Australian Sailing Team member and Rio 2016 Laser gold medalist Tom Burton has proven that he is still a force to be reckoned with after kicking off 2019 in style by taking out the 2019 Oceania and Australian Laser Championships.

The regatta which was held at The Mersey Yacht Club in Devonport, was Burton’s first competitive hit-out after a short break.

“For me it was quite nice to be near the front of the fleet after taking 3 months off and probably the fresh mental approach helped in the shifty conditions,” he said after the regatta.

“The last race was by far the hardest, piping in a solid 25 knots with big waves and also still recovering from some niggling injuries. I was happy to get some miles in the legs and still be in one piece.”

The Devonport waters produced shifty winds that resulted in multiple course changes and long, grueling days on the water. After moderate conditions for most of the week, the last day of racing certainly escalated with the notoriously tough conditions of Bass Strait producing strong winds and big waves which battered the fleet.

Matt Wearn echoed Burton’s remarks, highlighting the unusually large amount of time competitors were forced to spend on the water.

“We clocked up over 30 hours on the water for 12 races so it was tough on the body. Devonport really did keep us on our toes,” Wearn said.

Despite finishing second to Burton and not picking up the Laser treble after his Sail Sydney and Sail Melbourne victories, Wearn is eager to get over to Miami for the first Sailing World Cup event of 2019 to get racing again.

“I would have loved to finish with three from three wins over the summer so I am a little disappointed, however I am looking forward to heading off to Miami soon to have another chance to consolidate on a great summer of sailing.”

It was a good regatta overall for the Australian Sailing Team, with squad members Luke Elliot (3^rd), Mitch Kennedy (4^th) and Finn Alexander (5^th) rounding out the other positions in the top five.

Mitchell Kennedy finished a close fourth behind Luke ‘Swifto’ Elliot after being locked in a tight battle throughout the regatta, with only two points splitting the two.

“We changed positions on the leader board with each other a few times but I was fortunate to have a few smaller drops than him going into the last day which put things in my favour,” Elliot said.

He is hopeful for some improvement with a couple of big months of training ahead.

“I wasn’t consistent enough to be on the top of the podium but it leaves me with some good things to work on before Europe. I’ve got a serious block of training up from February through to March that will set me up for the trials in Europe starting with Hyeres.”

The Olympic class female Laser Radial division was won by Australian Sailing Squad’s Mara Stransky, who was the first Australian female and fourth overall.

Stransky finished behind some excellent talent in reigning Radial Women's World Champion and Belgium representative, Emma Plasschaert, reigning Radial Men's World Champion, Zac Littlewood, and Japanese sailor, Manami Doi, who is currently ranked #6 (recently #3) in the world.

Stransky was extremely appreciative of the talent that featured at the regatta and saw it as a terrific learning curve.

“We were incredibly fortunate to have such quality competition present throughout the fleets and it was a fantastic opportunity to learn from the best,” she said.

“Knowing I can string decent races together in a row was a nice confidence boost to begin the year, and one I am keen to take overseas later in the year at the Hyeres.”

Next week will see a number of Australian Sailing Team athletes head over to Miami to see how they measure up against the rest of the world at the 2019 Hempel World Cup Series, which starts on January 26.

Australian Sailing Team Results

Laser:

Tom Burton (NSW) – 1^st

Matt Wearn (WA) – 2^nd

Luke Elliott (WA) – 3^rd

Mitch Kennedy (Qld) – 4^th

Finn Alexander (NSW) – 5^th

Laser Radial:

Mara Stransky (Qld) – 1^st Australian female, 4^th Overall

Zoe Thompson (WA) – 9^th

Click here to see full RESULTS LIST