Nowhere in the world do they regard the Etchells 22 with as much reverence as they do in Australia. And nowhere in Australia is the sailing as demanding as it can be at Fantastic Freo, otherwise Fremantle at Perth on the far west coast.
The hard cases still reckon that the breezy 1987 America’s Cup in 12 Metres at Perth - when Dennis Conner took back the trophy so painfully lost at Newport RI in 1983 – was the greatest AC ever staged. So when the open waters off Fremantle were selected as the venue for the 2024 Etchells 22 Worlds this past week, it became stadium stuff, with a hyper-competitive fleet allowing for both Open and Corinthian Divisions.
The overall winner was Magpie, sailed by three pros who between them now have three Etchells Worlds in the notch-post. Crewmen James Mayo and Richard Allinson took it in 1999 and 2019 respectively, but helmsman Graeme Taylor was out of the loop until this year.
His 2024 Etchells 22 overall win was not only some consolation for being right in the midst of that soul-destroying loss of line honours for Andoo by 30 seconds at the end of the Sydney-Hobart Race in December, but he also could see the legendary Lawrie Smith tucked in well astern at fourth overall.
With racing at this level, the proper inclusion of a Corinthian Division is essential, and ex-Pat Jamie McWilliam of Royal Hong Kong YC made good use of it to get his place on the podium with the Bronze.
