Diary: Ben Austin (49er) - Latest Update

Ben Austin (49er)

Ben Austin, Friday, 18 April 2008

TEAM FACTS: Nathan Outteridge, Ben Austin (Skiff: 49er) 2007 World Championship Bronze Medallist and 2008 World Championship Gold Medallists, 2008 Australian National Champions. ISAF World Ranking: 4th * Coach: Emmett Lazich

Hi all,

Here is another update of what the Aussie 49er guys have been up to in the last month since returning home from Palma, Spain.

There was no rest for the team after landing in Sydney, as we had only two weeks with our Olympic equipment in the country before shipping it to China.  In this time, we were very keen to trial some new gear and rig setups in the conditions we are expecting in China.  This included putting (yet another) new mast together and testing it, trialling some new jibs and mainsails, some new Gill sailing gear and some really cool new ratchet blocks from Ronstan.  The plan had been to sail from Middle Harbour Yacht Club, to access the lumpy conditions found around Sydney heads.  Fortunately for Nathan and I, all the driving was made substantially more comfortable by the use of two Australian Sailing Team Audi Q7's.  However, as invariably happens, we failed to communicate our intentions with the guy upstairs, and the weather was not kind to us.  We set out with the intention of sailing seven days, however a strong southerly weather pattern meant we could only get on the water three days.  Regardless, we have collected a large amount of data about our equipment and will spend the next couple of weeks digesting it all - our initial analysis suggests we have made some significant breakthroughs in the last two weeks.

Today we farewelled our two Australian Sports Commission supplied 49ers 'Fearless' and 'Spotless' as they are packed up and shipped off to China in preparation for training in Qingdao in June.  It was a busy couple of days sorting out all the equipment and spares needed to run a four boat campaign across three continents, however, I think we have managed to get most things in the right bag.  Only time will tell if we have forgot something!  Just in time for the packing, our olympic Australian flag spinnakers from Macdiarmid Sails have arrived and we are eager to hoist them up a mast and have a look when we arrive in China.  We just have to do a bit of homework now as to proper protocol for hoisting the Australian flag - do we stand at attention, salute or remove our hats?

Now, Nathan, Emmett and I are going to have a couple of weeks break to give the bodies and minds a bit of rest and recovery.  It has been an extremely busy couple of months for us, however we have achieved just about all the goals we set out at the beginning of the year, including meeting our 'China weight' targets.  Nathan and I will be attending a few AOC functions including the 100 days to the Olympics festivities in just over a week and I will be giving a few talks to some primary schools.  Otherwise, we probably would have headed north for a relaxing holiday at Hamilton Island!! Our next big event is the Holland Regatta in May followed by our first training camp in Qingdao. 

Finally, we have been extremely fortunate to have David O'Connor and Scott Babbage assist us with our on-water testing in the last couple of weeks and are grateful to the Australian Sailing Team for helping get these boys to Qingdao for our first training camp.  The boys have been immensely helpful in helping us find that speed edge we are looking for and Nathan and I are extremely grateful for their time and effort.

Best wishes,

Ben Austin