Fremantle local and 2014 Opti worlds sailor Romë Featherstone sailed brilliantly to lead from day one and sweep the fleet at the 2015 Australian Optimist Championships held at Fremantle Sailing Club.
Podium finishers were runner-up Alexander Higgins (SA) and Campbell Stewart (WA), with Matt Meaney (SA) and Otto Henry (NSW) making up the top five Australians. Isabelle Kenny (WA) was the top girl and Arthur Fry (GBR) the top International.
Sailed in typical strong WA winds and large seas the 2015 Australian & Open Optimist Championships bought together 220 sailors and their families, many of whom had siblings competing in the Fremantle hosted Australian Youth Championships where all classes except the Hobie 16 were won by former AOST members.
The top 16 sailors will form the AOST (Australian Optimist Sailing Team) with the first five sailors representing Australia at the world championships in Poland, other team members get to sail in Qatar for the Asian & Oceanian Championships and in the European Championships in Wales.
The Australian Optimist Teams Racing Championships conducted over two days prior to fleet racing was won by the team from SA ahead of NSW.
Each of the state championships happen in the next few months with AOST meeting ahead of the NSW State Championships for the annual clinic, this will be held at Georges River Sailing Club the host of the 2016 Australian Optimist Championships.
– Steven Bond
