Good morning RTYF Board,
We are writing to your board in recognition of how your foundation has helped our son Alexander Eyles travel internationally and compete in an Optimist regatta.
In June this year we took Alexander to Lake Garda in Italy to compete in his first ever international regatta. The regatta was the 49th Silver Optimist Trophy and was run by Circolo Vela Torbole. To get familiar with the conditions on the lake, we organised for some training days out of another club in the area, Fraglia Vela Riva. The coaching was top class, and Alex was fortunate to be able to reunite with several sailors he had attended a sailing school with 2 years prior.
On the first day of the regatta the boats stayed out on the water for 5 hours, but the wind did not cooperate, and no races were started. This was still a fantastic opportunity for Alex as there were about 280 sailors from over 15 countries enjoying the incredible scenery of Lake Garda, and generally “mucking about on boats”.
The second day brought around 10 knots of breeze, and Alex’s fleet managed to get three races in. Getting a great start in his first race, Alex sailed extremely well to be 2nd at the top mark. Local knowledge and smaller European bodies helped a few boats sneak past during the downwind, but Alex still managed a credible 11th place.
The 2nd and 3rd races proved trickier, as local knowledge of the lake proved to be more important than boat speed and handling. Alex got caught on the wrong side of the course and went from 10th to 55th in half a leg, with the rest of the race spent chasing down boats in front of him, finishing up in 20th.
The final race of the day was sailed in a fading breeze, and unfortunately after getting caught on the wrong side of a large shift again, there was not enough wind for Alex to repeat his heroics of race 2, finishing back in 41st.
The third and final day of the regatta looked promising, with winds between 15 and 20 knots giving Alex conditions much more like he was used to in Perth. Unfortunately, the RO was not comfortable having the younger sailors racing in these winds, so Alex’s fleet were sent back to shore with no races started.
This left Alex in 21st place overall for the event.
The Ron Tough Yachting Foundation grant has helped Alex immensely, both financially and mentally. Attending an international regatta at the age of 9 is a daunting task, but having the RTYF recognise and support Alex with this grant has helped him believe in himself and is now looking forward to the next opportunity to experience all that our great sport has to offer.