STU PIDDINGTON
Teenaged sailor Lola Stoodley has added another line to her CV with a third place finish at the Australian Optimist Open Championship.
Stoodley faced tough competition and conditions on Brisbane’s Royal Queensland Yacht Squadron Waterloo Bay courses but flew through.
Stoodley, 14, also finished top female competitor in the 118-strong fleet in an impressive effort.
Each competitor could drop three of their 15 race results, and the boisterous southeast breeze and the current flow from January king tides resulted in the race course presenting a serious test of heavy wind sailing.
The weather system presented all of the solo dinghy sailors with a supreme test of physical endurance when they were required to lean hard in the hiking straps for long periods to master the sloppy seaway.
Stoodley showed her class and determination in taking four wins.
Victorian teenager Jack Graves took out the championships with Kiwis Alistair Gifford and Stoodley claiming the other overall medals.
For the Craighead student it was great preparation for her main aim of making the New Zealand team for the world championships.
But to do that Stoodley will need to be a top five finisher at the nationals at New Plymouth at Easter and she heads to the city this weekend for a pre-national regatta.
“It will be really interesting as New Plymouth can get a really huge wind, up to 25 knots and three metre swells.”
Stoodley has been yachting for three years after her father took her to a “learn to sail” course.
“I hated it to start with but once we started racing I really loved it,” she said.
Since then things have moved quickly for Stoodley, who finished 21st at the European Championships last year in Portugal.
“I was 10th going into the final race but was black-flagged, but you need to be aggressive at the start.”
Should she get her timing right at the start Stoodley could well be the one to beat in the fleet.
– © Fairfax NZ News
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