Australian Championship Reports & Results 08/09 - National Classes Part 3
Australian Sailing April 2009
National Classes
Magic 25s
The Australian Magic 25 association held their first national titles in a decade at the Sussex Inlet & Basin Yacht Club, NSW.
The aim was to have a fun event as well as to reintroduce the class to the sailing fraternity. There were only two races, a passage race followed by a regular triangle race. With the breeze blowing 20kts and gusting to 35kts, only two boats were able to make the start of race one through the waves breaking at
the mouth of the river.
Houdini bent its gudgeons when the motor flooded and the boat drifted back on its rudder. This was unfortunate as it was one of the highly rated boats in the fleet. The race was a wild ride for Hit-n-Run
(Fred Kasparek) and Rum an Racing (Mark Hillis), finishing in that order.
Unfortunately for the Hit-n-Run crew, they were scored DNF for not having sailed around a clearance mark which was 100m off one of the cardinal marks.
This gave Rum an Racing an unbeatable lead in the event going into the following day’s race, in much less exciting conditions with wind averaging 5kts and flat water.
The race was close with Hit-n-Run first, Houdini (Jason Gavin) second and Rum an Racin third, so the overall results put Rum an Racin first, followed by Hit-n-Run second and Houdini third.
The Magic 25 class has had a resurgence in the past 18 months with many boats being brought out of mothballs. The Canberra Yacht Club has seven in its membership, with all of them sailing at some time in the season.
One of the reasons for the class re-birth is that they are relatively cheap to buy, and they are attractive to sailors who like to go fast and may have outgrown their skiff, dinghy or cat but are not yet ready to hang up their trapeze harnesses.
— Fred Kasparek
All on the wire in heavy air on Hit-n-Run, part of the Magic 25 class resurgence.
Hartley TS16s
Lake Cootharaba SC on Queensland’s Sunshine Coast hosted a fleet of 20 Hartley TS16s for the 44th national championship.
The regatta was sailed in a variety of breezes from flat calm to 18-20kts on the final day.
Defending champions Michael Horvath and Ian Fox from Victoria sailing Tru-Blu won every race, although they had to come through from behind in some of the lighter and shifty races.
Race one started with a 15kt sea-breeze and Merlot sailed by Graham Potts and Chris Haydon led at the first mark. However, mother nature played her hand with a couple of storm cells causing the breeze to fade to around 5kts and become fluky. There was some major reshuffling of the fleet as the breeze ebbed and flowed on either side of the course. Tru-Blu prevailed, followed by Ally- Oop (local brothers Bucky and Godfrey Smith) and Plan B (Bruce Wales and Elke Wouda).
Race two started in a light and fluky north-westerly breeze and fortunes changed throughout with patches of no wind here and there. Once again Tru-Blu managed to sail into the lead, winning from Jackpot
(Robert Huckfeldt and Bob Fletcher, Vic), and Uncle Roy (Eric Partland and Robert Wark, NSW).
After a delay while the sea-breeze settled, race three got underway in a steady 15kts. Tru-Blu led all the way, while Merlot had to retire with a broken jib halyard. The minor placings went to Ally-Oop and Uncle Roy, which also claimed second and third, but in reverse order in the lighter race four.
Tru-Blu prevailed in the remaining races, including the windy final race when the breeze built to 20kts and bodies and boats were tested, resulting in several retirements.
Jackpot managed to get past Uncle Roy before the finish for second place in the race, but their positions were reversed for second and third overall.
RESULTS: HARTLEY TS16S
1. Tru-Blu (M.Horvath/I.Fox, Vic), (1)-1-1-1-
1-1-1, 6pts; 2. Uncle Roy (E.Partland/
R.Wark, NSW), (9)-3-3-2-3-3-3, 17; 3.
Jackpot (R.Huckfeldt/B.Fletcher, Qld), 6-2-6-
(11)-2-4-2, 22; 4. Ally-Oop (B.& G.Smith,
Qld), 2-6-2-3-8-2-(dnf), 23; 5. Plan B
(B.Wales/E.Wouda, Qld), 3-(10)-7-7-9-5-7,
38; 6. Merlot (G.Potts/C.Haydon, SA), 4-5-
(dnf)-6-12-10-5, 42; 7. Sand Witch
(M.Willcocks/D.Parker, Qld), (10)-9-4-10-7-
9-4, 43; 8. Lesley T (N.&L.Thompson,
NSW), 8-4-8-5-4-dnf-(dnc), 48; 9.
Scaliwag (M.Dyer/N.Brown, Qld), 9-8-9-8-
6-8-(dnf), 48; 10. Time (R.Mapleston/
T.Woodford, Qld), 7-(13)-11-9-11-7-8, 53.
RESULTS: HERONS
Royal Queensland YS, 39 entries
1. Sobraon (Nobbs/Swavely), 1-2-2-(7)-3-
2-4, 14pts; 2. Triceratops & Carnotaur
(Johnson/Johnson), 3-1-5-4-(dnf)-6-1, 20;
3. Two Fools Fumbling (Galloway
/Galloway); 6-(14)-4-5-2-1-9, 27; 4. The
Force (Llewellyn/Llewellyn), 5-(15)-3-6-1-8-
7,. 30; 5. Fierce Creature (Kelly/Barwick), 7-
(11)-9-1-4-5-6, 32; 6. Drop Bear
(Kelly/Kelly), (13)-9-10.5-2-7-4-3, 35.5;
7. Two Goats in a Boat (Harris/Harris), 8-
12-1-3-(18)-10-2, 36; 8. Little Red Rocket
(Bailey/Bailey), 11-5-7-8-10-3-8, 41; 9.
Grumpier (McLean/Bradley), 9-6-14-12-5-
7-(20), 53; 10.Obsession (Flint/Briggs),
10-(20)-12-11-6-15-11, 65.
Minnows
The 2009 Minnow Nationals were sailed at the Blairgowrie Yacht Squadron in moderate conditions. The host club has been a strong supporter of the Minnow class for over 30 years and being next door to Sorrento Sailing Couta Boat Club, another big Minnow club it was no surprise that there were just under
100 boats competing.
The good news for the class and junior sailing in general was the large novice division entry. While in previous years this division has represented about 15 per cent of the total fleet, this year with 43 entries it represented nearly 45 per cent of the total fleet.
The racing was held over two courses.
The Open division was dominated by six boats right from the start with Tom Trotman, Tess Lloyd, Sam Hannah, Jack Graves, Zac O’Connell and Jack Felsenthal seeming to have a definite speed advantage over the rest of the fleet.
Speed does not always equal results and one of the fastest, Tom Trotman had his fair share of bad luck with his mast step breaking within metres of the finish line while leading one race.
After six races the regatta was won by Jack Felsenthal in Cracker Jack who demonstrated great boat handling, solid tactics and speed to win overall from a fastfinishing Tess Lloyd, who was only one point behind in Blondes Away.
Zac O’Connell in Zac-A-Tack had blindingly fast offwind speed and finished third overall.
The junior division was close-fought, with Jack Graves (fourth overall) winning from Sam Hannah with Jack Abbott in third.
In the Novice division the winner was Ben Hartnett, who won four heats, followed by Hugo Llewellyn who won two heats and Charlie Dixon who won heat one.
The next Minnow nationals are scheduled to be held on the Sunshine Coast of Queensland.
— Rob Hartnett
Top Minnow sailor Jack Felsenthal, always in the first six finishers at Blairgowrie.
Spirals
A strong fleet of 44 boats assembled at Toukley Sailing Club on the NSW Central Coast for the 2009 Spiral class nationals.
The seven-heat event was sailed over four days and Toukley provided a very good range of conditions with the strong winds of the opening two days moderating as the series progressed.
Murray Gordon (NSW) revelled in the fresh conditions to create a foundation that led to a convincing overall championship victory. He was joined on the podium by fellow Pittwater sailors Tim Lowe and Tom
Spithill. Lowe took a while to settle into the series, but emerged as the dominant lightwind performer. Spithill and Chris Eddes (ACT) were also pressing for overall honours but couldn’t find the consistency that would be needed to match the ultimate winner.
Former champion Matt Craig (NSW) was always well-placed but just couldn’t land the heat win he needed to hold a spot in the top three.
All the tight action at the pointy end of the fleet and the various divisional contests gave everyone a great time on the water, and the social side of things was relaxed and friendly thanks to the Spiral families, friends and host club.
Chris Eddes added the Junior title to his impressive fourth place in the open standings and Andrea Garvey won the Ladies’ division. These two led a strong ACT contingent of young sailors who are an emerging force within the class.
Among the more mature competitors, David Loring (NSW) was the top Great Grand Master, Merve Lotze (NSW) kept his grip on the Grand Master’s trophy and Jonathan Talbot (NSW) was the fastest Master.
Hamish Roughley was the quickest visiting sailor, recording a great win in heat 5. The handicap prize went to the rapidly improving junior, Matt Dismorr.
— Jonathan Talbot
RESULTS: MINNOWS
Open: 1. Cracker Jack (J.Felsenthal, Vic),
(6)-3-3-2-1-2, 11pts; 2. Blondes Away
(T.Lloyd, Vic), (5)-4-2-1-2-3, 12; 3. Zac-
A-Tack (Z.O’Connell, Vic), 1-5-1-4-(ocs)-
10, 21; 4. Ozone (J.Graves, Vic), 7-2-5-
3-(ocs)-4, 21; 5. Caspian Tern (S.Hannah,
Vic), 3-6-7-6-4-(9), 26; 6. Crazy Crayfish
(L.Imeneo, Vic), (15)-8-8-5-3-5, 29; 7.
Wild Thing (B.Schutte, WA), 4-9-6-(10)-5-
6, 30; 8. QE2 (L.Edleston. Vic), (12)-7-
10-9-6-7, 39; 9. Gladiator III (C.Llewellyn,
Vic), 9-11-9-14-8-(15), 51; 10. Griffin
(T.Trotman, Vic), 2-1-4-dnf-(ocs)-1, 62.
Junior: 1. Ozone, 6pts; 2. Caspian Tern;
8; 3. Jacka (J.Abbott, Vic), 20.
Novice: 1. Tardis (B.Hartnett, Vic), 6pts;
2. Sunset (H.Llewellyn, Vic), 9; 3.
Smartiepants (C.Dixon, Vic), 15.
RESULTS: SPIRALS
1. The Great Muztake (M.Gordon, NSW),
3-1-2-4-2-2-(9), 14pts; 2. Golowe Early
(T.Lowe, NSW), 8-(9)-5-2-3-1-1, 20; 3.
Terminator (T.Spithill, NSW), 1-7-1-7-(9)-3-
2, 21; 4. Rogue Racer (C.Eddes, ACT), 2-2-
(9)-3-4-8-3, 22; 5. No Quarter (M.Craig,
NSW), 4-4-3-5-(8)-5-5, 26; 6. Panacea
(J.Talbot, NSW), 6-5-7-1-5.5-6-(15), 30.5;
7. Rapid Pulse (C.Loring, NSW), 5-3-6-6-7-
4-(7), 31; 8. The One After (P.Eslick, NSW),
53; 9. Dynamite (M.Lotze, NSW), 57; 10.
Wally Burger (A.Garvey, ACT), 68, 5.
