 results have him well and truly back in the picture. He is in second place but on equal points with the leader. Vera Voorbach (NED), a past World and European champion, is still third, but is now a mere point away from the top two after 1-2 results today. This class is sure to be a nailbiter to the end.

Back at the RPAYC, Weatherly commented, “Vera’s very good in the light stuff, she’s rock solid. She sails all the time, I sail part time, but I’ve been doing some training for the Worlds.

“The Hong Kong guy, Foo, stitched me up at Southport, but I don’t like being beaten, so I made friends with him, That makes it easier when I’m beaten!

“Foo didn’t finish the first race today, because he picked up weed on his rudders. The Hong Kong manager asked  me if I put the weed there and I said, ‘no’, that one of my friends had!

“The first time I sailed here at Pittwater was 2004 and every second year we sailed here in the Jubilees. I love sailing here, it suits me.” 

Voorbach commented, “It was a very good day, we had quite good wind, 10-13 knots, but shifty, so you had to get the good shifts. I got them in the first race and got far ahead and kept getting good shifts. It was difficult to see them on the water today though.

“The second race was more challenging. At the second mark, there was no wind then a 30 degree shift, then the wind popped up again! You have to concentrate the whole course.

“The first day there was a lot of wind. It was just a little bit too much for me and very different to where I live,” ended Voorbach, who has previously sailed Worlds in Sydney, but never sailed at Pittwater.  “It’s very good here. I’ve met sailors that I know from other events and I’m meeting new ones too.”

Two races also for the Hansa 2.3. Yui Fujimoto (JPN) continues to top the scoreboard. With a worst result of third in Race 5 used as her drop, she kept up the momentum and won Race 6. Fujimoto is all business.

The Japanese have a stranglehold in the class. Daisuke Zenju and Koji Harada remain second and third overall. In winning Race 5, Zenju is just three points behind Fujimoto now.

In the SKUD18, nobody has been able to stop Paralympic triple medallist, Daniel Fitzgibbon and his team mate, Chris Somers (AUS) who have a clean sheet. Two more were sailed today and the pair were in the enviable position of using a win as their drop.

Nobody has managed to put a dent in the scores of  Neil Rowsthorn and Jack Wallace or Naomi Ohue and Joe Thompson either, so they remain second and third respectively.

“We got passed in both races today, so it’s been tight to the end,” Fitzgibbon admitted. “We might be winning, but the young fellas and old campaigners are all having their moments.

“It was so shifty today. We got off to a very good lead, but at the wing mark, we fell into a massive hole. People sailed around us and there was nothing we could do. We had to fight our way back and we did and linked it all up.

“The second race was more consistent, but on the whole, it was a lot trickier than the other day. We had maybe 8-10 knots and it was fairly due east coming over the land.”

There was much buzz around the inclement weather forecast for the weekend.

Addressing the issue, Principal Race Officer, Megan Kensington, said: “We’ve considered over long chats. The information we’ve been given is that it looks like it won’t be so bad on Saturday, but Sunday looks bad.

“We’ll run the 303 One Person class, as scheduled, tomorrow. We will then revisit the weekend and look at the possibility of running an extra race on Saturday and also look at the possibility of starting racing earlier on Sunday.”

A total of nine races are scheduled for each class. The Closing Ceremony and Presentation will follow the last race on Sunday.

The Worlds take in the Hansa World and International Championships, Australian and NSW Hansa Class Championships plus the Para World Championships.

Seventeen nations are competing at the Championships on Pittwater in NSW: Australia, Canada, Chile, France, Germany, Great Britain, Hong Kong, Italy, Japan, Netherlands, New Zealand, Poland, Portugal, Singapore, South Korea, Spain and USA.

For all information on the event, including entries, please visit: https://hansaworlds.org/

For all information on RPAYC and its facilities, please visit: https://rpayc.com.au/

By Di Pearson/Hansa Worlds

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