Welcome to the Official Krystal Weir Website
PLEASE COME AND SUPPORT THE AUSTRALIAN SAILING TEAMS FUNDRAISER! Details below
Currently the team is in Riva Lake Garda for the Yngling Open Spring European Championships. As this was an open regatta Adrian our coach sailed onboard the boat in Karyn position while she went back to Australia to visit her family and attend the Yachting Australia Gala on behalf of the team.
During this regatta it was really valuable for the team to have Adrian actually sailing onboard the boat, he was able
to help Angela and myself with lots of different aspects of
racing. We ended up winning the regatta which is great as
this gives us confidence into the next lot of racing.
After Hyeres regatta the team all had a short break going
there separate ways to have a look at Europe. I decided
after 3 years of doing Hyeres regatta in France that I
probably should see the rest of the country. So I jumped
onboard the band wagon of the windsurfer program and did a
leg of the Tour de France ‘Nimes to Narbonne’160km on
my road bike. It was really fun and a great way to see all
the small towns in southern France. We then drove to
Biarritz and then to Brest, I jumped onboard a train to
Paris became a true tourist for two days and then met the
rest of the team in Lake Garda.
The plan is to now drive to Holland for a small open
regatta before the main event in Medemblik ‘Holland
Regatta’. We then head off to China for some more
training before home in June.
Thanks again to all the ongoing support from Yachting
Australia, Australian Olympic Committee, Sandringham Yacht
Club and Veolia.
It has been a while between updates and a lot has been happening at a very fast pace. It is now only 104 days till the games and the Team (Krystal, Karyn, Angela and Adrian) are all working hard to pick up new skills with boat handling, racing and communication.
After we arrived back from Miami the team had a short break where I could come home to Melbourne for the weekend to see friends and family. We then spent the next few weeks preparing our Games Boat; I am amazed at the amount of boat work that is needed, it is a far cry from my minimal Lasers days.
Our first stop in Europe was in Blanes, Spain for the European Championship in March. We experienced a mixed regatta with a few protest incidences which didn’t help our score card. We ended up 2 points out of the Medal race which was very disappointing. Our next regatta Hyeres, France was not much better as we once again had a few incidences on the water which found us back in the Jury room.
Bigger picture this is probably the best thing that could have happened to us, we have been able to work on our skills in the room, giving us confidence. With these skills out of the way we are now focused on sailing clean.
The positives from Hyeres regatta was that we experienced our first race win in international competition in moderate-light airs. Over the two events we also had a lot of races up in the top five. The biggest learning curve we have experienced is downwind with boat handling and tactics.
The next program is to Lake Garda training and racing, Holland Regatta, China training and home by mid June.
It has been an amazing learning curve over the past few months for my sailing and life. The support I have received from Yachting Australia, SYC and many others has been incredible.
Looking forward to seeing you all in June.
YNGLING TEAM UPDATE WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP SILVER
Twenty eight boats competed over six days to decide the Yngling Women’s World Champion, at the last World Championship before the Olympics this August.
We, the Audi / Hamilton Island Australian Team, had a solid start in fairly strong wind, and backed this up with consistent placings on the remaining days. With the points being extremely close, we had to finish within 2 places of Germany in the Medal Race to hold on to our second place. We managed to do this, and so secured the silver medal.
Making the Medal Race (Top Ten) was our goal- not counting on a podium finish in our second major international regatta as team! A focus on speed, smart racing and our own processes enabled us to handle the variety of conditions (5 knots up to 30 knots) and mix it up with the World’s best teams.
We congratulate Team Great Britain, for their World Championship title two years running. We now head back to Australia for a short time to regroup and see our families before we embark on a three month racing schedule in Europe and China.
Once again thanks to everyone for their encouragements and congratulations, especially the sponsors, AOC and management of the Australian Sailing Team.
Enjoy the photos, and stay tuned for a new website very soon.
The Australian Yngling Team.
Krystal Weir, Karyn Gojnich, Angela Farrell and Coach Adrian Finglas.
(Visit http://www.ussailing.org/olympics/ynglingworlds/index.asp for full results)
“The size of your success is measured by the strength of your desire; the size of your dream and how you handle disappointment along the way”
In October I received the disappointing news that I had not gained selection into the Olympic Games in the Laser Radial Class. I am now going to the 2008 Olympic Games in a different capacity and joining Yngling crew members Angela Farrell and Karyn Gojnich on a new campaign for Gold in Beijing.
I received the notice that I did not gain selection in the Laser Radial Class for the Olympic Games. It was a very hard decision for the selectors and they choose to nominate the past single handed Athens representative for the spot. While I was extremely disappointed it helped me to gain balance and perspective in my life.
I then choose to move to Sydney for a change of pace and to study at Sydney University. Within days of arriving in Sydney I received a call from the Australian Yngling Girls to help fill in as their skipper Nicky Bethwaite was recovering from a mountain biking accident where she broke her wrist and shoulder. As I had been travelling on and off with the
girls during 2007 I said I would help for a short period of time with their sail testing. This was a fantastic opportunity to learn very quickly about a three sail boat and about communication needed on a three person dinghy. I could not have asked for a greater way to learn the basics with the experience of the three girls Nicky, Karyn and Angela along with Traks Gordon, a guru Keel Boat/ Match racing coach and training against the top match racing girls Nicky Souter & crew, Katie Spithill & Team Acuity.
At the same time I was continuing my Laser as I decided my last event would be the Radial Worlds in New Zealand in March. Nicky’s injuries became more complicated and a realisation became apparent that I would get the opportunity to race in Australia at the
Nationals, Sydney International Regatta and also to travel across to Miami for the OCR regatta and the Yngling Womens Worlds. We won both the Yngling Australian Nationals and Sydney International Regatta in Australia before jet setting off to America. With
these results behind us YA choose to nominate the team to the AOC for Olympic Selection.
“On the 24th January the AOC announced that they accepted the nomination recommendation of the YA Panel in selecting Krystal Weir, Karyn Gojnich and Angela
Farrell to the 2008 Olympic Team and withdrew its selection of Nicky Bethwaite as a result of the uncertainty surrounding the timing and rate of recovery from the significant injury to her right arm” : YA .
With new coach Adrian Finglas, the team is enjoying training in Miami and moving ahead in leaps and bounds. The OCR regatta begins tomorrow and we are all very excited to compete against the worlds best in the Yngling class. With the focus being Beijing we are
using these events and the events in Europe as a fantastic training base to peak in August.
Thankyou for the continuing support and I look forward to catching up with you all in the near future.
HAPPY SAILING
Cheers
Krystal Weir
Over the past couple of weeks I have been enjoying some nice time off from sailing, firstly traveling around China on a tour for a week. This was a great experience and a true eye opener of what China is really like. The safety and security of Qingdao was very evident once I left the Olympic venue and ventured out to Beijing, Xian, SueJo and Shanghai. I was happy to land in Melbourne after having close to 6 weeks in China.
After re-introducing myself to my family and friends in Melbourne and putting all my plans in place for next year. I am just about ready to jump back into my Laser and begin training again.
For the past few days I have been down at Sandringham Yacht Club for the Womens National Match Racing Championships. I was sailing onboard Team "Wild Oats Chardonnay" with Nicky Souter, Kylie McKillop, Rayshele Martin and Anne Durham. I was jib trimmer for the event which was great as I don't normally have to deal with jibs. We did really well through the round robin and semi finals. We raced Team Acuity skipper by Katie Spithill in the final. The finals were the best of five races, and the match went right down to the last race where Team Acuity narrowly beat us by 14seconds.
Next week is the AST team camp at the Australian Institute of Sport in Canberra.
The next group of competitions for me will be Go For Gold, SIRS and Nationals.
Looking forward to the upcoming season!
Happy Sailing
Just loaded some new pictures in my gallery from Cascais and Qingdao. Below is a picture from Pre-Olympics. This is what we did for most of the day, waiting for the wind!
Over the past month I have been in Qingdao China for the Pre-Olympics. The whole team arrived in the beginning of August to train for a couple of weeks before the actual event started. We all stayed at the Haiqing Hotel in between the Yacht Club Yinhi and the Olympic Marina Venue. The Olympic Village is not yet completed so unfortunately we were not able to move into the village. With all the other buildings near completion one year out, it looks to be well under control.
The whole event for me was a great learning experience as at times the current was stronger then the wind. This year I found that I had a much better understanding of current than last year and the building blocks are all in place for next year. I finished the regatta on a high note with a 4th place which put me in 14th overall. Even though this is not the overall result I was looking for as it was the lowest result for me this year, I feel that I can take away a lot of areas to improve upon.
The spirit within the team is high as we walked away from the event with two 470 gold in the mens/womens, silver in the tornado and third in the RSX.
I am now taking a small break travelling around China before I come home to resume training to take on Beijing next year. I just want to take this opportunity to thank everyone who has been behind my program this year. Looking forward to seeing you all soon.
All the hard work this year has finally paid off as I have
been selected for the Australian Team for the Test-event in
China in August.
This latest trip to Europe has made the difference!
Heading into the final stages of nomination and selection
for Beijing, I was yet to qualify for nomination within Australia
and also to qualify the country for a spot in the games. My
first event was Kiel Week during June. It all came together
here as I had put the time in the gym and also on injury prevention
with Pilates at Balance and Control. With the onwater help
from Ian Neely and Ricky Ironmonger, my boat handling was
up to scratch to get the results overseas. I was able to complete
my Base Line Performance finishing in second place at Kiel.
The next event was the Laser Radial Womens Worlds in Cascais,
Portugal. The Worlds as the largest event this season with
112 sailors from 50 countries competing. Only 19 pots were
available for country selection to Beijing.
Cascais is a town on the Atlantic Ocean 30km west of Lisbon,
Portugal. We had five courses that spread from right up in
under the land to out in the middle of the Atlantic. The whole
event was windy with winds well over 15 knots most days. The
Laser Radial course was mainly up under the land which provided
us with huge variances in angles and strength all over the
course. It was a very tricky place to sail and to keep your
results consistant. My finishing position did not reflect
how I was sailing as I tipped over in two critical races which
added a further 20+ points to my score card. The last day
of finals was cancelled due to winds over 30 knots with 3
meter waves on our course. For those who don’t know
a Laser, 3 meters is the length of our boat! This was an expensive
day for me as I was only 6points off top 10. It was very disappointing
to not achieve my goal of top 10 at this event. On a positive
note, I have achieved the Country Qualification for Australia.
A few days ago Yachting Australia selected their team for
Qingdao International Regatta 2007. I am very pleased to be
representing Australia at this event.
Light air sailing has been my focus this year so I am looking
forward to proving myself in China.
Thanks Again for all the continued support to Beijing
2008.
Happy Sailing!
Just a quick update to tell you all that I finished 12th overall
at the Portugal Worlds in Cascais. This result Nominates Australia
for the Laser Radials at the Beijing Olympics.
For more info...
All I can say is that I have got the job done! I am now officially
up for nomination to the Olympics in Beijing.
Kiel regatta was an important one for me as I needed to finish
top 3 to gain selection into the Australian Sailing Team and
also to be nominated for the Olympics. I finished 2nd behind
Jo Aleh from New Zealand who sailed a very tidy regatta. We
had 4 qualifying races out of the scheduled 8 as day three
was abandoned due to no wind. We had a finals day of 3 races
in light choppy conditions and a medal race on the last day.
Overall I am happy with my consistency in this regatta and
the way I went about my racing. www.kieler-woche.de
I am now in Cascais, Portugal about to start training
on Monday once we can pick up our charter boats for the event.
The World Championships will be a real test to see who is
the best sailor as we aren’t allowed to race with our
own equipment except, ropes and tillers.
The event begins on the 4th July and finishes on the 10th
with the medal race.
To follow my progress
http://www.cascaisworlds2007.com/
www.australiansailingteam.com.au
Over the past two weeks I have been training hard in the gym
and on the water getting myself readyworking with Sara Picken-Brown
from The
Lean n Shead to get me physical prepared for the regattas
in Europe. I would also like to welcome onboard a new sponsor
Elite
Myotherapy. Thanks Liz and Sara for all your hard work.
to go for Kiel regatta, Germany and then the Worlds in Cascais,
Portugal.
I have been
To follow my progress
http://www.kieler-woche.de/eng/englishdefault.htm
http://www.cascaisworlds2007.com/flashInstaller.php
Holland regatta had great moments and some not so great. The
regatta started off on a difficult note as I missed the start
of the first race because I was up the course checking the
wind and getting warmed up. I sailed back downwind just chilling
out when I sore the flags on the start vessel were up and
the fleet lined up ready to go. I ended up being 2 ½
minutes behind, I sailed well to catch up from 40th to 19th
in the race. I finished the day off with a 7th and 6th. The
next day finally getting it together in the very light 5knot
breeze to win the first race, and then followed up with a
5th, 6th.
The focus of the regatta was to become more processed focused
so I was avoiding checking the notice board so I did not see
the results. On the same board was the fleet groups for each
day. They put the second group up above the first group so
I automatically look at it and assumed I was in the first
group. I went out and sailed the first two heats in the Wrong
fleet so my results turned into two DNS (Did not start) so
I was then carrying two 40th results. With only one drop in
the regatta this basically eliminated any chance of winning
the event. I sailed the last race in blue fleet and finished
with an 8th. When I got in I found out I was still in Gold
Fleet even with my added 40 points.
The Gold Fleet finals were sailed in an extremely shifty
10knots with big sloppy waves. I went out there with an aim
to just enjoy myself and work on some different techniques.
This attitude worked for me and I ended up winning the day
with a 3rd, 2nd and 4th in the gold fleet races. This surprisingly
put me in 7th position and in the Medal race.
The Medal race day was very long as we waited onshore for
most of the day for some breeze to fill in. They sent us out
in a last attempt to start us at 3.30 before the 4pm deadline.
Right on 5 minutes past 4pm the wind filled in but this was
too late for us.
Evi Van Acker (BEL) won the event, Petra Nieman (GER) 2nd
and Penny Clark (GBR) was 3rd. In hind sight without the fleet
stuff up I would have been second overall. I guess it is all
experience and I must see this positively in that I am sailing
well and going fast.
So Bring on the World in Cascais, Portugal.
Thanks again to all the support to Beijing.
Holland Photo
1 | Holland
Photo 2
Cheers
Krystal
Over the past two weeks I have been back in Australia having
a small break before heading back to Europe for the Holland
Regatta in Medemblik.
It was nice to settle at home, catch up with friends and
family before getting into the gym and on the water at SYC.
By the time I was recovered from one jet lag I was back onto
the plane to Europe.
Today was my first sail on the IJsselmeer off Medemblik,
Holland. We had 5-10knots with flat water; it is looking like
this will be the conditions for the regatta. The regatta starts
on the 23rd and finishes on the 27th May.
To follow the event:
http://www.breitlingregatta.org/2007/
Cheers,
Krystal
Over the past month I have been non stop traveling, after
a weeks camp in New Zealand with Ian Neely my coach I was
off to Europe. I met up with my traveling partners Jon Newman,
Will Philips and Simon Morgon to board the plane for the 22hour
flight across. We arrived in Barcelona hoping to pick up our
boats and board the ferry to Palma. Due to a strike in the
ports around Europe the boats were unfortunately 4 days late.
There could be worse places to be stuck then Barcelona so
I took in the sights and finally had some time to do some
shopping.
With the help of Arantza from Schenker we cleared customs
in record time and we were off to Palma, an island south of
Barcelona. By the time we arrived in Palma there was still
three more days of training and then the regatta. We had great
accommodation in the heart of the gothic area of Palma with
the only issue being parking and the width of the streets,
too close for comfort.
The regatta is called the Princess Sophia regatta and is
held over Easter as the Royal family holidays in Palma during
this time. The event is an ISAF 2 ranking event for the eleven
Olympic Class’s plus invited class the Dragon. As it
is the year before the games the regatta was well attended.
The Radial fleet was very competitive with most of the main
players being present at the event. We had a fleet of 91 boats
with two split fleets for qualifiers, then gold/ silver racing
with a medal race. Due to the shifting conditions we were
only able to get in 4 qualifiers, 2 gold races and a medal
race out of the planed 11 races. We had a mixed bag of conditions
from different directions and strengths.
The regatta overall was predominately light.
The aim for this event was to see how I was going on the
world seen and to find out what I need to work on for Cascais,
Worlds and Test-event China. I was pleasantly surprised with
my speed winning the first race. I went on to have a mixed
regatta not always being on song. I finished up seventh overall
with Evi Van Acker (BEL) winning the event, Tania Ellas Calles
Wolf (MEX) 2nd, Jo Aleh (NZL) 3rd.
I am now on my way to Hyeres, France for a few weeks of training
with the Australian Sailing Team before the regatta starts.
Happy Sailing
Cheers
Krystal
More info/Results:
www.trofeoprincesasofia.org/dinghy
www.australiansailingteam.com.au
Over the past month I have been racing in a few events in
Melbourne and Auckland. At the end of January I sailed at
Sail Melbourne from my home club Sandringham Yacht Club.
Sandy once again put on a great event in conjunction with
Yachting Victoria.We had a mixed bag of conditions, mainly
light airs with one windy day. The Singaporeans came across
for the event as well as the youths fresh from the Australian
Youth Championships.
I ended up winning the regatta with most of my competition
over in Miami for the ISAF one event.
Second was Gabrielle King and third Victoria Chan from Singapore.
For the past week I have been in New Zealand training and
racing with the Kewi girls, Laura Baldwin from GBR and Sohphie
de Turckheim FRA. We were able to train out of Takapuna Yacht
Club where the 2008 Radial Worlds will be held. It is a great
venue with great waves and tricky winds. For the first two
days we had some great heavy airs training with Radials and
Full rigs. I would have to say it isn’t the easiest
place to launch but once you were out it was fantastic.
Sail Auckland was a great event ran out of Kohi Yacht Club
with 11 races plus the medal race in four days.
On day two we had four races back to back, it was a day for
stamina. The radial fleet was quite competitive with 43 boats
as we sailed with the boys.
I finished up third overall in the open fleet which I was
happy with. The womens results ended with a Medal race as
Sail Auckland is a grade one event.
The Medal race was set in quite close to shore; we raced
in a very variable, gusty breeze. After the first lap I was
dead last after some trouble getting clear I then sailed my
way through the fleet to finish fourth in the race, Jo Aleh
who was leading going into the race had a difficult race finishing
back in the fleet which put me in the lead. Sophie from FRA
was second and Miranda Powrie NZL was third.
For the next couple of months I am training at home with
Yachting Australia and then I am off to Palma for my fist
event of the European circuit.
Happy Sailing
Cheers
Krystal
Over the past week I have been down in Tasmania for the Laser
Radial Nationals. It was a great event, ran out of the Royal
Yacht Club of Tasmania. There were 89 Full rigs, 71 Laser
Radials and 20, 4.7 Lasers. We were very lucky with the weather,
it was a nice 25 degrees and moderate wind conditions pretty
much all week along with the usual current. We had 11 races
with 71 boats on the one line. Once again Australia was host
to many different Nations Singapore, Mexico, New Caledonia,
Tahiti, Great Britain and in the Full rigs Canada, Norway,
Slovenia, France and Finland.
The Radial fleet was very competitive this year which made
for a very fun regatta. I ended up winning the Nationals overall
finishing on 28 points clear of Sarah Blanck on 29, Malo Leseigveur
on 31 (New-Cal), Ben Price on 33, and Ben Gunther 39. In the
Full Rigs Michael Blackburn 1st, Tom Slingsby 2nd, Michael
Lee (Can) 3rd. 4.7 Fleet Christopher Jones 1st, Sam Phillips
2nd, and David Fletcher 3rd.
I am now home getting ready to compete at Sail Melbourne,
(Sandringham Yacht Club) starting on the 15th to 20th Jan.
Results
of Australian Laser Radial Nationals 2007
Sail Melbourne
http://www.sailmelbourne.com.au/
Cheers
Krystal
December started off with Go For Gold regatta run out of Black
Rock Yacht Club. We started off with a moderate beginning
to the regatta with 5-10knots, day two and three provided
some enjoyable big wave sailing on the bay. I finished 2 nd
overall just behind Sarah and 3 rd was Lizzie Vickers from
Great Britain. After Go For Gold we all trained for a few
days before heading up to Sydney.
I have just finished Sydney International Regatta yesterday.
It was a great event with a very competitive fleet. We had
a range of wind conditions from races in 5knots to gusts of
30 on the last day. I had my ups and downs lacking a bit of
consistency. Unfortunately on the last day I dropped from
3 rd to 6 th after a set of average results. Sarah Blanck
won the regatta, with Richard Bott 2 nd and Lizzie Vickers
3 rd. Also young Ben Gunther sailed well to finish 4 th. Overall
I am still happy with my progress towards the nationals in
Tasmania in the New Year.
I am now home enjoying the Christmas Cheer. Have a Merry
Christmas and a Fantastic new year. Good luck to those participating
in Nationals over the summer.
I am very happy to welcome a new sponsor onboard for my campiagn
to Beijing 2008.
Balance Control Pilates www.balancecontrolpilates.com
Over the past couple of days I have been sailing out of Black
Rock Yacht Club for the Pre-train ran by Yachting Victoria.
Ricki Ironmonger is coaching which has been great. There are
a few Radials from South Australia and another all the way
from India sailing a full rig. The regatta starts on Friday
and will run for three days.
After my couple of weeks off I am now getting back into training
slowly. With my exams finished I am free to have a bit more
fun and get back
onto the water.With a few sessions on the water at Sandringham
Yacht Club with Ben and Lex, I was warmed up for the Hamilton
Island camp.
Hamilton Island is a major-co sponsor for the Australian Sailing
Team we are very lucky in that the Lasers are provided for
us, we just fly to the Island and focus on the training.
For the past ten days I have been up in Hamilton Island training
camp
with Sarah in the Radial, Mike Lee, Michael Blackburn in the
Full rig with AB coaching. The training was fantastic with
intensive on water as well as a strict Gym program. Hamilton
Island was a great venue to have the camp; we had a lot of
current flow which at times made launching a little difficult.
The winds were predominately windy so we were able to get
a lot of good straight lining in.
On the last day I was able to have an hour of Banana lounge
time a nice way to end the camp. Today is Sandringham Yacht
Clubs Collex now Veolia Corporate Day always a lot of fun
with the Beneteau 7.5 one-designs.
Over the next couple of weeks I will be competing in a few
regattas in Melbourne and Sydney. This weekend is the Port
Philip Championships at Blairgowrie, next weekend is Go For
Gold and then I fly up to Sydney for the Sydney International
Regatta. There are a few internationals coming across, Lizzie
Vickers (GBR) and Tania (MEX) as far as I know.
Looking forward to a great summer season of racing…
Cheers Krystal
It has been a long time between updates and a lot has
happened. I am at Uni at the moment studying hard as I am
planning to graduate at the end of the year. Over the past
few weeks two important things have happened.
Firstly Opening Day was yesterday and secondly I had my fund
raiser at Sandringham Yacht Club a few weeks ago.
While The Fund Raiser was a great night, it was absolutely
flawless, and everything ran so smoothly. The night was organised
and run by Caroline White and Doris Little along with Sandy
Staff Naomi and Liz. They did a fantastic job as the food
was delicious and there was plenty of wine to be had. Janet
from Pernod Ricard spoke about each wine as it was served.
Geoff Henderson did an outstanding job of being the MC for
the night, he read out a letter from my dad in China as he
was unable to attend due to work commitments. Later on in
the night we had an auction which turned out to be a highlight
in the night, Foxy did a fantastic job of keeping it fun and
light. Lex and I spoke about my program and our No Limits
approach; everyone was also introduced to my balance board.
Many people contributed to the night and I thanked them all
whole heartedly for there contribution to my program.
Morgon Furniture,Warwick, Pernod Ricard, Function
Accessories, Phillippa’s Bakery, National Foods, Rod
Elmer Fine Jewellery, David East Jewellers, AME engineering,
Luv a Duck, BBQ R US, Kym Theodore
Opening Day was another fun filled day of great sunshine,
good food and a little bit of drink. The weather was absolutely
superb, you couldn’t have asked for a better day. During
the opening we heard from Bruce Eddington the new commodore
who spoke about the new club facilities being built and also
about the clubs success over the past season, young Freya
Vickery as the new junior off the beach captain did a great
speech about how proud she is of Sandringham, the club was
blessed and then the real party began. This year I was aboard
the Mandalay, this gave me a great view of all the boats coming
through on the sail past. The theme of the day was red and
white so we saw some father Christmas hats, red tinsel, two
people dressed up as Jacobs creek wine bottles and a boat
full of devils (Tim and Doris boat), along with the typical
water bombing of the commodore. This year a certain club official
worked out how to use the fire hose on the back of the Mandalay
and reeked havoc through the keel boat fleet. Overall a great
day and an exciting start to the season.
While I have been competing around the world Sandringham
Yacht Club have been organising a fundraising event for me.
It is a black tie, Wine and Food appreciation night on
Saturday 16th September
7pm Sandringham Yacht Club.
To support my campaign
Contact Naomi Hergt at SYC on 9598 7444.
Link for information
Krystal Weir Fundraiser Poster
Sandringham Yacht Club
I am finally Home! After my three months in Europe,
three weeks in USA and three weeks in China I am relieved
to be back home living a normal life. I am back at Uni finishing
off my degree (only two subjects to go) and having a great
time just doing all the things I haven't been able to do over
the past year. I have been working out my calender and it
looks like I better enjoy this time, as it is a full program
for the next 12 months. Trips to Brisbane, Sydney, Tassie
over the next few months and then back to Europe.
The China Pre-Olympics have now finished.
The regatta was a total mix of conditions, each day presenting
a new direction for the wind. One thing remained through the
whole regatta and that was tide. I have never sailed in that
much tide before in my life it was up to 8 laser boat lengths
a min with around 0-2knots of wind. These conditions made
it a little bit more difficult to start; in one race half
the fleet did not even start 5 min after the gun had gone.
As the conditions were so variable it was a matter of consistency
in the end Paige Railey regained her form and won the regatta
with Jo Aleh a New Zealander 2nd and Penny Clark 3rd. I had
a tough regatta finding out that I might need to train in
different conditions besides the normal Melbourne Sea breeze
and big waves.
The Australian Team overall had a tough Pre-Olympics with
only a few class's making it to the medal race with our best
result coming from the Star 5th and Tornado 6th.
Australia has a very extensive team at the Qingdao
Pre-Olympics showing that the Aussie are going to be prepared
for the Olympics come to 2008. There are 28 athletes, 5 coaches
as well as a meteorologist from the Bureau of Meteorology,
a physiotherapist, a nutritionist, sports psychologist and
a performance physiologist, all from the Australian Institute
of Sport (AIS). As well as admin staff so we can get on with
the sailing and leave the logistics onshore.
The Pre-Olympics for the Australians is really a team building
exercise. It has been fantastic for me as I am meeting and
getting to know people from my team for the first time.
The actual Olympic venue is fantastic, with most aspects
built two years out from the games. I was glade to see the
size of the launching ramps, they are huge so no fighting
on the ramps for this regatta. There are over 1000 volenteers,
with help at nearly every corner of the city.The secruity
is high at the venue and also around the streets of Qingdao.
This event is a practice run for the Race Officiers, Commitees
and Volenteers so there are bound to be a few niggles during
the regatta.
I am now in Qingdao for the China Pre-Olympics. I have
been training for the past couple of days out of the Qingdao
International Yacht Club. It has been interesting as we have
been rigging in a construction site as we are not allowed
into the Olympic Centre yet.
The conditions have been very surprising! I expected drifting
conditions but we have had up to 15knots for the past two
days. I would not totally rule out the drifting scenario but
for now the sailing is great!
For the Pre-Olympics the Australian Sailing Team is very
much a team. We all stay together, have breakfast together,
go to the gym together, rig together, register etc. So far
it has been a lot easier to find out info as we have a lot
of YA Staff to help us out.
Racing begins on the 21st August, it is a very interesting
format as we have sailing days and three reserve days.
For more info and results
Test Event Pre-Olympics
Qingdao
Australian
Sailing Team
Hurricaneforce
I have finished the Europeans and I am only 10days
away from being home…very exciting. The Europeans didn’t
go to plan for me. I ended up having to carry a 32nd and an
OCS which meant that I dropped back to 27th overall. It was
a very light regatta in Riccione which was great for my training.
There was over 90 girls sailing, a fantastic turnout. I had
some good results a 3rd ,7th in very shifting conditions.
I am now in Riva Lago de Garda in Italy on my way to Hamburg
so I can drop off my Volvo and then jump onto a plane to Melbourne
via Dubai for a sister stop over.
I am looking forward to catching up with everyone in Melbourne!
Ciao Ciao
Hi Everyone,
It has been a long time between updates. I am currently in
Reccione in Italy. We are training for the next week and then
I am competing in the European championships. I went out for
my first sail yesterday and the weather was pretty nice, 8knots,
small waves. The only problem is the beach starts over sandbars
and also the long slogs to get the boat to the waters edge
with soft sand.
A quick update on my regattas over the past few weeks. I
sailed in Holland in 10degree days, absolutely freezing...never
been so cold sailing in my life. I ended up 4th in this regatta
which I was pretty happy with. In May I sailed in the ISAF
games in Austria. I finished up 12th overall at this event
as I had some problems on the first day of the regatta where
I had some yellow flag disqualifications from the Jury and
an OCS (on course side) at the start. On the last day of the
regatta I was coming 25th overall and had a great last day
which boosted me up to 12th…so no complaining there.
After this regatta I am flying home at the end of June and
stopping off in Dubai again to see my sister for one week...I
am looking forward to coming home! I only have around 2 weeks
at home and then I am off to the Worlds in LA, California
and then Pre-Olympics China.
Speak to you all soon
Cheers
Krystal
.
Over the past few weeks I have been all over the place. Straight
after Hyeres, we drove to Varese, Italy for an Australian
camp for one week. This time was great with lectures, fitness
and some sailing. On the last day we were able to have a tour
of Milan and a great bbq at the yacht club. I am now in Austria
at the ISAF Worlds, the past week has been the qualification
event. I was automatically selected into the gold fleet as
I was top ten ranked. The racing begins for us tomorrow. I
have been doing fitness, little bit of sailing and I was also
able to have a look at Vienne...such a beautiful place.
Hyeres has been a very up and down regatta for me with an
OCS (on course side), Yellow flag and a Win. It has been a
very interesting regatta with a variety of conditions, light-
heavy winds some days with chop and some days it was like
sailing on Albert Park Lake (ie. Crazy conditions).
We were able to get all our races in even if some weren’t
even 30min long and they seem to start us in anything. The
venue was fantastic with beautiful sunny day’s right
up until we packed up. On the second last day I was sitting
in 14th place, four places away from the top 10 which was
my goal. We sat around on the dock with no wind till 3pm.
Then thankfully the wind filled in so we could have our two
races which meant I could then receive my second drop. I had
a good start to the afternoon races with a win and then scraped
in a 22nd to sit in 10th position.
The next day was the medal race which is just the top 10
racing but is double points for example if you win you get
2 points but if you are 10th you get 20points…so the
regatta points can change. I was in the best position as I
could only get better. I ended up having a great medal race
with a 4th and I climbed two places to 8th overall.
After the regatta we decided to take the scenic route to
Italy for the Australian training camp. We drove through many
tunnels along the Mediterranean coast. We stop at a look out
point to see Monaco and then drove on to Genova for dinner.
Genova was very Italian vespers everywhere. Today I had a
day with the Australian Team at Varese Italy and then Sara
and I have driven to Brig in Switzerland for the night, tomorrow
we are going to see the Massive ‘Matterhorn’ Mountain…very
excited.
I am then dropping Sara off in Lake Garda and then training
with the Australian team on Lake Maggorie Italy for a few
days before I am off to my next regatta in Austria.
Missing you all, but having the time of my life.
Cheers
Krystal
Today was my first sail in Hyeres, France with Tytus. We only
had around 5 knots which was nice to cruise me into sailing.
It has been a pretty hectic trip so far with a few problems
along the way…like getting ompletely lost on three separate
occasions in Hamburg. That place is so confusing!!! It was
a big mission to pack the boats, when we were finally ready
to leave we put the light board on the coach boat and guess
what it didn’t
work…hmmm typical.
I had a great time in Dubai with my sister for three days,
we did the desert safari, Wild adi water park, got my hair
done and went shopping….big few days. It was a great
way to escape the bad jet lag you normally get if you fly
straight from Australia to Europe and
of course another excuse to see my sister!! Who I hadn’t
seen for eight months.
We had a lot of fun flying over from Dubai to Hamburg with
my sister trying to give us extra perks but not really succeeding
as we are in cattle class..hahah. She gave us some yummy chocolates
and took some onboard polaroid’s which was fun! Time
went really
quickly.
I am training for the next week and the regatta begins on
Sunday.
I am very excited I love big fleet racing.
Cheers
Krystal
Only one week away from heading overseas to Europe! With a
stop over in Dubai to see my sister. Over the weekend was
the Victorian State Titles at Port Melbourne Yacht Club. On
Saturday the racing was called off as it was consistent 28knots
gusts to 30knots. Port Melbourne is a hard beach to launch
off, I decided to go for a training sail and I needed help
launching but once I was out it was fantastic…great
waves. On Sunday we had four races the racing was really tight,
great practice for Europe. I ended up winning the regatta
after Sarah was OCS but we had some great battles.
Results should be up in a few days.
I am now home after another week in Sydney training with Mel.
For the first two days I had my Australian Institute of Sport
Induction and camp. We spent two days speaking about the formalities
of the new Australian Sailing Team. On the Monday night we
had the launch of the AST at Royal Sydney Yacht Squadron with
all the big names of Australian Sailing invited which was
fantastic. AST now has a website check…link below.
From Wednesday to Saturday I trained with Mel at Middle Harbour.
The Victorian State Titles are coming up this weekend which
is my last event before I head Overseas. Also the Club Marine
Melbourne Boat Show at Sandringham Yacht Club is coming up
on the weekend 8 th and 9 th April should be a great event.
Australian Sailing Team
Website
Australian Sailing Team
Photos
Australian Sailing Team
Launch Photos
Club
Marine Melbourne Boat Show Sandringham Yacht Club ...link
Over the past few weeks I have been to Sydney, New Zealand,
Sydney and back Home. New Zealand was a great regatta but
a bit of a mission to get to. The regatta was held at Nelson
on the top of the South Island. I arrived in Auckland and
travelled down with Sara. It took 8hours to Wellington, 3hours
on a Ferry to Picton and 2hours drive down to Nelson. We had
a few days of training with the other Kewi sailors and then
the Nationals started. On the last day of the regatta three
boats were all on equal points (James, Jo and I). We had a
great battle with James winning the regatta and Jo second
and I was third.
I then had a flight back to Sydney and competed in the Metropolitan
regatta at Hunters Hill Sailing Club it is a very difficult
place to sail as it is tucked up right inside the harbour
and you have to contend with 40 degree shifts, tide, and jet
cats…hmmm fun. I had a pretty consistent regatta coming
away with a win after Mel had an OCS (On course side= she
broke the start). Now I am back in Melbourne doing some preparation
for the trip overseas. On the way over I am stopping in Dubai
for a few days to she my sister who I haven’t seen for
8 months…very excited. Below are the links to result
websites and photos.
New Zealand National Results
Metropolitan Results
Metropolitan Photos
Over the weekend I had my first sail back in the Laser after
three weeks off. It was the NSW States Champs. It was a tough
regatta with 59 Radials, 44 Full rigs, and 7 ,4.7s. Mel won
the regatta, Zac was second and I was third overall. Below
is a link to the results. On Tuesday I packed the boats for
the container for overseas and then got ready for my trip
to New Zealand for the Nationals.
Results...
Today I went out on Live Wire and watched the In Port Race
for the Volvo 70’s. It was great fun; we had a prime
spot for viewing at the top mark. It was great to see all
the spectator boats out to view the racing. I am very excited
about tomorrow as I am going out for a sail on one of the
Volvo’s for a training run.
On Thursday night I went to the Volvo Ocean Race presentation
night it was an amazing event with no expense spared. It was
in Crown palladium, the entertainment was great, food was
great and there was plenty of footage of the Volvo 70’s
in action. On Friday the Celeb yacht racing went well with
quite a few laughs onboard our boat from Dipper and also Jo
from the Fox. I have put up some photos in the gallery.
At the moment I am having a bit of time off from the Laser
sailing but I still made time to go down to Geelong Scandia
Week were my dad was sailing on a Sydney38 yacht called Live
Wire. They had a great couple of days sailing minus the Saturday
as it was raining and no wind. I am enjoying my time from
the Laser as it gives me a chance to catch up on things. I
am organising the logistical nightmare of shipping and also
my program over the next couple of months that includes two
regattas in Sydney and a trip to New Zealand for their Nationals.
This Thursday and Friday is the Celeb race my celebs are Dipper
and Jo Stanely(Fox FM) for more info…
Over the past week I have been training with Tytus from Poland.
It has been great training out of Sandy. Hotel de Krystal
has cleared out as of today so life can return to normal for
a while. I am now having a few weeks off to relax so I don’t
burn out.
Also I have been invited to participate in some Volvo stop
over events. The celebrity race, official reception and the
presentation night as a guest from Volvo, it’s all very
exciting.
New Sail Melbourne picture up in the gallery...
Sail Melbourne is over for another year. Every year I just
love this regatta because it is Melbourne at its best with
sun and great sea breeze. During the regatta we had start
times of 10am, and 1pm which made the regatta an overall light
one. We had some races where we were drifting…hmm bring
on china. It was a lot of fun having hotel de Krystal open
but a little hard when my little Suzuki just doesn’t
want to carry the load of five sailors plus bags. On the last
day of the regatta we had the medal race. This race had to
count, was double points and on water jury….so pretty
full on. They were testing the format for the Olympics for
Beijing to make it more exciting for media and spectators
on the last day.
Well I have been up in Brisbane at the Laser Radial Nationals
for the past week. It has been a tough couple of weeks with
only four day break in between SIRS regatta, Xmas and the
start of the nationals with two days of driving from Melbourne.
I sailed the regatta well the whole way through but on the
last day I was 3 points ahead of Greg Adams I covered him
in the second last race and ended up having a bad race which
I dropped but gave room for the other girls to catch up. I
hadn’t added the points correctly with Sarah and she
ended up one point ahead of me at the finish. It was a great
learning experience! I ended up third overall with a sailor
from France coming first overall.
I am now finally back at home getting ready for the Sail
Melbourne regatta. I have four people at my house Sara Winther
NZL, Laura Baldwin GBR, Marc De Hass NED, and Anna Patterson
from New Zealand. Si Hall one of my best mates has three other
internationals that he is looking after for me. Natalie Brugger
and Corinne Mayer SUI and Veronika CZE….so a great
big group for the regatta, some good BBQ’s J . The Radials
have a very competitive fleet with four CHI girls coming across...great
to see them over here! Looking forward to another fun regatta.
Check out the News Section: new article from Sail Mlebourne
New Sponsor. Identity Matters has come on board for next years
peogram, I am looking forward to building a great relationship.
NEW ISAF
WORLD RANKINGS ARE OUT: I am now 3RD in the World
I am finally home from Brazil and Sydney. On the way home
I stop over in Sydney and competed in the Sydney International
Regatta at Woolahra Sailing Club on Sydney Harbour. I once
again checked into the Chidgey hotel for four days. It was
a really interesting regatta with bizzar fluky conditions…I
always forget just how crazy Sydney Harbour can be. The radials
had a good fleet of around 30+ boats. Laura GBR, Natalie SWI,
Miranda NZL were all there…providing some great competition.
I had a mixed bag of results over the regatta…but came
through with a win by two points over Zac S from Sydney. Lex
B did the major drive up to Sydney from Melbourne to support
me which was great. Volvo once again supported me for this
regatta with providing me a car, thanks again!
I am now settling in at home for a few days for xmas before
the trip up to QLD for the nationals.
Results link
NSW Yachting reports
I am currently on the plane to Sao Paulo, Sara Winther (NZL
Sailor) and I are planning to have four days traveling in
Sao Paulo and also in Rio To have a look at all the famous
must sees. I am very excited to be able to see a bit of Brazil
before I return to Australia. I am very happy with
my result from the worlds. I ended up 5th overall Which means
I am now in the Australian Institute of Sport. My goal for
the regatta was to finish top 10 and this has been my motivation
all through winter. The work I have done with Lex Bertrand
out of Sandringham has really paid off. I also made quite
a few trips to Sydney to train with Erik Stibbe and the Sydney
girls Melanie Dennison and Kristen Kosmala. More recently
I trained with a training group in Melbourne with Arthur Brett
and Sarah Blanck. During the worlds the support of the Australian
Team was great. On the last day of racing the wind
finally returned to the conditions expected for the whole
regatta, 20+knots trade wind direction. It was fun finishing
the regatta with this breeze but I soon found myself happy
that it wasn't the same the whole time, the mix of conditions
was great giving everyone of all sizes a go. After
my travels in Sao Paulo and Rio I am flying back in Sydney
and competing in the Sydney International Regatta. I am then
home on the 22nd of December for a few days over xmas and
then I am off to Queensland for the Nationals. Over the past
six months I have been working on getting girls to come across
for the Aussie Downunder series ie. SIRS, Nationals and Sail
Melbourne. At the moment I have heard that we have seven internationals
come over which is great. Three Chinese, Two Swiss, One CZE,
One Brit and then we have some NZlders, so lots of competition
for the summer.
Today was a better day. It was the first day of Gold Fleet
races, there were a lot of good sailors who didn’t make
it into gold fleet, as the conditions were so random and variable
in the qualifiers. It was a 12-15knot trade wind today which
was great…the waves were like Port Phillip Bay but on
a slight angle. Then first race I finished 4th and SB finished
1st so a great start to the day for the Aussies. The second
race was great…I felt in tune with the boat and had
a great start…I finished up winning the race. So not
a bad day..but still four more races to go and then I get
to go traveling in Sao Paulo ..Yay!
I have just got off the water from the second day of racing.
So far I have had a 3rd, 14th, 8th, 18th. We have one more
day of qualifiers and then three days of Gold Fleet. It has
been a very random regatta; the conditions have been light
and shifty. Fortaleza has done the typical “it’s
not normally like this…”. The past week of training
was a steady 20-25knots big rolling waves trade direction…suddenly
it is random and light??? Go figure.
The competition is fantastic with one wrong move and you
find yourself hanging out the back of the fleet. I have been
working on my starting which has been going really well...I
just have to work out the rest of the race now ?
http://www.laserinternational.org/wrad2005/Results/index.htm
Today was the opening ceremony it was at 9am this morning
which was a bit unusual. They had a representative from each
country to raise the flag and then do the water ceremony.
I raised the flag and then James Berman did the water pouring.
We all marched in by country...for the rest of the day I have
been resting up for the first day of racing tomorrow...i am
putting up some new pics in the gallery. If you want to keep
up to date with the results...check out www.laserinternational.org.au
Today was my last sail before the worlds. The whole aussie
team is here now...we have four boys and four girls..which
is great for Australia. We did some starting practice and
some small races. We had a short sharp session so we are able
to recover for the big event starting on the 4th. Tomorrow
I am spending the day chilling out and doing the last minute
little things to get ready. This is the best part of your
preparation, it is when you have done all the training and
now you can just rest up and go and see where your at.
Brazil has been great...still big winds...I had a big day
today as the wind was up a fair bit from the previous days.
I had a couple of huge swims and AB got it on film which was
fun to watch! I have uploaded a few new pictures for you all.
Well today was my first sail...it was great to just get out
there. Basicly the conditions are exactly like Melbourne...big
waves. I can't believe how hot the water is...i was boiling
out there. In the afternoon Sara, Jo and I all had a great
afternoon by the pool just relaxing. I have attached some
photos in the gallery section.
I am now in Brazil! I have had a couple of busy weeks getting
all the last minute details organised. I was very lucky as
my Visa only arrived 3 days before I left. On Sunday morning
which was my dads birthday (ah sorry dad) I boarded a plane
at 6am to Sydney. I then had a flight which went through New
Zealand, Buenos Aires , Sao Paulo then Fortaleza. I met up
with Sara, Jo and Andrew of New Zealand. On the eleven hour
Bouenos Aires flight Sara and I were so lucky as to get a
bulk head seat...basically a lounge room in front of us. We
flew on Aerolineas Argentinas which had pretty bad food and
no movies...so we were bord out of our minds...we resorted
to making movies on my computer of sox puppets...very funny.
Today I was able to get my charter boat...they are looking
pretty worn as they have been used for so many championships
before us. Tomorrow I will go out for my first sail which
should be great! The hotel is huge with a great swimming pool
but the food is pretty average.
Over the past couple of weeks I have been studying hard…I
got through my last exam on Thursday and then I was able to
head down to Sorrento for some training with AB. We had a
good group of Lasers down and we stayed at Megan de Langes
holiday house which was great fun. On the Sunday morning I
decided to go for a run but found myself very lost in the
back streets of Sorrento so the aim of ½ turned into
an hour…lol. I am busy getting the final parts of my
trip worked out for Brazil…its less then five days
till I leave …very exciting
Well over the past week I have been up in Sydney training
on Sydney Harbour and also sailing up at the NSW Coastal Championships
at Teralba. It was great on Sydney Harbour as we trained outside
the heads with the big rolling waves. I have been told that
the Worlds in Brazil are just like it. On the Saturday and
Sunday I sailed on Lake Macquarie. It was mainly a light air
regatta but a lot of fun. We had a great number of Radials
(42boats) I ended up winning the regatta. I now have 26 days
till i go to the worlds and in the mean time I need to study
for exams.
I have some new photos from the event up in Sydney.....check
out the gallery
I have just got back from training up in Sydney over the weekend.
Both Saturday and Sunday was around 20knots on the harbour
which was a lot of fun but hard work. Both AB and Erik were
coaching with Richard, Jye, Kristen, Mel, Sarah and Megan
all sailing. It was great having such a competitive group.
Thanks to Volvo cars for lending me a car over the weekend.
Yesterday was Sandringham Opening Day and once again it was
a great fun day with loads of yachties down at sandy. It was
pretty windy so the Off the beach didn't get out for the sail
past. It was nice to see the yacht owners make an effort and
go out for the sailpast. Sail Sandy is coming up in a few
weekends time something to look forward to.
I am busy getting ready for the Radial worlds in Brazil and
also my exams which begin in a few weeks time.
Over the weekend I participated in the Match Racing weekend
with Andrew Palfrey coaching. It was fantastic there was around
20 people and four Beneteau 7.5m yachts one design and on
day one we had around 8knots with big waves. We each rotated
jobs on the boat; helm, main, jib trim and tactics/strategy.
I was lucky enough to be able to be the tactics/ strategy
most of the time…I was on a boat with Tony, Deb and
Steve. It was a great learning experience and it was great
to get a handle on some boat on boat tactics…I believe
this is really great for my fleet racing.
I have just been up in Sydney for some training with the girls
from Sydney and Erik, it was great training and we all raced
in the Double Bay Regatta. The conditons were extremly shifty
and on the saturday we had up 32knots recorded. There were
around 15 full rigs and 15 radials. I had some great races
with Richard Bott and Mel D.I am now back in Melbourne doing
Uni and sailing.
Oh and my sister got a job with Emirates and will be living
in Dubai for three years… I am very proud, Go Sammy!!!
The University Games have ended well as I picked up the Bronze
medal on the last day of the regatta. I had two races to go
and I had to beat Tania from Mexico in both races. In the
first heat she was 4th and I was 5th by half a boat length.
In the next race I got my act together and hiked hard as the
wind picked up to 20knots. I finished 2nd and she finished
8th so that sealed up the 3rd place. The closing ceremony
was pretty special for me, the fireworks were fantastic and
the crowd went crazy. I have put up some photos from the Games.
The village was amazing...so massive!
There are four races to go at the University Games and I am
currently in 4th place by 2 points. First is Poland, second
USA and third Mexico. Yesterday was as tough day with around
15-18knots in Race Seven I was yellow flagged off the start
which meant that I had to do two penalty turns while the rest
of the fleet continued to race. I then sailed through the
fleet to finish in third place, I am very happy with this
come back I was going very fast downwind. In the next race
I was second for the first lap and then separated from the
other girls, there was a right shift and I was on the left.
I ended up fourth in this race which wasn’t great. Well
today’s a new day and more great training in Izmir for
the worlds.
http://www.universiadeizmir.org/en/
I have had two days of racing at the World University Games
in Izmir. It has been fantastic sailing conditions with 15knots
on day one and 10knots on day two. My results have been ok
but I can definitely do better. I had a 6th in the first race
after a bad start and in race two was 5th after being OCS
and returning. Yesterday I had a 3rd in heat 4 and a 6th in
heat 5. I had a great start but decided to separate from the
other boats...??? There are 17 boats in the Radial fleet which
is quite good with most of the girls stepping across from
the Europeans. I am loving the physio and massage which is
available to us everyday so I can recover really well. I am
now off to the food hall …speak soon
I had four flights to get to Izmir for the World University
Games in Izmir (Turkey). After a crazy night of flights I
arrived at four in the morning, I have had a few hours sleep
and then spent the rest of the day going through registration
and working out my charter boat. Tomorrow is the first day
of racing so wish me luck. The athletes village is huge with
around 8000 athletes, it is all brand new and there is a massive
eating hall. This apparently is exactly like the Olympic villages.
It is amazing how many people have volunteered for this event.
There are so many people that nothing really gets done
After the first day of racing I worked out that my starts
were letting me down. For the rest of the regatta I pushed
it really hard and was on the line every start. I am really
happy with this regatta as I have developed my aggression
on the line and it has demonstrated to me how hard you have
to work to be at the front. I ended up with 6th, 17th, 8th
in gold fleet. I felt I sailed better in Gold fleet then I
did in the mix.
I am now at Munich airport waiting for my flight to Izmir
for the World University Games. There are about 15 girls coming
across from the Europeans for this regatta so it should be
hot competition but with a smaller fleet. We start racing
on the 15th and go to the 20th. Anna had a good regatta coming
8th overall and Jo from New Zealand was 9th, Sara had a few
good results. I finished up 15th overall jumping 10 places
after a bad first day of racing. Split is a beautiful place
have a look at the photos in my gallery and on the European
website. It’s a place I definitely want to come back
to.
Not such a great start to the regatta with a 14th, 15th...today
is a new day...time to try some new things out as this is
a great traiing regatta. Follow the link for some more info
http://www.euroradial2005.com/
Over the past couple of days I have been training with loads
of different people. On the first day I went training with
the Spanish, day two with the British and day three with Anna
and then day four with Anna and Nurfar (ISR). It has been
really windy and overcast which is not what I expected, it
was blowing 25-30knots and I was having a great time, the
reaches were fantastic and we had some good waves on the downwinds.
Today was the practice race so I decided to have a day off
and just watch the race. I went out on the coach boat with
Paul Page (NZL) to watch the Kiwi girls but as time ticketed
over we realised that there was no committee boat in sight
so with around 200 boats on the water we all just waited …..and
waited. In the end a few groups started mini races but still
no committee…so we are not sure what happened there???
Maybe they decided to go for lunch …who knows.
I have now settled into my new Croatian lifestyle with my
room mate Anna. Our appartment is very small and cosey with
pretty intersting wall paper which i feel gives it character.
It is situated right in the heart of the old city of Split
which is great as we are really living like locals. Everyday
has been so hot i am basicly melting away. I was the only
boat to go sailing yesterday as there was no wind. I thought
hey i need a bit more pratice in this so i went out. I underestimated
the tide a iittle so i stayed close to shore. Today should
be better a lot of boats are now turning up. I have put up
some pics of the old city for you to have a look at....check
out the Gallery.
Hi Everyone,
I am currently in Croatia for the Laser Radial European Championships
in Split. Yesteraday I had a crazy set of flights to get here.
My flights went Melbourne, Singapore, Frankfurt, Vienna then
split.Thirty hours later I caught a bus then taxi to the yacht
club. For the next couple of days i am staying with the New
Zealanders and my god are they living the high life. Water
views, aircon, dish washer...basicly evrything u need. On
the Krystal program which begins in a few days it is a very
basic appartment with a bed
and thats probably it....and a bus ride to the yachty. I am
staying with Anna from the US which should be great...we have
a lot of funny moments to look forward
to.
Tomorrow I get to go sailing...it is very light and patchy
but this is what i need practice in so light weather bring
it on!
Big thanks to all who have helped me get over here.
cheers
krystal
Training in Melbourne has been great. I have been joining
in training with the Finns in Lex's training. It has been
great even tho we haven't had much wind. Over the weekend
I sailed the Laser Mid Winters at Albert Park Lake. Every
time I sail there I come away with a really appreciation of
how difficult it is to sail there. I ended up coming 2nd by
one point to Mark Lincoln and third was Simon Merit. The guys
really pushed me the whole time. Tomorrow I am driving up
to Sydney for some training and then back on Tuesday.
I have started back at Uni and it will be difficult this
term as I am missing four weeks due to sailing overseas.
I am very excited that a new sponsor is onboard to support
me for all my travel arrangements in regards to flights and
accommodation. Noreen Maher (SYC Member) and the owner of
World Wide Ticketing is currently busy working out all the
ins and outs for my next trip over to Croatia and Turkey for
the Europeans and University Games.
Big thanks to the crew at World Wide Ticketing.
Warnemunder (near Rostock, Germany) was a really tough regatta
with over 130 boats with the Radials and 110 boats with the
boys fleet. They split the Radial fleet into two , so we had
70 boats on the line and they decided not to split the full
rigs.
The first few days were light and with huge shifts, it was
very important to be in the front row and on the right side
of the shift…both of which I was not. The first race
I had a 38 th, then 26 th, 24 th, 28 th and then a 10 th and
a 6 th in the last race. So I would have won the handicap
award hahaha….it was a great learning experience and
really demonstrated how much work there is still to be done
with my program. The competition has definitely got better
since the class has become Olympic. Tom Slingsby did really
well winning the full rigs overall. For more info on Warnemunder
week... http://www.wscev.de/index_en.php
After my results in Kiel the new rankings have come out
and I am ranked 5th which is not too bad. I am now back in
Melbourne for three weeks to start semester 2 of University
and to get ready for the Europeans and University Games.
LATEST RANKING CLICK ...here
2012 Olympics click
here for info
Kiel Week (germany) was fantastic I had a great regatta, considering
the conditons. I ended up 9th overall. The regatta was basicly
lights for the whole time. During the windy racing I was top
five but struggled a fair bit in the light...so there is still
more work to do. The week before the regatta I trainined non
stop with my new coach Tytus from Poland. I took leaps and
bounds ....massive learning curve.
Yesterday I went sailing at Warnemunder, It is a lot like
Melbourne in that you get breeze and big rolling waves...makes
me home sick. I start racing on Saturday and finish on Tuesday
and then I get to come home Yay!!
Yesterday was a pretty good day with 1 st , 4 th , 13 th ,
and 3 rd . The weather for todays racing was around 10knots
with nice rolling waves…hmmm I love waves just like
Melbourne . Today we are waiting for the breeze to come in
so I am currently hanging out in the sun. Dad has been busy
working out my flights home so I can compete in Warnemunder
Week which is east of Kiel . If you wish to find out some
more info on Kiel week check out.
http://www.kieler-woche.de/eng/englishdefault.htm
I also have a new coach called Tytus from Poland he is great
and we get along really well. Today I was also drug tested
from the first time not a real pleasent experience but it
was good to have one early in my career.
I am in Kiel and the weather is fantastic, everywhere I go
there seems to be sunshine……nice!!! I have sailed
for the past two days and worked on a bit of down wind technique
which is all going well. The apartment we have got is great…its
around 10min from the club and is above a supermarket and
the laundromat is across the road so what more could you want.
I am training for the next couple of days and then the regatta
starts on Wednesday.
I just put up some new pictures of Holland. I am on a plan
to Amsterdam tomorrow morning nice and early and then driving
to Kiel. Dad is flying over to meet me and then we settle
in for two weeks in Kiel for training and the regatta. Today
i was able to have a nice chill out day at the dobson's household.
This morning Charlotte and I went to the gym, we're good girls.
After that we had lunch and then I once again played the tourist
and went for a drive with Charlotte to look at Loch Lomand
and Loch Fyne…it was beautiful, the mountains are amazing…yet
I am still looking out for my shaggy highland cow to pop out
and show its face..:-) At the yacht club were we have been
training there has been a fair bit of construction going on.
To add to Charlottes achievements she has out done us all
and managed to have Kenny the construction worker try to pick
her up….very funny. Each day we would manage a visit
from Kenny in his pursuit of Charlotte. Just to note that
Andrea, Charlotte and I were all in our terribly attractive
hiking pants. On the last day written on the back of blue
prints was Kenny's number…sorry Kenny she is taken..hahahah
Training in Scotland has been great. Mark Howard is coaching
Charlotte, Andrea and I for the past couple of days. The conditions
have been great and the sun is shinning. Today we had a double
session with around 12-15knots all day. We did a lot of speed
work and some down wind technique. Tomorrow is our last day
of training before I get to play the tourist again. I think
we are going to have a look at some lochs (lakes) around were
Charlotte lives.
The United 4 Sailing Regatta in Muiderzand went pretty well
for me. There were 51 boats both men and women. I ended up
3 rd overall and 2 nd Female. The most important thing was
that I was improving everyday. The first day was around 18knots
with three races, it was hard yakka, I had a 3, 7, 4. In race
two my tiller extension came off and I had to tie rope to
it for the last down wind and upwind which was really difficult
as it had hit around 20-22knots at this stage, I dropped from
4 th to 7 th but at least I finished. I was able to tape it
together for the last races of the day but lost my middle
battern (ahhh again) and then on the last beat I lost my bottom
battern as I had a bad tip :-( but still had a fourth.
The next day I got it together after spending 30 euro on
batterns…(sorry dad) and had a 4,2,4. On the last race
I was 2 nd to the top mark but stopped after I thought I was
OCS (over the line at the start) but I went and looked at
the sign again and realized that I actually wasn't…AHHHH
so I rounded the top mark, now in the late teens….and
caught up to 4 th with a tight finish with 2 nd and 3 rd .
I really have to fix my eyes up they keep letting me down..not
so good. After the racing I sailed in and took my time taking
pictures….enjoying the end of a regatta. Then suddenly
I was told I had 10min to fully de-rig my boat and get in
the car so we could catch a ferry home ( Scotland ). It was
charlottes birthday so we decided to get home as quick as
possible!! With a bit of panic we made it onto the ferry on
time.
Carolan, Anna and Charlotte took me to Edinburgh Castle it
was fantastic. It was great to be able to play the tourist
for the day. I am now at the Dobson household and finally
having a rest day tomorrow. I am here for the next week and
then off to Kiel for some training. I will try to get some
pictures up over the next week. Missing you all
http://www.united4sailing.org/ ...you can have a look under
results.
I have finished training at Medemblik, it was great I was
able to settle in and get some good training days on the water.
I was staying with Keamia, Kat, Mike and Josh for the three
days as dad went to do business in Breman , Germany . Each
day I woke up went for a swim in a really nice heated pool,
chilled out and then went for a sail in the afternoon for
a couple of hours. Most of the time I trained by myself and
just did some boat handling drills as I felt quite rusty during
the Holland Regatta. I am enjoying sailing now and keen for
the next regatta (United 4 Regatta). Missing you all…you
can keep updated for the next regatta at
http://www.united4sailing.org/
Well 12 races have been completed and I am not having
a great regatta. Today was around 15knots gusts up to 20knot
which normally is my kinda wind. I had some good starts and
I was going fast but the wrong way. So I am currently in around
26 th place, definitely not where I want to be but you can't
win them all. I have one more race tomorrow so hopefully I
can go out with a bang J Then I am packing up the boat and
heading off to the united four regatta. For the next week
I am hanging out with dad as he has some work to do in Breman
, Germany . Then I am heading off to Scotland staying with
Charlotte Dobson a Brit sailor, planning to do the tourist
thing for a while.
Well I have started Spa regatta and I am a little rusty. I
am coming 22nd at the moment after a tough day of racing.
It was around 5knots and I ended up with some average results.
Yesterday was 15knots, in race one there was a change of course
and I went to the wrong mark and I lost 10 boats. Race 2 I
ended up 6th and race three I was coming 4th before i tipped
into windward...:-( not so good. I am 22nd overall which means
i am in gold fleet... tomorrow is forecasted to be windy so
should be fun...Wish me luck
To check out the results...
http://hollandregatta.org/2005/
On Thursday afternoon after some hetic handing in of last
minute university assignments, I was on the plane with dad
on our way to Europe. Our flight was eight hours to Kula Lumpur,
then three hour wait and 16 hours to Amsterdam.
We have now had some food, shower and sleep and dad said
he feels more like a human now :-) Last night we stayed with
a really nice Dutch family (De Haas family). We had some strange
food...melon and ham as a starter for entree ??? it was nice
though. On the plane a lady fainted next to me as old Chinese
lady...she was leaning on my chair waiting for the bathroom
...she just feel backwards. A man jumped out from behind his
chair which was next to me and said "i'm a doctor"...drama,
drama....
On the plane we were like sardines. Dad basically slept the
whole way..i slept for around 6hours of the 16hour flight.
Once we got off the flight we then waited another hour for
the car ride to our car....hmmm more time at airports..i was
over it. We then got our car and dad was taught all the tricks
of the car. It had mirrors that could retract in...we were
confused..the woman said "for tight situations"...."oh ok"
we said. The we went for drive to Rotterdam and found out
the importance of the retracting mirrors....really scary.
So many trucks on the road and the road lanes are sooo small.
Then the mission was to get the boats. Its seemed so Easy,
just drive from Amsterdam to Rotterdam and pick up the boats.
Well little did we know that Rotterdam isn't just a little
port...it is massive!!..the whole town is a port....I haven't
seen so many container in my life. Five hours later after
paying 19% gst on the boats...ahhhh expensive. We were on
our way to the De haas families house. So today we are off
to Medemblik to set up camp for the Holland (Spa) Regatta.
The past week has been a little crazy with heaps of
uni work due and also getting everything together as I leave
to go overseas on Thursday next week. I just got off the water
from Sandringham Yacht Club, the wind was really light with
maximum 5knots. On Wednesday I went sailing with the Singapore
Team that are based in Melbourne at the moment. I sailed with
Victoria, Man Yi, Maxi and Shen leong and their coach Australian
Brett Beyer. It was great fun...good light weather practice.
This weekend I am training with the Victorian Youth team at
Mordialloc.
Flinders was fantastic!! John J, Woka, Sam, Sean and
I sailed with a strong NE wind 25knots with swell from Bastrait
from the South. It was the most strangest sailing conditions
I think I have ever sailed with...
not counting Sydney Harbour:-) We had issues with battling
three metre high seaweed ...hmmm fun times but with all this
aside it was defiantly worth the trip down.
On Sunday I did the VLA training with Ricki and Mark Bulka
at Blairgowrie. I have been doing a lot of Uni work as I now
leave in two weeks and everything is due before I go....AHHH
wish me luck
Also I have been selected for the World University Games which
are in Izmir Turkey…very exciting!
Hey everyone, it’s been a long time between
updates as I have had a few technical difficulties over the
last couple of weeks. Quick update; Last weekend I went camping
at Yarrawonga (basically the bush), we were only able to sail
three races because of lack of wind....but on a positive note
I had a great time chilling out at Mark's holiday house with
all the Laser guys and girls, we went water skiing, wake boarding
and kayaking...it was the first time for me with everything
so I had a ball.
I also went to the VIS
excellence awards at Crown with Rohan
Veal he was nominated for the VIS“Spirit Award”,
Chris Legh (Hawaiian Ironman) ended up winning.
I have entered into Kiel ( Germany) and Spa( Netherlands)
Regattas with accommodation all organised and tickets booked.
We leave on the 19 th May and between now and then I have
to hand in all my University assignments and have my exams…..hmmm
going to be interesting. This weekend I am heading down to
Flinders with Mark, Woka and Sam for some big swell training
and then we are over at Blairgowrie on Sunday for flat water
and tide practice.
I am preparing for my trip overseas...I leave in 5
weeks. I have also picked up a few sponsors which is Harken
Deckware Australia and Collex Ptd Ltd. I really appreciate
their support.
Not quite the states I had hope for... after a good
day out on the water I finished with 1st,5th from day one
and a 3rd,1st to wrap up the series but I was then protested
and DSQ from race three, with all races counting I fell right
down the ranks to 9th...very disappointing end result but
one to learn from. I am now concentrating on Uni work for
the first time in a while as I haven't stopped competing since
November last year.
Today was the first heat of the Victorian State Titles
and I ended up with a 1st and 5th in the first two heats.
The wind was very light, conditions a little tricky but lots
of things learnt. Last night I had two cocktail parties in
one night I first went to the opening party for Melbourne
Pilates Group, then heading down to Sandringham for the Opening
night and presentation for the Sail Boat Show. Kevin Wood
and Phillip Coombs presented the 7.5 Yachts to there respective
sponsors and we also watched a presentation video about the
Volvo Yacht Race Stop over, it made me want to compete in
it one day. New day of racing tomorrow most likely it will
be light conditions.
On Friday I also scaled up a mast of a 47.7 for a photo shoot
for the Boat Show it appeared in today's Herald Sun I have
copied it into the press section.
Over the long weekend I competed in the Etchell state
championships with Garry S and John S. There are great guys
and I learnt so much in a short period of time. I now know
a little bit about how to be a mainsheet hand on an Etchell.
This weekend I have the Laser States Titles at Mordialloc
Sailing Club. Should be a great regatta with some great competition.
have a look at the Victorian
Laser Website to keep updated with results...
I have put up a link to the Pilates studio I go to.
These are the people who helped me to fix my back when I had
stress fractures. " Melbourne Pilates and Fitness Group"
174 Albert St, Windsor, Tel: 8525 7500. If you are a laser
sailor and you are getting a sore back, I recommend you go
and see these guys.
The New Article from Bayside Leader Newspaper. Have
a look under the Press section.
I am now preparing for the Etchell states that are on this
weekend. They will be sailed at Blairgowrie Yacht Squadron
for more ...info
The new rankings are out and after my win at the Asian
Pacifics I am now ranked number one outright...check out the
latest...more
Also the 6 Beneteaus 7.5 One Design yachts have arrived at
Sandringham Yacht Club and they will be launched at the Club
Marine Sail Boat Show
...have a look at the SYC Website Six
New First Class 7.5m Beneteaus Arrive at SYC
Just a quick message to give you all an update from
Sydney. It was pretty crazy on day one with gust up to 35knots.
I had a 2nd in the first race and the second race was cancelled...shame
as i was on the last downwind to the finish. The next day
we had three races in a light patchy breeze..very variable!
I ended up with some ok results. It was interesting using
the carbon top section on the first day...its a totally different
form of laser sailing. ;I ended up 2nd on count back
and 1st female. Woka, Mark Tonner, Andy were all up in Sydney
sailing as well.
News
Krystal wins female devision 2005 NSW Metropolitan
Championships hurricane force website
Results ...more
I have just got back from the "Leader Sports Awards"
night. It was a great night with many young sports stars with
great potential in attendance. I ended up winning the Bayside
Senior Sports Star Award, Craig Tucker the Mayor of Bayside
City Council presented me with the award.
Rohan Veal won for Frankston and also the Overall Senior Sports
Star, it was just a fantastic night for the profile of Sailing
for Victoria .
SYC report ...more
Tomorrow I am off to Sydney for the Metropolitan Championships
held at St. Georges River , NSW.
Wish me luck!
Today I went for a sail with Garry and John on an Etchell
called "Wicked" out of Brighton Yacht Club. Great day with
15knots and SW winds. I was pulling main which was challenging
but really fun and I love sailing on three sailed boats.bit
of a change from the Laser. I am doing the Etchell State Titles
at Blairgowrie on the long weekend.
I am now preparing myself for the Metro Laser Regatta in
Sydney which is next weekend.
Tomorrow I am coaching at the Sabot State Title at Mordialloc;
Cam , Shane and James are all improving and they should do
well. For extra info on Sabot Sailing http://www.vicsabot.yachting.org.au/
Had a quick tourist look around Wellington before flying
back to Melbourne. I went and checked my bags in and I was
charged $250 dollars to get my Sailing Gear Home. I was flying
on Quantas, I am totally disgusted with an Australian Airline
charging Australian Athletes excess baggage while we are competing
for our country. Apparently Quantas supports Australian Athletes.mmmm
...don't think so. Everyone be very careful with flying with
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