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02/22/2023
At Pantaenius | Pantaenius Crew
Interview with Matt Mulder- past national Contender Champion!
Our colleague Matt recently competed in the Contender Nationals and Worlds, both held in Fremantle WA. Whilst things didn’t go quite as well as anticipated (Matt was one of the favorites for the title), he still had a great experience and learnt a lot from the race weeks. We interviewed him to get a glimpse into his experience.
HOW LONG HAVE YOU BEEN SAILING? HOW LONG HAVE YOU BEEN RACING CONTENDER BOATS?
I started sailing when I was 10 years old (Sabots) and began sailing Contenders at age 15. My first major contender regatta was the 1988 World Titles in Brisbane where I finished Mid Fleet.
WHAT DID YOU DO IN THE LEAD UP TO THE NATIONALS AND WORLD?
Unfortunately due to outside circumstances I was unable to do much training leading up to the contests. My boat had to leave 6 weeks prior to the regatta due to flooding which seriously shortened my preparation time.
HOW WAS THE BOATS PREPARATION? WERE THERE ANY ISSUES PRE RACING?
Yes we did have a small hiccup- as we sent our boats via Rail across the country there was a lot of vibration on the trip which allowed lots of fittings to become loose. A full day was spent going over the boat prior to any sailing at the venue. After this the boat was perfectly set up for a windy regatta.
HOW WHERE THE CONDITIONS? WAS THE WEATHER GOOD?
The Australian Titles were held in the advertised Sea Breeze conditions but due to a lack of time on the water it took several days to get back into sailing fitness. By the beginning of the World Championships the sailing conditions became uncharacteristic for the venue with 4 of the 5 days of racing being conducted in light and variable conditions which did not suit my sailing.
How many participants? How many races
We had 35 competitors representing 5 countries (Aus, NZL, GER, ITA and NED) which was well down on usual numbers due to the inflated world shipping costs. The races were conducted over 3 days for the Australian Championships and 10 Races over 5 days for the Worlds.
HOW DID YOU GO? WHAT ARE YOU WANTING TO WORK ON FOR THE NEXT TIME?
Due to my preparations not being ideal I went into the regatta a little heavy for the conditions we had over the course of the worlds. Any race that was help over 12Knts I had very good speed and won the 3 races that were conducted in these conditions. The 7 remaining races were very tough for me in the light conditions. I ended up 9th overall though there was only 3 points separating 4th to 9th. I am going to work on my fitness levels and light wind sailing skills prior to my next major regatta.
WHERE ARE THE NEXT WORLDS BEING HELD?
The next worlds will be conducted in Denmark in July of 2023 with up to 140 boats expected to attend.
Anything else you want to add?
Not really apart from the fact that the winner of this year’s World titles (Mark Bulka) is an exceptional sailor who performed well in all conditions that were presented to us and is a good bet for retaining his title in Denmark later this year. I wish him nothing but luck!
