Bad day at the beach a real blast

By ALAN PERROTT

When it looks like rain, the wind is howling and the surf is rubbish you will probably find Chris Augustin at the beach.

The 20-year-old engineering apprentice is a rising star in yachting circles but he rarely races on water.

Instead, he is a landsailor who is determined to follow in his father's wake and become an international competitor.

He favours foul weather because it keeps people away, so there is less chance of hitting someone walking their dog when he is skimming along at 140km/h.

Tales of sailors colliding with beach buggies are not uncommon, he says.

"But you never really get the sand out of your eyes and ears.

"And if you've just finished a 200km enduro, you're so cold you can't move for 10 minutes - but who cares, the speed is a blast."

Tricycle racing yachts range from the small class fives to the 12m high, 8m wide class two yachts that can reach 190km/h. Augustin's model cost about $7000.

New Zealand landyachting has only about 100 registered sailors compared with 80,000 in France, where the sport is fully professional, but we have had more than our share of success.

After three and a half years of sailing, Chris finished fifth in the class five series at the 8th World Landyacht Championships, held in March on the Ivanpah Drylake, Nevada, about 55km from Las Vegas.

His father, Phil Augustin, won class four and veteran champion Colin Palmer class two.

Palmer also finished second in class four after a ninth place spoiled his three race wins.

The sport gets pretty scary once you pass 140km/h, sitting in a flimsy hull with sand flashing by only a few centimetres below, says Chris.

The sailors lie back in flexible couches, their heads cradled against a headrest to prevent whiplash during high-speed turns or crashes.

"Speed is the biggest thing. It's similar to sailing but you are moving a hell of a lot faster.

"I used to want to race water craft, but I tried this and just freaked out."

Chris has several natural advantages, according to four-time world champion Colin Palmer.

"He's a pretty level-headed sort of guy and I've got a lot of time for him. My view of most young people is that they are as useless as I was at their age."

But he says it is the aptitude for engineering that could see Chris reach the top of the sport.

Landyachting is very design-focused, the regulations only limiting craft dimensions and sail area. Anything else goes.

That means those who are a dab hand in the workshop are often only one good idea away from a design breakthrough.

Chris has built a class five hull that is considered the lightest of its type in the world and is now helping his father develop a new wheel.

He is happy to tinker, but he has his eyes on the big yachts.

He plans to have a crack at the next Pacific Rim Championships in 2004.