Champions decided in Crown Series Regatta
The 2026 Banjo’s Shoreline Crown Series Bellerive Regatta might be over but the smiles and stories from an event that had a bit of everything will last for many years to come.
The three-day regatta featured three Tasmanian Championships and over 300 sailors competing on the River Derwent in the largest mixed fleet regatta in Tasmania.
Always a favourite on the sailing calendar, close to 100 entries with an age range of 8 to 80 years, competed in various classes in an event that started in the warm summer sun and finished in tough and windy conditions.
The off-the-beach classes were most heavily impacted by the strong winds with several sailors needing assistance after their boats capsized.
Race management wasted no time in abandoning racing and enacting emergency protocols which ensured all sailors were accounted for and no injuries were reported.
Hobart sailor Harry Gregory (Greg) was the first state champion crowned in the off-the-beach presentation winning the WASZP state title in convincing fashion, with three wins from three races.
Gregory was excited about his win and thinks that sailors that like to sail fast should give the WASZP foiling dinghy a go.
“I’m pretty happy with the regatta getting three wins on the first day in a 15 knot seabreeze.
“I love the speed and the adrenaline that goes with WASZP sailing, the boat takes you for a ride,” said Gregory.
Gregory is keeping his foot on the pedal with a busy training program as he readies for the WASZP Nationals which will be sailed in Airlie Beach at Easter.
The Tasmanian Sabre Championship was held as part of the Crown Series, but with sailing cancelled on the final day, the fleet has not met the minimum requirement of four races to constitute a championship, with the association now planning a future sailing day to decide the overall winner.
Matt Pilkington (For Sail) is currently leading the Sabre fleet in his first foray in the single-person dinghy on four points from Richard Parker (Courtesy Tap) on 12 points and Jason Followes (JINX) on 14 points.
In other off-the-beach racing, Archie McQuillen (Never Mind) won the International Cadet Class on four points, pipping current national champion Olive Hooper (Executioner) by one point, with Flynn Clougher (Pour Quoi) in third place on 10 points.
Abbey Lodge (Riptide) has embraced the transition to ILCA 4 sailing, winning the division on five points from Ruby Pilkington (About Time) on seven points and Lincoln Davey (Boat) on 10 points.
The Tasmanian Yachting Championship (on ORC and IRC handicaps), was hosted by the Bellerive Yacht Club as part of the 2026 Crown Series on behalf of Australian Sailing-Tasmania,
The Mumm 36, Joint Custody, skippered by Bellerive Yacht Club member Ian Stewart, won the Tasmanian Yachting Championship for ORC on 11 points while Eye Candy (Malo Leseigneur) won the Tasmanian Yachting Championship on IRC on eight points.
Matt Keal (Stunt Double Powered by Heatwave) was a popular winner of the ‘unofficial’ Mumm 36 World Cup, sailing a borrowed boat for the event.
Guilty Pleasures VI (Gary Cripps) sailed a consistent regatta to win on performance handicap on 18 points, one point clear of War Games (Wayne Banks-Smith) on 19 points, and Eye Candy on 21 points.
In the Performance Cruising Keelboats, Aeolus (Jacinta Cooper) had a great regatta, winning Division One on performance handicap on 17 points, from Cutting Edge (Andrew Jones) on 18 points and White Knuckle Ride (Joshua Ragg) on 19 points. Aeolus also won Division One on IRC.
In Division Two, X-cite (The X-citers/Jay Nibbs) won on performance while Yarinidi III (Danny Cunningham) took out Division Four.
Full regatta results are available at: https://byc.org.au/racing/banjos-shoreline-crown-series/
Images credit: Jane Austin.
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