‘Gunning’ for more sailing success
This young sailor had to to rely on stand-in crew during the recent Hobie 16 Nationals, but still managed to bring home a medal.
An excellent display of skill on the water saw the young star skipper, Liam Gunning, take bronze during the Hobie 16 Nationals.
The nationals were hosted by Point Yacht Club, held offshore of Durban at the end of September.
Gunning sailing with stand-in crew, Wolfgang Neumann on the first day, and his regular teammate Calvin Brown for the remaining days, earned the trio five podium finishes out of the ten races in a small but highly competitive fleet.
“I would say the best thing about this year’s nationals was the variability of the conditions that allowed us to have some good competition and close racing,” said Liam.
“The most challenging part was trying to see the wind moving across the course in the rain because wind and rain look very similar on the water from your boat, but when there’s rain there is hardly any wind, so it was quite tricky to pick which side of the course to go to,” he explained the sailing conditions.
Liam who grew up in the Vaal, is currently studying Meteorology at the University of Pretoria. He sails for the Stillbaai Yacht Club. Crewmate Calvin is studying Mechanical Engineering through Tshwane University of Technology.
Liam has been sailing for about nine years. “I started sailing on a boat called a Dart 18. Then evolved onto a Hobie 16. But I will try and sail anything that floats,” says Liam.
If he could choose a particular boat, he would love sailing on a Nacra F20 carbon, which he describes as “a pure speed machine.”
Apart from the thrill of sailing, Liam says het enjoys the Hobie way of life. “We are all rivals on the water but friends in the bar”.
The next thing for the Gunning Brown combo is the Hobie Tiger Nationals taking place next March, “We are aiming for a win or podium finish,” Liam concludes.