Sailing

MR NICHOLAS STANSBIE sailing manager

The sailing season of 2017-18 concluded on Sunday 18 March at the Royal Queensland Yacht Squadron at Manly, with the GPS Sailing Championships and Queensland State Pacer Championships. Three GPS schools, ourselves, Brisbane Boys College and Brisbane Grammar School, together with the local schools Iona College, Moreton Bay College and Moreton Bay Girls College provided a number of crews and there was a packed field of entrants.

The TSS Crews comprised of the following students:

FIRST TEAM Tom Wright, Lachie Free, Oscar Weatherseed, Ethan Donnelly, Xavier Doerr and Zach Miller-Wright.

SECOND TEAM Connor Pilcher, Harry Stapleton, Blake Wilson, Andrew Douyere, Lachlan Wheatley and Xavier Smith-Power.

SQUAD Tom Edmunds, Charlie Hart, Oscar Billson, Foster Lane, Jack O’Hagan, Lachlin Iland, Tom McGregor, Brandon Rerrie, Cameron Roberts, Max Hateley, Jackson Fray. The Racing teams were coached by Mr Wharington, Mr Cunich and Mr Wright. It was great to see Grant back with us, after recently suffering a serious injury aboard Scallywag during the Volvo 60 Ocean Race.

In light conditions, the boys raced extremely well, with great raw speed making them competitive in every race. The outstanding crew of the day was our own Tom Wright and Lachlan Free, who won all seven races, despite some heavy competition, particularly in race 6, where they came through from fourth place, passing other boats from Brisbane Grammar and Iona College on the final downwind leg to take the honours. This was a magnificent achievement and Tom repeated his exploits of three years ago, when again he was the top performing skipper in the GPS Championships. Tom was well supported by his fellow members of the First team, notably skippers Xavier Doerr and Oscar Weatherseed. Oscar and his crew Ethan Donnelly finished second overall and Blake Wilson, with the assistance of Andrew Douyere, also had by far his best sailing day so far this year, finishing in third place overall.

When the points were calculated at the end of the seven races, the results were TSS in first position, BGS in second position and BBC in third position. It should be noted also that the TSS Second team finished ahead of the BBC First team in the overall standings. Much credit is also due to the remaining crews, all of whom worked extremely hard not just on this day, but throughout the season, many of them having their first taste of racing. Over 100 boys have sailed at TSS this season, with nearly 50 boys learning to sail for the first time. We look forward to seeing their skills continue to develop in future seasons.

In a further initiative this season, we have been very fortunate to have strengthened our relationship with Southport Yacht Club and on four Wednesdays in Term Three, a group of 16 boys sailed some Blazer yachts – much larger than those we sail at school, under the instruction of coaches from SYC. This greatly helped to improve the skills of our developing skippers, and the racing nous of all concerned.

It is also fitting to mention the Year 12 boys who have shown true servant leadership this season, taking the lead in terms of their work with the other boys, whether organising, fixing boats or helping to teach other boys and helping to inspire them onward. Tom Edmunds, Oscar Weatherseed, Xavier Doerr, and Sailing Captain Connor Pilcher, have been instrumental in ensuring that Sailing at TSS is at an all-time high in terms of numbers, and the winning of this 2018 trophy is a fitting testament to their work and commitment over many years. In addition, the boys would not be able to get on the water without our team of coaches and, of course, the Friends of Sailing group, led by Mr Wright, who have ensured that whatever we do we will continued to be looked after and supported with the best interest of the boys in mind.