Zoe Dransfield, Madeleine Mcleay earn 29er skiff spot at youth sailing worlds
Australian sailing teenagers Zoe Dransfield and crewmate Madeleine Mcleay love racing together but there is a secret to their success.
Manly
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Teenager Zoe Dransfield and crewmate Madeleine Mcleay clicked as soon as they jumped in a skiff together for the first time.
And Dransfield believes she knows why.
“We have the same sense of humour,’’ said the teenage sailor from Curl Curl, who with Mcleay will be representing Australia at the world youth championships in Brazil later this year.
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“It is so important to be good mates as well. That really comes out when there is pressure and stress. You have to trust each other.
“When we went out for the first time we just clicked.
“We are both quite quiet and a little shy but around friends we just have fun. We have a similar sense of humour which helps as well.’’
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The pair, who sail out of Middle Harbour Yacht Club, were the top placed all-girls crew in the 29er skiff division at the end of the recent Australian championships and Australian Youth trials in Victoria.
Both events were affected by nearby bush fires with the racing program reduced due to the smoke.
“Of the four days schedule we only got two days because of the smoke. They were worried about asthma and the air quality,’’ Dransfield said.
But despite capsizing in strong winds on the first day of the trials, the pair still managed to finish as top girls to secure the Australian spot at the world titles in December.
“That will the light at the end of the tunnel,’ said Dransfield of the world youth regatta which follows on from their Higher School Certificate exams.
Once Dransfield turns 18 she is hoping to try her hand at ocean racing with the Sydney to Hobart yacht race a goal in the future.
The provisional Australian Youth Sailing Team is: 29er Boys: Ethan Galbraith and Charles Zeeman (TAS), 29er Girls: Zoe Dransfield and Maddie Mcleay (NSW), 420 Boys: Linus Talacko and Lachlan Grogan (VIC), 420 Girls: Bridget Conrad and India Gilbert (NSW), Laser Radial Boys: Michael Compton (WA), Laser Radial Girls: Mina Ferguson (NSW), Nacra 15: Georgia Payne and Nathan Bryant (WA/NSW), Techno 293 Plus: Grae Morris (NSW), Techno 293 Plus: Amelia Quinlan (NSW)