72 Slalom races. 12 Slalom tables. 216 precise flag signals. 5 one hour GPS sessions. 5 sensational days of perfect competition conditions. Some of the best racing and fun ever.
So for 2019, the final day of GI Nats delivered. Again. Perfect conditions saw 2 tables of highspeed short course downwind M slalom completed on the downwind corner of the Island.
At the front of the Open fleet the usual battles were playing out, Julien at or near the front on just about everything, and Max showing ballistic back straight speed on his smaller board.
Kaleb and Kelly fighting hard to keep the pressure on them and Brad quietly clocking up great finishes and consistent scores.
The battle for the Women’s slalom honors had become super tight overnight, decimal point differences splitting TAS Karen Robertson from QLD Lara O’Brien. We had to go to the presentation to discover the final result difference was only 0.3 points, in favor of Lara with Karen 2nd and Lara’s sister Shari close behind in 3rd. If you think the girls raced easy, you weren’t there (check out the Lara/Shari crash video!)
Right in the hear t of the main action, TAS Dave Morehead consistently and convincingly took out the Masters Slalom from VIC John Kane and NSW Glen Morrell.
Then it was time for the final Freerace and despite Julien’s dominance it was super clear that Kaleb, Kelly and Brad were going all out to claw back his event long lead. With discards in play, Julien was basically in an unassailable overall position. Kaleb fought on for every point, and Brad remained super consistent finishing the week in third place. Womens was a strong battle between Karen (Women’s Champions and 7th outright) and QLD speedster Kellie Tusler who had great speed on the longer GPS runs. Shari O’Brien finished 3rd overall, ahead of Derryn Arthur, Lara and QLDs Jo Byrne, rounding out a competitive and super positive week of racing by all 6 girls.
Masters Freerace was definitely no cruise with Dave Morehead powering onwards to his Masters Title (and 5th outright) , ahead of Glen Morrell and Townsville local Michael Corkeron.
2019 delivered a benchmark week of sailing, fun and camaraderie (not to mention competition!) – with many clearly rating the 2019 GI Nats the “best ever”.
A huge thanks to all our participants, sponsors and supporters. In particular to the many volunteers who contribute so much to making GI the epic event it has become.
Catch even more action and Island Life HERE
Get all the 2019 GI Nats results HERE
