A Class catamaran Southern Championships to be held in conjuntion with RGYC's Festival of Sails

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Festival of Sails: Hurricane Sandy delays A-Class cats

 

Friday, 23 November 2012

Hurricane Sandy influenced the weather pattern at the recent A-Cat World Championships held last month in Florida Keys, United States, by cutting the series in half. The weather effects might be long gone, but the impact for some Australian A-Class sailors is far reaching.

 

Preparation for the A-Class Southern Championships, to be held in conjunction with Royal Geelong Yacht Club’s Festival of Sails, has been put back due to Hurricane Sandy and the subsequent late departure of the ship carrying nine catamarans from Florida back to Melbourne.

 

The ship finally sailed on November 5th from Miami to the Panama Canal, where the boats were transferred to a different vessel for the final second leg.

Australian A-Class President, Ian Johnson, has been in touch with the shipping company, but expects it will be another week until he knows whether the container ship is on schedule.

 

Originally due early December, the ship is now expected to dock in Melbourne on the 20th, right before many freight staff go on Christmas holidays

“If we can’t unload the boats in the short window before Christmas it could be another couple of weeks until we can get access to them,” said Johnson.

“Not being able to check the boats over after such a long transport or train during the Christmas break isn’t an ideal situation, however those affected are highly experienced, which lessens the disruption somewhat.”

 

The Festival of Sails runs from January 24 to 28 and the A-Class Southern Championships will be the premier event held in the southern states in the run up to the class’ nationals in Darwin mid 2013.

 

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