The College has been selected to represent South Australia from the 17th to 20th of July, due to its strong sailing capabilities and impressive finish at last year’s championships.
During the 2023 event at the Goolwa Regatta Yacht Club, the team tallied 12 wins against experienced competition from Queensland, Victoria, New South Wales, Tasmania and ACT – as well as South Australian teams from Westminster College, Sacred Heart and Walford Girls.
This year, as the team returns to Goolwa for its fourth Australian Championship, it is looking to build on the successes of its 16-year sailing history, College Principal John Robinson said.
“The team has been braving the cold and the rain to prepare for the challenge of competing against the top 22 school sailing teams from across Australia,” Mr Robinson said.
“While we have the advantage of competing on familiar waters, we know we will be up against stiff competition.
“We have a brilliant opportunity to challenge ourselves against the country’s best and to grow through the experience.
“This is also simply about the pleasure of being out on these beautiful waters in the place we call home.”
The crew that will step aboard – Michell, Lucas, Django, Marlin, Keegan and William – will draw upon their experience of sailing at the Goolwa Aquatic Club.
The team is managed by teacher Chris Detmar and coached this year by experienced father-daughter combination, Ben and Alyssa Kelsey.
Alyssa, an Investigator old collegian, captained the team at the 2018 championships on the Mornington Peninsula.
Her father Ben is a veteran of many Milang-Goolwa Freshwater Classics and Adelaide to Port Lincoln Yacht Races, who put his hand up for the coaching role when he moved from Port Lincoln to Hindmarsh Island.
The championship is a team sailing event, where three boats from one team compete against three from the other around a tight racecourse, Ben explained.
“This is a team sport, where team cooperation trumps individual glory,” he said.
“The crew will be applying team sailing tactics and sailing as a collective to make the College proud. We’re aiming for a top 10 result.
“Events like this are a great platform to develop skills that can be used both on and off the water.”
Local sailing fans have their upcoming schedule sorted, with the championships to be closely followed by numerous televised sailing events at the Paris Olympics.
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Update: Braving wild and woolly weather, the team compiled an impressive 12 wins at the 2024 event. The sport involves three boats from one team racing against three from an another and requires complex sailing tactics, selflessness and teamwork. The team displayed all of these qualities in abundance and can be very proud of its result.
