Melbourne set for Para World Sailing Championships

Around 140 sailors will compete at the Para World Sailing Championships in Melbourne ©ISAF

Around 140 sailors from 31 countries are due to take to the water during the Para World Sailing Championships at the Royal Yacht Club of Victoria in Melbourne tomorrow.

The event will gather the world’s top sailors across three Paralympic classes, with gold medals and vital Rio 2016 qualification points on offer.

Among the competitors are Paralympic SKUD18 champions Dan Fitzgibbon and Liesl Tesch, hoping home advantage can guide them to another victory in what has already been a superb season.

The pair claimed the world title in Nova Scotia, Canada in 2010 and have since won the International Sailing Federation (ISAF) World Cup events in Melbourne and Miami, as well as the Delta Lloyd Regatta in The Netherlands.

They come into the event as favourites and Tesch, who represented Australia in wheelchair basketball at five consecutive Paralympic Games from Barcelona 1992 onwards, winning silver at Syndey 200 and bronze in Beijing eight years later, admits they have a target on their back.

“I broke my back in a push bike accident when I was 19 and I played wheelchair basketball for five Paralympics,” she said.

“I was then invited to do the Sydney to Hobart Yacht Race where Dan Fitzgibbon, Paralympic silver medallist in Beijing, spotted this wheelchair basketballer heading to Sydney and gave me a call.

“And now, here I am.

“We're looking forward to lining up with the best teams in the world in front of our home crowd and the event will be another great positive step in our Paralympic preparation.

“No pressure on us as the defending world champions…. well, the big target will be on our back after our Paralympic gold medal first, then 2014 world champion and our season so far, so watch this space.”

Dan Fitzgibbon and Liesl Tesch will be hoping to earn gold in front of their home crowd ©ISAF

Team-mate Matt Bugg has made a steady progression in the 2.4mR category, gradually improving his performances each year and could sneak onto the podium at the event in Melbourne.

Bugg, who suffered a snowboarding accident as a youngster which left him a paraplegic, is aiming to use the competition on home waters as preparation for Rio 2016 and is targeting a medal.

“My goal is to win a Paralympic medal in Rio, obviously but sailing, for me, is purely about being out on the water,” he said.

“I love being on the water and around it.

“Also yacht racing is the best kind of racing I have ever done - I love the tactical side of it and the smart side of it.”

The event in Melbourne is due to take place until December 3.