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Ashwell and Arendse make gold fleet at 420 World Championships
Published Mon 05 Aug 2019
The young South African pair of Matt Ashwell and Rivaldo Arendse from Zeekoevlei Yacht Club put in a creditable performance at the recent 420 World Championships in Vilamoura, Portugal. They claimed three top-10 race results in the under-17 category to make the gold fleet and eventually finished 33rd overall.
“Rivaldo and I worked extremely well as a team together, and with the help of Sibu Sizatu and Roger Hudson, we had a fully functional, tuned to the best of our ability racing machine,” explained Ashwell.
“In hindsight, the regatta was a great way to ‘learn the ropes’ of big fleet 420 racing, and served as a gentle reminder that a lot of work needs to be put in, in order to be successful. Our results seemed to favour the stronger wind, however the qualifying series had strong winds and the final series light, so it may have been that the qualifying series was slightly easier.
“This experience wouldn’t have been possible without the generosity of the International
420 Class Association and Vilamoura Sailing, organised by Nuno Reis. Many thanks also to everyone that assisted with funding via BackaBuddy, and to the ‘Boost Africa Foundation’ for assisting with funding for Rivaldo,” he added.
“This was a fulfilling experience, and we have learnt many new lessons both on and off the water. Looking forward we plan to compete in the upcoming 420 National Championships this September, and potentially in the 420 African Championships next January. We will continue on our adventure together, bonding evermore as we do so and strengthening our team. We can’t wait for the many opportunities that lie ahead.”
Arendse added: “The 420 World Championships was a great experience for Matt and I. The venue had great sailing conditions and great weather. The first few days we struggled with setting up the boat. We called Roger Hudson for assistance and we also got some help from local coaches. Other teams were very secretive about their gears and settings.
“The competition was tough on the water, we struggled a bit with the starts. But at the end we qualified for the gold fleet and I can say Matt and I sailed to the best of our ability.”
