Racer CC crew consolidates at Etchells NSW Championship

Leading the Brian Hilton – Ineos Grenadier 2026 International Etchells NSW Championship coming into today’s racing, Hong Kong’s Racer CC crew of Mark Thornburrow/Julian Plante/Malcolm Page/Mike Huang stayed calm under pressure to consolidate their overall lead on Day 2 of the event.

Racer CC (Mark Thornburrow/Julian Plante/Malcolm Page/Mike Hunag) will be hard to beat for the Championship. A race drop came into play today and after six races have been put to bed, Thornburrow and his team are a clear 10 points ahead of nearest adversary, Magpie, a further three points to Flying High, with Great White Hunter a further two points in arrears – and the final races are tomorrow.

It was day that did not start well, Gosford Sailing Club officials forced to delay the start by one and a half hours as the light breeze did the rounds of the compass before finally settling in.

“The first race was quite easy, but the next two were hard,” Thornburrow commented ashore of the shifty and tricky, 14-15 knot easterly in the first race, before moving to the nor’ east and dropping in pressure in the remaining two races, an 8-10 knot shifty and puffy sea breeze.

“Malcolm Page (double Olympic 470 gold medallist) was very good in those conditions,” Thornburrow said. Page, of course, has had to be adept in all conditions to get where he did in Olympic class racing. Looking at this event’s conditions is reminiscent of the 2008 Games in Qingdao, where he won his first gold medal.

“The last race JC (Jeanne-Claude Strong, Flying High) and Polly (Peter McNeill, Lucy) led us to top mark the last time. We got them just before the mark. We are very happy to be where we are. We have two or three races left,” said Thornburrow, who won this event in late 2023, with Plante, Page and Nathan Wilmot.

Strong knows it is almost impossible to beat the Hong Kong boat, but she and her crew of Sam Newton and Seve Jarvin plan on continuing to sail their best tomorrow, the final day: We are third overall. We can’t win, because Hong Kong is so far ahead, but we can finish top three.”

Strong continued, “Today was good, our second race was not ideal (they finished an uncharacteristic 11^th), but the other two were good. It was difficult though, as the AP was up so long and it was hot, but race committee thought of everything – including spare water. They brought it to us by rubber duck.

“The Championship has been run exceptionally well – Jan (Muysken) has been good in getting boats to turn up – there are 27 here, which is a very good number.”

Like others here, the Flying High team are finding the Championship good preparation for the Worlds in May. “We sent our new boat, Flying Higher, to San Diego already and Flying High is our second boat.”

Strong also said, “Using Vakaros (RaceSense system) is such a good thing. You never have a General Recall. They (General Recalls) can go on and on and it becomes tiring when you just want to race.”

Sitting on the periphery in fourth overall, Great White Hunter’s David Dunn knows his crew (George Richardson/Max Brennan) will need to be on top of their game tomorrow if they are to finish on the podium.

“We just have to play the percentages. We have to have good height, keep getting the tactics right and the sailing gods will determine the rest. It’s so close at front – one mistake can put you back four or five places. Tomorrow will be fantastic, so bring it on!

“It’s been a pretty light regatta and the committee did a good job getting three competitive races in today. We’ve had fair racing.”

Chris Hampton/Charlie Cumbley/Sam Haines (Tango, Vic) have had their moments, counting a second and third in their tally. Hampton, who normally sails out of Brighton, said, “We were happy with those results. We started both races well and with control. We’re enjoying the racing.

“The top boats here are sailing well. They are highly skilled and experienced sailors. Great to have 27 boats too. We came for a bit of practice, because we’re doing the Worlds in May. We’re focussing on our starting, boat speed and handling,” he ended.

Race 3, Racer CC came home first, bumping off the highly fancied Magpie crew of Canadian Richard Clarke, and reigning Etchells world champions, Ben Lamb and James Mayo. Just five seconds separated the pair at the end. A further six seconds away was Flying High. Avalon (Michael Bellingham/Dean Blatchford/Kyle Dodds) and Great White Hunter followed Flying High over the line.

Race 4 arrived and with it, a breeze change to an 8 knot nor’ easter with little gusts that prevailed for the rest of the day. Racer CC was first over the finish line again, followed seven seconds later by local boat from the host club, Pointless (Peter Rivers/Brent Connor/David Poole). Third was Tango, nine seconds behind, with Magpie hanging on to place fourth.

Others got among the front end action too; Great White Hunter, Gosford’s Lucy (Peter McNeill/Andrew Smith/Simon Reffold) and Rocketmen (James Dorron/John Walton/Nick Kingsmill), but when the chips were down, they could not keep the advantage.

Race 5 also went to Racer CC, but two seconds behind was Flying High, which kept Racer CC under pressure throughout. So close to a top three in other races, Great White Hunter was able to keep her rivals at bay and rewarded with third place, in a class that has notoriously close finishes. Although lacking a win, Magpie is sailing consistently in the top five, scoring another fourth and Lucy was fifth.

The Championship is being sailed on waters of Gosford Sailing Club (GSC) on windward/leeward courses. Racing concludes tomorrow when the new NSW champions will be crowned.

The Brian Hilton – Ineos Grenadier 2026 International Etchells NSW Championship is conducted by Gosford Sailing Club on behalf of the Gosford International Etchells Fleet Inc. Racing continues tomorrow with three or possibly four races planned, depending on the weather.