Thursday, 23rd November 2023
Placing in top 5 at the Australian Optimist National Champions in January 2023 (Australian team selection event) gave Augustas an opportunity to qualify for two IODA events this year. One was the Worlds in June, the second event he chose to represent Australia at was 2023 Optimist Asian and Oceanian Championship (Abu Dhabi, UAE) earlier this month. With nearly 160 participants from 27 countries this event turned out to be an amazing experience. Augustas was sailing against Italian and Spanish champions and many strong teams from Europe and Americas coached by some of the best opti coaches in the world. Augustas did really well in the qualifying series, winning the last race in his group. Finals were a bit tricky as due to the weather conditions sailors had to do all the series (four races) in one day instead of 2. Augustas finished in the 25th position overall, he was 7th from the Asia-Oceania region and got on the podium as 1st sailor from Oceania beating 2 sailors from New Zealand. It was a much needed international regatta experience for Augustas who is preparing for his last opti year starting with nationals in January 2024.
Congratulations to Augustas with his sailing efforts. We will be looking closely to Augustas sailing in the future.
