The Bendigo Yacht Club member and his Sydney-based sailing team-mate were fourth in a field of about 40  at the world championships pre-regatta at the weekend.

Battling steep waves, Goodall and Waterhouse handled the conditions well to set themselves up for a tilt at the world title.

“This weekend we had the world championship pre-regatta, which most of the international teams competed in as a warm-up for the worlds beginning next week,” Goodall said.

“We finished fourth which is extremely encouraging. Our general boat speed is great and now we can just focus on the little technical things.

“It seems conditions here will be very technical. We expect to be seeing breeze from 12 to 18 knots, with a steep wave pattern which makes for a great spectacle.

“We are very excited for the main event now with a few more days intense training (to come).”

Goodall and Waterhouse arrived in LA the previous Monday and after spending three days unpacking and assembling their boats they only had two days practice at the Long Beach venue leading into the warm-up regatta.

Goodall’s father Greg and Christa van Helden finished seventh in the pre-regatta.

Meanwhile, Doug Carswell partnered with Rowan Gillies and Barry Lovell to take the overall honours in the Bendigo Yacht Club’s winter series.

The trio also won division four ahead of Peter Mullenger who was followed by Russell Denholm in third.

Tom Cobden won the division one fast catamaran title in his Taipan, sealing the championship in style by winning the final two races of the series.

Ron Mason, partnered with Wendy Rogash and Warren Mathieson, won the winter series handicap.

The BeYC’s next event will be the Ice-Breaker Regatta on September 22 and 23, with about 80 boats expected on the water at Lake Eppalock.

The season will officially begin on October 6, while Learn to Sail will host a community information day on Sunday, October 7 from  2pm at the club’s Lake Eppalock base.