Whitsunday Optimist sailor in Asian Regatta

 Young Whitsunday Optimist sailor Eva Lorenz is back from the 21^st OCBC IODA Asian Optimist Championships with the accolade of being the first Australian girl.

 Eva ranked 81^st out of a total of 118 world-class competitors from 20 countries, beating fellow Australian Claire McNally and becoming 4^th non-Asian girl.

 “It was where I was aiming for,” said Eva, whose first day of racing saw her ranking 51^st.

 The regatta comprised 12 races held over six days in the island nation of Singapore, where Eva was also the youngest Australian to compete.

 Eva described the Asian conditions as “very different to the Whitsundays,” saying Singapore was hot and humid “and the water was dirty and choppy”.

 Competitors’ boats were fitted with GPS trackers allowing friends and family to watch the racing online and from overseas.

 “Klaus (Eva’s brother) and I watched her on the internet. We gave her high-five’s – we were cheering her along all the way,” said Eva’s mother Almuth Lorenz.

 Almuth also pointed to the benefits in life experience her 12-year-old daughter had gained by travelling to a new country and competing on this level.

 “It’s huge. She’s very independent anyway but this is great life experience – going to an Asian country, sorting herself out and finding her place in the group – it’s a good educational experience too,” Almuth said.

 Next on the agenda for Eva and her fellow Optimist sailors is the Whitsundays off-beach regatta, which will coincide with the forthcoming Airlie Beach Race Week.

 To see Eva’s Asian races replayed visit www.asianoptimistsailing.org.sg or for more information on joining the Whitsunday Optimist Sailing Team contact Jeremy Cooper on 0487 891 367. 

Jessica Watson in the Whitsundays

 When Whitsunday sailor Eva Lorenz won the Jessica Watson trophy for being “first girl” little did she know she would meet her heroine in Airlie Beach. Twelve-year-old Eva was presented the trophy at the Optimist State Championships in Mooloolaba on June 5.

 “I think it’s great to have won this trophy as I think Jessica is a great inspiration for girls,” Eva said.

 Jessica Watson, who was in the Whitsundays to promote the season of sailing and Ben Southall’s ‘best expedition in the world’, said it was great to meet Eva and see the trophy for herself.

 “It was a shame I couldn’t be there but I seem to spend more time in other parts of the country than I do in my home town,” Jessica said.

 “I’m very jealous of you getting to sail in the Whitsundays all the time,” she told Eva when they met at Capers on Monday night.

 Like Eva, Jessica once sailed Optimists. “But only briefly and I never did very well because I moved onto bigger boats,” she said.

 Jessica, who modestly maintains she’s “nothing special” and “not actually as exciting as they all make out”, had this message for her fans:

 “I came from being scared of the water – it wasn’t me at all. I was the last person you’d expect to become an adventurer. But when it comes down to it, it’s really quite simple. Take the big goal, break it down to little parts and it’s actually quite achievable”.

 Jessica signed Eva’s Whitsunday Sailing Club shirt and wished her luck for her upcoming competition in Singapore, where Eva is one of just two girls representing Australia in the International Optimist Asian Regional Championship Regatta from July 23 to 29.

 Eva’s father Jeremy Cooper said he was very proud of his daughter and hoped this would encourage other girls to become involved in the sport.

 “Girls can do anything in sailing,” Mr Cooper said.