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Sailing in right direction:
(From left) Mark Leitner, Adam Beattie,
Matt Webb and Lucas Cale have
returned from a successful run at the
recent Nacra National Championships
at Hervey Bay.
Picture: JAKE NOWAKOWSKI
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By Craig Ross, Thursday, January 21, 2010
© The Cairns Post
CAIRNS sailor Adam Beattie is hungry for a senior national title and needs one soon if he is to emulate his father Dale's record of nine Australian championships.
Beattie, a multiple national title-holder in junior competition, has a chance to open his senior account when he teams up with Mark Leitner at the Formula 18 Australian Championships at Geelong starting on Saturday.
The Cairns Yacht Club pair is backing up from a strong showing at the recent 31st Nacra National Championships at Hervey Bay, where Beattie (skipper) and Leitner (crew) finished second overall in their craft A Happy Little Vegemite.
Beattie was encouraged by the performance, bettered only by Neville Thompson’s Fat Face crew, despite missing out on his first senior national championship.
"I’m happy, we aimed for the top three," he said. "There were some strong competitors from Port Douglas and Townsville so it was good to be amongst it."
Although he would cherish going one further at the four-day Australian Championships, Beattie knows it will be a tough ask against many of the nation’s best 18-foot outfits.
"A top-five finish would be nice," he said, having finished 10th in last year’s championships.
"We’ve got the speed and skill to do it, we’ve just got to get out and do it now."
In only their second season together, Beattie and Leitner have quickly established a formidable combination, having captured the Queensland Nacras title at Mission Beach in October.
Also heading to Geelong are fellow Cairns sailors Leigh McNally (skipper) and Lucas Cale (crew) in their craft Sneak ’N’ It.
McNally and Cale are also backing up from Hervey Bay, where they finished 11th in their first season together.
Cale said competing in Geelong would be an eye-opening experience.
"Just finishing will be good, but it would be great to be in the top 10," he said.
"It will give us a bit of a gauge as to how we’re going and how far we’ve got to improve to match it with the top crews."
One place behind McNally and Cale were their clubmates skipper Jamie Leitner and crew Matthew Webb in The Young Ones.
Webb said contesting his first major event had been a memorable experience and he looked forward to again testing his skills at a high level despite a setback during the series.
"On the last day our mainsheet snapped and we had to miss two races, so we did well considering that," he said.
Beattie, whose father Dale won nine Cobra class national titles in the 1980s and ’90s, will also head to overseas with Jamie Leitner in April to contest the European tour before lining up at the world championships in France in July.
Beattie was confident of bettering the 48th placing he achieved with fellow Australian Mal Richardson at last year’s championships in Belgium.
"I didn’t sail with (Mal) until the event last year," he said.
"We were also disqualified when coming third in the last race which would have placed us in the top 30.
"But this time, Jamie and I will have two months’ training together to iron out any problems and start working as one.
Reference: http://www.cairns.com.au/article/2010/01/21/88585_local-sport-news.html
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