Australian Sailing April 2009
National Classes
Nacras
The Nacra nationals returned to Western Australia after a 19-year absence. After a two-race invitation series sponsored by Imaging the South, the racing on Koombana Bay in Bunbury turned out to be a predominately light weather series, with land breezes for all races except one.
The large contingent from Queensland was victorious in all classes. Warren Guinea, with a Team Nacra Europe crew in Marja Van Helden took out the F18 division.
Runner-up was Mal Richardson from Port Douglas, with Brett Burvill from WA third.
The Nacra 5.8 winners were David Jorgenson and crew Daniel Tandy from Brisbane. David has been chasing this title for several years and finally broke through for a deserving win after a second last year and third the year before. Martin Horder from Bathurst, NSW was runner-up and local skipper Scott Talbot was third.
The largest fleet was the 16 Square class with a closely fought series between Brendan Walley and Mathew Caldwell, both from Bundaberg. Walley celebrated not only his first national victory, but also his 21st birthday at the presentation. Fleet veteran Lloyd Bradshaw was third overall.
The local fleet has continued to grow, with two of the top Queensland boats remaining in WA after the series to give Bunbury a fleet of seven 16Sqs, going from one just two years ago.
The Nacra 5.0s enjoyed a close series with three boats making the trip from Queensland to race a couple of local boats. Nacra builder Roscoe Guinea won this division on a countback from Steve Curtis and crew Kerry Novyes. Guinea, who won the 16Sq nationals the last time it was sailed in WA (in 1990), teamed up with Peter Togno from Busselton, which gave his WA crew his first national title.
Third place went to John Chapman with his Busselton crew in Cainne Ayres (WA).
With a total of 35 Nacras sailing in the event the WA series was declared a success and will be remembered as the friendly nationals. The race officer and his crew did a remarkable job to get 11 of the 12 heats sailed and one resail, despite the often light and very shifty wind. It was a major learning curve for KBSC who hadn’t conducted a national titles in over two decades.
The 31st Nacra titles will be in Hervey Bay, Queensland next January.
— Gary Gornall
Thrills and spills during the Nacra nationals, though it was a predominantly light wind series.
Farr 40
Guido Belgiorno Nettis’s Transfusion won the 2009 Hamilton Island Farr 40 Australian championship to wrap up victory in the 2008-09 Australian Farr 40 circuit.
Belgiorno Nettis, whose team included Olympians Tom Slingsby (tactician) and Andrew Palfrey (coach), had previously been successful in the Sydney 38 class.
The series was conducted in predominantly light conditions by the Royal Sydney Yacht Squadron. Lang Walker’s Kokomo went into the final day with a four point lead over Transfusion, but was unable to hold onto the overall lead in the three races sailed in frustratingly fickle conditions.
New Zealander Brett Neill and his team on White Cloud took third overall, while fourth was Lisa and Martin Hill’s Estate Master.
— Sam Crichton
RESULTS: 29ERS AND 49ERS
Mounts Bay Sailing Club, WA
49er, 14 entries, 1. Bush Pig
(W.&S.Phillips, Vic), 2-1-2-(3)-3-1-1-1-2-
1-(5)-1-1-3, 19pts; 2. The Cape
(D.O’Connor/I.Jensen, NSW), 3-(5)-1-1-1-
2.5-2.5-2.5-1-(5)-1-4-3-2, 24.5; 3. IRP
(S.Thomas/L.Parkinson, WA), 1-2-3-(7)-2-
2-3-(dns)-3-2-6-7-5-1, 37; 4. Duffman
(T.Johnson/R.Howell, WA), 4-3-5-2-(9)-3-
6-5-(8)-3-3-2-6-5, 47; 5. Deep Tech
(D.Jones/S.Sutherland, WA), 5-7-4-6-7-5-2-
6-5-4-4-6-(9)-(8), 61.
29ers: 24 entries, 1. Frances Shingleton
Real Estate (J.Sly/A.Gillies, Vic), 2-7-1-
(dsq)-1-1-3-5-1-2-1-(8)-1-2, 27; 2.
Sharon (D.Roberts/L.Showell, WA), (12)-1-
2-2-4-6-9-(10)-3-7-5-1-6-5, 51; 3.
Viperfish (A.Rankin/J.Dahl, Qld), 6-(8)-3-2-
7-3.5-7-1-6-4-7-2-4-(10), 52.5; 4. None
(S.O’Rourke/H.Bethwaite, NSW), 9-6-7-7-2-
2-6-2-(10)-1-4-9-(dsq)-3, 58; 5. Ocean
Dynamics (K.Searle/S.Phillips, NSW), 8-2-
(16)-9-10-11-(14)-6-7-6-2-5-2-1, 69; 6.
Dardy Patrol A.Glaskin/J.Loughridge, WA),
10-5-10-4-3-7-2-4-(12)-8-(11)-4-7-7, 71;
7. Taco Bill (W.Sheers/J.Zattelman, Vic), 5-
4-6-2-11-9-5-(12)-2-5-6-(12)-9-9, 73; 8.
TNT (B.&J.Tuma, Vic), 3-(15)-5-5-6-(14)-
4-7-13-3-10-7-5-6, 74; 9. Mr Plow
(P.Nicholas/J.Halligan, WA), 11-13-15-12-
5-5-1-3-4-(dsq)-3-6-3-(18), 81; 10. Dark
Magic (M.Jacob/R.Hudson, WA), 7-3-4-6-8-
8-(17)-9-(15)-13-9-3-8-4. 82.
RESULTS: FARR 40S
1. Transfusion (G.Belgiorno Nettis, NSW),
2-2-1-1-6-3-1-3-2, 21pts; 2. Kokomo
(L.Walker, NSW), 1-1-4-2-1-2-3-8-8, 30;
3. White Cloud (B.Neill, NZL), 5-4-2-4-5-7-
5-7, 140; 4. Estate Master (L.&M.Hill,
NSW), 7-3-3-9-2-6-2-6-3, 41; 5. Sputnik
(I.Wheen, NSW), 3-8-5-3-3-4-7-2-7, 42;
6. Wot For (G.Wood, NSW), 8-5-6-5-4-5-6-
1-6, 46.
RESULTS: 470S
Port Lincoln YC, SA, 19 entries
1. Australia (M.Belcher/M.Page), 1-1-1-1-1-
1-1-(3)-1-1-1, 10pts; 2. Katrina (S.Kivell),
3-(6)-3-2-2-2-5-2-3-3-3, 28; 3. Top Shelf
(S.Hughes), 2-2-8-3-4-(12)-4-6-7-2-6, 44;
4. 1 Way Ticket (T.Brewer), 6-3-6-6-6-6-6-
4-2-(7)-5, 50; 5. Unbelievable (M.Higgins),
19-4-2-7-(dnf)-5-2-1-4-8-2, 54; 6.
Southern Star (S.Omay), 5-7-(16)-8-12-3-
3-8-5-6-4, 61; 7. TBA (A.Conway), 4-8-5-
5-5-4-9-(15)-10-4-8, 62; 8. The Unicorn
(T.Brown), 11-5-4-4-3-7-13-13-6-5-(14),
71; 9. Out of Control (L.Thredgold), (15)-
15-15-10-7-13-8-11-9-10-7, 105;
10. Shaun (D.Campbell), 7-13-7-(19)-8-
11-10-14-14-11-11, 106.
12Ft Skiff Interdominions
The race officers at Royal Queensland Yacht Squadron conducted an excellent ten-race interdominions series for a 31 strong fleet of 12Ft Skiffs over the New Year. The fleet consisted of 12 Kiwi skiffs from
Auckland and Wellington, five locals and the rest from NSW.
All races were held in consistent, moderate to strong winds with a number of heats re-scheduled when conditions were marginal.
On the windier days, the course area on Waterloo Bay produced a testing sea state for the short-hulled class. This provided plenty of excitement for the sailors and some thrilling spills for spectators.
The series was hotly contested right up to the final race with five crews taking heat wins. Reigning Australian champions Brett Hobson and Alex Johnston in Garde won the title by finishing the last heat a
single place ahead of the defending five-time winner Alex Vallings and crew Jeremy Smith in Nuplex from Auckland.
Hobson and Johnston have worked hard for six years to reach the pinnacle of the 12Ft skiff class. After sailing together in Flying 11s, they moved into a second-hand skiff before building a new hull in the
dominant Woof shape. They also developed a set of fast rigs suited to their lighter crew weight in any conditions. They were runners-up to Nuplex in the 2008 championship and sixth the year before.
Heavyweight Aussies and 2005 winners Nick Press and Brad Yabsley in Yabba Dabba Dimension Polyant placed third after a few years ‘resting’ in 18Ft Skiffs. Murray Press and Ben Gemmell on Gemmell Sails were fourth overall and first in the veteran’s series.
Kiwi guru and six-time winner Tim Bartlett sailed with Adam Miller and rounded out the top five after recovering from two OCS results early in the series.
Nick Catley and James Gell took out the Rookie’s trophy with a solid tenth overall.
The John Brooke Teams trophy was won by the Aussies this year after 11 consecutive Kiwi wins. The 50th Interdominion championship will be held in Auckland in 2010.
— Ed Blackman
The 12s get away in a mostly fresh wind series on Waterloo Bay.
RESULTS: 12FT SKIFFS
1. Garde (B.Hobson/A.Johnson, NSW), 1-1-2-3-2-(8)-2-(7)-3-3,
17pts; 2. Nuplex (A.Vallings/J.Smith, NZL), 2-(4)-3-1-1-2-3-2-(5)-4,
18; 3. Yabba Dabba DP (N.Press/BYabsley, NSW), (dnf)-(7)-5-5-5-1-
1-2-2, 22; 4. Gemmell Sails (M.Press/B.Gemmell, NSW), 5-2-(12)-
(7)-4-3-5-6-4-5, 34; 5. Frankenskiff (T.Bartlett/A.Miller, NZL), (ocs)-
(ocs)-7-6-3-4-7-8-1-1, 37; 6. Gizmo (M.Bochner/ T.Barraclough,
NSW), 3-3-1-2-8-11-8-(13)-(14)-7, 43; 7. Dimension Polyant
(S.Ganley/B.DeFluiter, NZL), 8-9-4-4-(14)-6-4-4-(12)-6, 45; 8.
Andrew Short Marine (M.Spies/D.Vlotman, NSW), 6-8-(13)-(12)-6-7-9-
5-6, 59; 9. As Good As It Gets (G.Armstrong/ J.Schultz, NZL), (dnf)-
(10)-6-8-9-10-6-3-10-8, 60; 10. Line 7 (N.Catley/J.Gell, NZL), 9-5-
16-10-12-9-10-9-(18)-(17), 80.
RESULTS: PACERS
Royal Queensland YS, 30 boats
1. Hi Stepper (Martin/Martin), 1-(31)-1-1-1-1-1-2, 8pts; 2. Aquadesiac
(Hoevenaars/Sanders), (10)-1-3-2-2-2-2-1, 13; 3. RQ Gold 4
(Sweep/Cronin), 3-3-(7)-4-4-4-5-3, 26; 4. Uno (Gulhane/Gulhane), 5-
4-4-3-3-6-4-7, 29; 5. Toads Tadpole (Pritchett/Pritchett), 2-2-8-7-5-3-
3-(10), 30; 6. RQ Gold 5 (Drennan/Johnson), (9)-6-5-5-7-7-6-5, 41;
7. Sea-U-Later (Van De Poll/Bagnall), 6-8-2-9-(16)-13-10-6, 54; 8.
BBC 13 (Moriarty/Lilley), 7-(15)-11-8-6-5-15-9, 61; 9. G1-Motorline II
(Deakin-Sharpe/Finnis), 4-9-10-(11)-11-8-11-11, 64; 10.
TSS 6 (Sewell/Sewell), 14-7-14-14-8-10-(31)-4, 71.
Sharpies
Lake Illawarra provided the perfect setting for the 66th Australian Sharpie championship. Port Kembla Sailing Club organised an excellent regatta based around a friendly family environment.
Mal Higgins, Sam Sanderson and Andrew Chisholm from South Australia sailing Blur with sensational boat tuning and handling won all but one of the seven heats. Not since the days of John Cuneo, Sir
James Hardy and John Bertrand has there been such a dominant display. Conditions at times were trying but the racing was always close and some of the less dominant states proved that a good, balanced campaign can lead to some impressive results.
Canberra boat Smoke sailed by Michael Forster, his brother Andy and Ben Phillips managed to place second overall, particularly impressive considering that in the blustery heat one, Phillips decided
to go overboard while well placed, resulting in Smoke starting her series with a seventh place. From then on the ACT crew showed good speed, particularly in the lighter to moderate conditions.
Elke Hacker (Qld) skippering Gingerbread Man had shown good form leading in to the series and finished third overall, winning the Women’s trophy. The overall handicap ended in a trifecta for the ladies
with Ellen Fisher winning overall in Pre-Mature from Elke Hacker, with Heather Sutton from Cairns sailing Pi to Infinity into third place. NSW team won the teams’ trophy for the first time since its inauguration in 1978. The event socially was as good as the racing itself, as Sharpie champs always are.
— Chris Ablett
Sharpie winner Blur sails over second placegetter Smoke on Lake Illawarra.
Skates
The 52nd Australian Skate nationals were sailed at Toronto Amateur Sailing Club on Lake Macquarie, NSW. The annual series has been dominated by two crews over the last decade: WA pair Gary Caporn and Michael Forbes sailing their often renamed boat CBF, battling the NSW combination of David Luck and Glenn Crichton sailing Any Which Way.
Between them, they have won seven of the last ten titles and this year’s contest went all the way to the final heat to decide the winner.
Racing was in light to moderate, shifty breezes with wind strengths ranging from 4-18kts, a real contrast to last year’s derby sailed in 20-25kts on the Swan River in Perth.
The main competition came from St George Sailing Club veteran Max Sellers who teamed with international crew Christian Dunn on Double Decker Dog, and the East Fremantle father and son
combination of Brett and Cameron Fannon sailing Tasty Fish. Gavin Caporn (son of Gary) and Luke Parsons sailing Cho Kon It showed glimpses of speed and will be a force to reckon with in coming years.
After a disastrous tenth placing in heat one, Any Which Way sailed very consistently to win the title with two wins and four second placings. CBF started well with two early wins, and was in the hunt right to the end but had to settle for the runner up prize.
Double Decker Dog was arguably the most consistent boat in the series, finishing in third place overall.
Tasty Fish’s experimental gybing centreboard was the most interesting innovation to be trialled at Toronto. The clear advantages of winged rudders in lumpy waters were demonstrated last year and
their adoption is now spreading.
Handicap winner was NSW boat Burnt to the Bone sailed by Greg Halliday and his ever enthusiastic crew Daniel Pauley. The Junior winner was On the Road Again (again) sailed by Matt Ferris and Paul Shiner from East Fremantle.
Toronto SC organised a terrific series with close racing and a great social program. Next year’s series will be held for the first time in Tasmania.
— Glenn Crichton
RESULTS: SHARPIES
1. Blur (M.Higgins, SA), 1-1-1-1-1-(2)-1, 4.5pts; 2. Smoke (M.Forster,
NSW), (7)-3-2-3-2-1-2, 12.75; 3. Gingerbread Man (E.Hacker, Qld), 2-
2-4-2-(7)-4-3, 17; 4. Moe’s Tavern (D.Snoad, SA), 4-6-3-5-(19)-7-4,
29; 5. Suicide Blonde (D.Milligan, NSW), 3-5-(8)-7-3-5-7, 30; 6. Jess
(A.Wells, Qld), 5-8-(14)-4-5-3-5, 30; 7. The Chilli Factor (K.Tanner,
NSW), (dnf)-7-6-6-4-8-15, 46; 8. The Fox Hat (P.Kirk, SA), (dnf)-4-7-
12-6-13-8, 50; 9. Pre-Mature (E.Fisher, SA), 11-10-5-(17)-11-9-10,
56; 10. Pi to Infinity (H.Sutton, Qld), 9-(13)-13-10-13-6-11, 62.
RESULTS: SKATES
1. Any Which Way (D.Luck/G.Crichton, NSW), (10)-1-2-2-2-2-1, 12pts;
2. CBF (G.Caporn/M.Forbes, WA), 1-2-1-(4)-4-4-3, 24.7; 3. Double
Decker Dog (M.Sellars/C.Dunn, NSW), 2-3-3-3-3-3-(5), 31.5; 4. Tasty
Fish (B.& C.Fannon, WA), 3-(10)-5-6-1-1-4, 35.4; 5. Cho Kon It
(G.Caporn/L.Parsons, WA), 5-4-4-1-(8)-8-2, 43; 6. Never Give ‘N Inch
(J.Grant/D.Crawford, NSW), 4-7-dnc-5-7-7-11, 74.5; 7. Possessed
(J.Jefferson/P.Sullivan, NSW), 6-9-12-dnf-5-6-10, 82.4; 8. Grey Ghost
(K.&C.Sinton, NSW), 12-7-9-9-6-9-7, 83.2; 9. Whisper (N.Ryan/
A.Beattie, NSW), 11-dnc-7-8-12-11-6, 90.7; 10. Take It Easy
(M.Winney/E.Sills, NSW), 9-6-8-12-13-(14)-14, 97.7.
Cherubs
Andrew Chapman and Kurt Warner from Sydney’s Lane Cove 12ft Sailing Skiff Club sailing The Black Pearl took out the 46th Australian Cherub championships held at Lake Macquarie Yacht Club.
Chapman and Warner took the title in a nail-biting final race in which they needed to beat their closest rivals Andrew Triggell and Chris Anderson from Brisbane in Tradesman’s Entrance, and the defending
champions, Trevor Fay and Simon Young from Belmont in Wally.
The final race, held in a 17-20kt sea-breeze, saw the lead change several times before Chapman and Warner finally prevailed, passing Tradesman’s Entrance on the final work. It was the second time in
three years that the title has been decided on countback.
Chapman’s sister Alison, sailing with their brother Will in Sparky, finished fourth overall and took the junior title and and the trophy for first female skipper. A broken rudder fitting early in the series led
to them scoring two DNFs and robbed them of a chance for overall victory. Despite this they won three heats and finished second in two more, showing outstanding speed in light and moderate conditions.
The Cadet title was won convincingly by newcomers to the Cherub class, Brennan Stead and Josh Leslie from Perth Dinghy Sailing Club.
The Black Pearl is a new boat built over winter. The construction of the hull was a joint effort by Kurt Warner and Kulmar Boatbuilding’s Ben Dibley. It was put together from a Matthews shell and components
from Ben Lawrie in Perth. The mast is the new 46mm High Modulus series from CST. The sails were designed and constructed by Andrew Chapman, who is a sailmaker at the Sydney loft of MacDiarmid Sails.
With 47 boats representing four States and the ACT, 23 of the entries were either Cadets (under 18 years) or Juniors (18 to 21 years), and there were 12 female skippers.
Cherub National Council of Australia president Simon Blatchford together with his parents Dallas and Annette and Jackie Doyle did a magnificent job organising one of the best regattas in years, together
with the dedicated and hard working LMYC team.
— Rolf Lunsmann
Andrew Chapman and Kurt Warner on the way to victory in the Cherub nationals.
RESULTS: CHERUBS
1. The Black Pearl (A.Chapman/K.Warner, NSW), (8)-(15)-2-5-2-3-2-
3-1, 18pts; 2. Tradesman’s Entrance (A.Triggell/C.Anderson, Qld),
(11)-1-4-2-4-2-(5)-2-3, 18; 3. Wally (T.Fay/S.Young, NSW), 4-(10)-
1-1-(7)-1-4-5-4, 20; 4. Sparky (A.&W.Chapman, NSW), 2-8-(dnf)-
(dnf)-1-8-1-1-2, 23; 5. Fine Mess (B.Stead/J.Leslie, WA), 6-(11)-5-6-
5-4-3-(22)-5, 34; 6. Enough Rope (R.Clifton-Smith/N.Blatchford,
NSW), (32)-2-3-8-(24)-9-8-8-6, 44; 7. Everything Zen
(A.Stewart/A.Smith, NSW), 3-3-9-(10)-10-(12)-9-6-7, 47; 8. Liquor in
Public (J.Warner/G.Moore, NSW), 10-14-(23)-3-9-6-6-11-(ocs), 59;
9. Serenity Now (S.&V.Blake, WA), 1-7-10-12-11-11-(20)-(14)-12,
64; 10. Quick Spoon (G.Emery/G.Edwards, SA), 12-4-7-(20)-6-10-
13-(21)-13, 65.
RESULTS: COBRAS & STINGRAYS
Rosebud YC, Vic
Cobra: 1. Kwitchabichen (D.&L.Badrock, Vic), 1-(4)-1-(dnf)-3-1-1-2-
1, 10pts; 2. Dreamworx (R.Nixon, Vic), 2-1-2-1-1-(dnf)-(dnc)-1-2,
10; 3. 2RC (R.Nixon, Vic), 4-2-3-(dnf)-2-(dnf)-(dnc)-3-3, 23.
Stingray: 1. Wildcard (J.Forrester/B.Mudge, NSW), (3)-2-1-1-2-1-1-
(3)-2, 10pts; 2. Bounty Hunter (B.&J.Lienert, SA), 1-1-3-2-4-(dnf)-
(dnc)-1-4, 16; 3. Crash ‘n’ Burn (T.&M.Lienert, SA), 2-3-2-(dnf)-1-
(dnf)-dnc-2-1, 18.
NS14s
Defending champion Hugh Tait and new crew Tom Potter won the Club Finance 40th NS14 national titles held at the Brighton Seacliff Yacht Club (SA) on St Vincents Gulf.
Forty boats competed in nine races in a variety of wind and sea conditions.
Gold medallist 470 sailor Mal Page sailing a new boat with his partner Fiona Elliot took out a close second place overall.
Boats from as far as Queensland and Tasmania competed, with local girl Deb Colbatch picking up overall handicap honours.
Northbridge Sailing Club in Sydney was the most successful, taking out the overall, junior and female trophies.
Thanks go to the host club for a professionally run series in sometimes trying conditions.
— Stephen Jones
Hugh Tait and crew Tom Potter, between races at the NS14 nationals.
Arrows
The domination of the Arrow catamaran championship by Steve Short of Victoria and Frank O’Rourke of NSW was finally broken in dramatic fashion by Queenslander Robbie Lea at Rosebud Sailing Club on Port Phillip Bay.
Twenty-eight Arrows competed in the nine-race series, with the prevailing offshore breezes generally providing flat water and excellent conditions for fast catamaran sailing, although a fierce and testing chop developed on the fresher race days. The offshore wind had the usual ‘bullets’, and also came in distinct strength bands, which made the off-the-wind legs particularly interesting.
Sometimes it allowed the leaders to scoot away from the main pack, and on other occasions caused them to be run down.
Lea, a relative newcomer to the class, laid down the challenge by winning the invitation race, sailing a new boat in its first competitive outing. When veteran Queensland skipper and two-times champion Daryl Skinner won the first heat, Short – the current and five-times champion – and O’Rourke (16 championships) knew that they were in for a tough regatta.
Short was under further pressure when he lost the front of one hull in a collision in heat two and had to retire. With no redress granted, he had used up one of his two drops after just two heats. Lea won that heat and also the next one, to confirm that he was the skipper to beat.
Short regained his composure to win the fourth heat but had a disastrous ninth in the fifth race when his uncanny knack of picking the shifts in light conditions deserted him. He came back strongly to win heats six and seven.
Coming into the last two heats on the final day, Short held a narrow points lead and needed top three placings to ensure victory. He mis-read the course for heat eight and sailed past the finish line, eventually returning to cross it in tenth place.
That left O’Rourke, still without a victory, in the lead by a single point from Lea. It was expected that O’Rourke would cover Lea like a blanket to prevent him from grabbing victory.
Lea was one of the few to take the left side of the course off the starting line and lost out badly, being more than a minute behind the leading pack which included O’Rourke, at the weather mark. However, he was in the midfleet pack that picked up a lift off the shore that carried them right up to the leaders.
On the second beat O’Rourke tacked away, leaving Lea to take the right side of the course favoured on the previous beat.
O’Rourke sailed into a hole and was several minutes behind by the time he reached the weather mark. Despite desperately working his way back up through the fleet, he could do no better than fourth, while Lea sailed conservatively to take second behind Short, and victory on countback from O’Rourke.
The top junior was Long Reach (Nick Baglioni, Vic).
— Warwick Graham
Arrow class newcomer Robbie Lea (left) and Steve Short in close company at Rosebud.
RESULTS: NS14S
1. Tigger Too (H.Tait/T.Potter, NSW), 1-2-
(3)-1-1-(3)-3-1-2, 11pts; 2. Fizzy
(M.Page/F.Elliot, NSW), 2-1-1-5-4-(7)-4-
(6)-1, 18; 3. Wildfire (C.Gardner/S.Jones,
NSW), (6)-(8)-5-6-3-4-1-2-4, 25; 4.
Pumkin Eater (D.&J.Eggins, Tas), 3-4-4-
(22)-6-5-(7)-3-7, 32; 5. In A Frenzy
(D.Dey/D.Hawke, NSW), (dns)-6-7-4-(dsq)-
2-5-4-5, 33; 6. Hooters (G.Bellamy/
E.Cumming, NSW), 5-(12)-12-3-8-1-6-8-
(14), 43; 7. Spinifex (P.&K.Davis, Tas),
8-7-2-2-5-(10)-9-(15)-10, 43; 8.
Powderburn (D.Colebatch/A.Barclay, SA),
(14)-3-6-9-9-9-(ocs)-14-3, 53; 9.
Alternative Pathway (D.Gordon/L.Brock, SA),
7-(18)-8-11-2-6-15-11-(19), 60; 10. Dark
Horse (T.Dunstan/C.Stewart, NSW), (16)-
10-16-10-(22)-11-2-5-12, 66.
RESULTS: ARROWS
1. Wild Child (R.Lea, Qld), 17pts; 2. Zero
(F.O’Rourke, NSW), 17; 3. Slingshot
(S.Short, Vic), 18; 4. Airpower II (D.Skinner,
Qld), 21; 5. Angry Ant (G.Powell, NSW), 35;
6. Zip (D.Bryan, Vic), 38; 7. Bad News
(M.Rushton, Vic), 42; 8. Firefly (I.Champion,
Vic), 48; 9. Sirius (K.Kay, Vic), 65; 10.
Zephyr (W.Graham, SA) 82.
Flying Elevens
An invigorated fleet of 73 Flying Elevens travelled to Twofold Bay, Eden, NSW to contest the 1824 Premium Beef Flying Eleven 2009 Australian championships. The youth training class for 10-18 year-olds has enjoyed a healthy increase in numbers and the series included 65 female sailors and 24 all-girl crews from around the country.
Conditions varied dramatically with light and shifty breezes for the first and last races of the series, coupled with bold and more consistent 25kt winds from around the compass and swells to 3m rolling in from the Tasman and Bass Strait dominating the rest of the regatta. There were many intense battles at the top end of the fleet, with most races decided by mere seconds between the first three places.
Consistent podium finishes in all but the last race assured Josh McKnight and Ira Dubery of Manly in Flying Hellfish the coveted national title. Their club mates Olivia Price and Maddie Clancy in Crunchie were the runners-up, and Avalon’s stalwart crew of Scott Cotton and Max Vos narrowly edged out last year’s champion Alex McFadyen and Bradley Leicester of Manly for third place.
Keats Thompson and Tim Narborough from Cronulla in Frantic won the Junior trophy and Paddy Bannon and Josh Tasker in Bring It On Again were the overall handicap winners.
Four clubs were represented in the top ten results, and for the second year in succession Manly 16Ft Skiff Sailing Club won the teams trophy.
— David Price
Flying Eleven champions Josh McKnight and Ira Dubery in the open waters of the NSW south coast.
Sabots
Felix Grech, representing Hunters Hill Sailing Club and the Southern NSW Sabot Sailing Association won the 45th Sabot national championships in Blue Fusion, while Matthew Graham of the Northern NSW SSA was runner-up.
The Sabot series is one of the largest annual junior sailing regattas in Australia, and it was hosted this year by the Whitsunday Sailing Club in tropical North Queensland.
Junior sailors aged from 7-16 years travelled from Tasmania, Victoria, NSW and Queensland to compete. The fleet of 97 boats included 58 competitors in the One-Up division and 14 crews in the Two-Up division competing in the eight-day event.
Ten races were held in the beautiful Airlie Beach surroundings with blue skies and aqua clear waters. However, conditions were trying in the humid, tropical heat with light to medium winds,
shifting conditions, strong tides, a large swell and waves to tackle.
The sailors geared up in the prerequisite jellyfish stinger suits and safety gear and took to the waters with great skill and enthusiasm.
The racing remained tight and very competitive with no clear winner emerging until race nine.
The first race on the final day started with the moderate southeasterly and flatter water. Felix Grech got a good start, picked up a left hand shift and was first to the top mark. He then sailed the perfect race, picking shifts, covering his competition on the upwind legs and extending his lead on the downwind legs. With smart sailing in race ten he secured victory by four points.
Grech had displayed outstanding form by winning the Sabot class at Sail Brisbane in November, but a week before the nationals he tore a foot ligament, and had to wear a specially prepared air boot and sail with his foot strapped up.
Besides winning the series, he received a Lionel Shipway medallion for competing in six national Sabot regattas.
The two-up series was won by Kurt Hansen and Lindsay Pike from Northern NSW.
— Stuart Poignand
Felix Grech in Blue Fusion during the Sabot nationals at Airlie Beach.
RESULTS: FLYING ELEVENS
1. Flying Hellfish (J.McKnight/I.Dubery, NSW), 3-2-2-2-3-1-(20),
13pts; 2. Crunchie (O.Price/M.Clancy, NSW), (18)-6-3-1-1-4-14, 29;
3. Cotton On (S.Cotton/M.Vos, NSW), 2-5-5-12-4-2-(13), 30; 4.
Guccii (A.McFadyen/B.Leicester, NSW), 14-1-1-3-6-6-(15), 31; 5.
Tom Tom (T.Koerner/J.Ponton, NSW), (8)-4-6-7-5-7-8, 37; 6. Eugene
(T.Forbes-Smith/W.Dargaville, NSW), 1-8-9-6-(12)-8-6, 38; 7. Lethal
Blonde (K.Fay/E.Knighton, NSW), 4-10-7-5-10-(74)-3, 39;
8. Protagonist (D.Reilly/J.Lawira-Fernandez, NSW), 10-7-11-4-7-(24)-
1, 40; 9. Ace (P.Kendall/L.Murray, NSW), 7-11-(26)-15-8-17-2, 51;
10. Decoy (D.Rohr/A.Paton, NSW), (19)-9-4-14-18-5-11, 61.
RESULTS: SABOTS
One-Up: 1. Blue Fusion (F.Grech, NSW), (6)-2-(7)-5-6-1-3-4-1-5-13,
27pts; 2. Black Label (M.Graham, NSW), 2-1-6-8-2-(15)-1-(11)-4-8,
32; 3. The Woobly Boot (A.Geck, Qld), (9)-3-2-6-3-3-5-5-6-(20), 33;
4. Whisper (J.Oliver, Vic), 3-(13)-1-1-5-9-7-7-(21)-7, 40; 5. Stay
Tuned (S.White, Qld), 7-5-(18)- (14)-11-2-2-6-5-4, 42; 6. Planit S
(D.Passmore, NSW), 45; 7. Imagine (E.Brake, Qld), 56; 8. Purple
Haze (L.Wakefield, NSW), 70; 9. Pure Magic (M.Kennedy, NSW), 73;
10. Airwave (L.Brake, Qld), 74.
Two-Up: 1. Need for Speed (K.Hansen/L.Pike, NSW), 1-1-(2)-(15)-1-
1-2-1-1-1, 9pts; 2. Double Diamond (S.McIntosh/D.Hughes, NSW),
(8)-3-(7)-2-4-2-1-5-2-3, 22; 3. Guided Missile (T.Siganto/E.Pritchard,
Qld), 2-2-(6)-(5)-3-3-3-3-4-2, 22; 4. Black Pearl (B.&A.Robson,
NSW), 31; 5. Five V (Z.Comadira/H.White, Qld), 34.
Jim Hayes Sabot Week:
One-Up: 1. Pelargic (R.Baguley, Qld), 12pts; 2. Cookie Munster
(N.Koreman), 21; 3. Intrinsic (H.O’Brien, Qld), 29.
Two-Up: 1. The Fiddler (F.Smith/H.Van Buuren, Qld), 9pts; 2. It’s A Menace
(J.Torpelund/M.O’Brien, Qld), 12; 3. Kid Blast (L.Geck/E.Walker, Qld), 16.