In November Middle Harbour Amateur Sailing Club (MHASC) in Sydney, Australia was asked if it could help Samoa’s Olympic aspirant Vai’mo’oi’a (Vai) Ripley hone her skills by sailing on Sydney Harbour on her way to Oman for the 2021 ILCA 6 (Radial) Women’s World Championship.
The club was quick to say yes and World Radial Great Grand Master Champion, Jeff Loosemore, led a small team of keen sailors to plan and execute a wonderful couple of days in The Sound at the entrance to Sydney Harbour in conditions similar to those expected in Oman.
MHASC Vice Commodore Graham Jennings commented that “Jeff has done an amazing job here. Vai is so grateful and it has really helped her preparation and fuelled her passion for Laser sailing. She is realistic on her prospects and will use the experience in Oman to benchmark what her next steps are to push onwards and upwards. An uplifting exercise for us.”
Vai is aiming to be the Samoan representative for the 2024 Olympics. Some details are on Facebook link Vai Ripley