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Midway Point Yacht Club is proud to host the 2015-16 B14 National Titles right here on Pittwater with the series starting Jan 3rd with an invitation race.
The club welcomes the opportunity to share our beautiful sailing waters with some interstate and intrastate travellers and we hope you enjoy your time at the club, on the water and in Tassie in general.
The invitation race got away with a fleet of 22 boats at 13:45 in a 10 knot SE breeze with gusts to 15 knots. The long line was biased to the port end but the fleet was fairly evenly spread along the line.
At first it appeared all the fleet would easily fitch the top mark but the tide took its effect and only a handfull were able to lay the mark.
At the first rounding most of the fleet was quite compacted but Guy Bancroft and David Grace in Bonus Nick Richardson and Mark Padgett in Get Nicked were right up there along with Craig Garmson and Paul Newman in Snatch.
The front few boats pretty much held their positions but in the middle of the fleet positions were changing by the minute.
By the bottom mark the last time it was Bonus leading Get Nicked from Snatch, The Nudewas well up there along with The Hitcher.
At the finish it was Bonus Guy Bancroft and David Grace first from Get Nicked Nick Richardson and Mark Padgett second and Snatch Craig Garmson and Paul Newman third.
Then it was the fast finishing Phantom Steve Miller and Lauren Bird who just pipped The Nude Richie Reynolds and Lissa McMillen from The Hitcher Robbie Hunt and Ben Price.
Day 1 Heats 1 & 2
After yesterdays warmup, the Australian B14 National championships got underway in a shifty, east south easterly breeze of about 8 to 10 knots. The fleet of 24, 10 from interstate hit the start line early and on the first start a general recall resulted after too many boats were unidentifiable after the start.
Following a second starting sequence the fleet got away mostly with a clean start, with a protest pending, results are provisional only. Cromarty Engineering took a dip back to start their race and the fleet made their way through the first upwind. From early on it was clear that Richie and Lissa sailing in “The Nude” were going to be right up the front of the fleet. Rounding close to the top were, Robbie and Ben in “The Hitcher”, Craig and Paul in “Snatch”, Nick and Mark in “Get Nicked” and Guy and Dave in “Bonus Bone”. The Nude rounded well in the lead after the first lap and despite a number of place changes managed to keep their lead and finish the first heat of the championships with the race win. In second was The Hitcher and Snatch in third. Rounding out the top 6 was Get Nicked, 4th, Rocketship 5th and Bonework 6th.
After the start of the second race one of the leeward marks lost its anchor resulting in the race being abandoned.
Following this, the breeze continued to strengthen, capping off at about 15 to 18 knots. Shifts continued to throw out the capacity for big gains and bigger losses on the course. The fleet got off the line clear following the restart of race 2. Hitting the left early, the fleet tacked off to make the most of the breeze on the right hand side of the course. Staying left after a solid start was Snatch and also Rocketship, sailed by Adrian and Jono. Both boats took big risks but got locked into a long shift to the left of the course which resulted in them rounding the top mark in 1st and 2nd respectively. Again with only 2 laps for the race, early gains were critical. After the first downwind both Bonus Bone and Bonework, sailed by Ian and David managed to make big gains carrying the breeze down with them, getting through Rocketship by the bottom mark. Rounding close in was Cromarty Engineering who went upwind with Rocketship for half the beat, blow for blow. After finally taking another dip to the left Rocketship pulled away from Cromarty Engineering heading round the top mark just in front. Snatch kept well in front of Bonus Bone and Bonework who went to the right side of the course downwind early but came back to cover oncoming boats who were rounding in freshening wind.
Across the line in 1st was Snatch, followed by Bonus Bone in 2nd and Bonework in 3rd. Closing the gap to take 4th was Rocketship and after a fabulous downwind and overall race, Toxic sailed by Allen and James got 5th, just ahead of Cromarty Engineering in 6th.
Day 2 Heats 3 & 4 of the Australian B14 National championships got underway in a shifty, North Easterly breeze of about 8 to 10 knots. Whilst the breeze settled in from Northerly to North Easterly the fleet settled in by checking the course out in the new wind direction. Unfortunately for Rocketship some of the freshening pressure caught them unaware resulting in a quick swim before the first race. The fleet had a clean start in heat 3 with the left side of the course being favoured as a general trend. In strengthening breeze Bonus Bone, sailed by Guy Bancroft and David Grace managed to get through to the front after a tight tussle with Cole Dabner and Clare Cromarty sailing on Cromarty Engineering as well as Robbie Hunt and Ben Price on The Hitcher (who were first round the top mark after the first upwind)and held the lead to take the win with Cromarty Engineering 2nd and The Hitcher 3rd. Sailing another solid race was Ian and David Cunningham sailing on Bone Work finishing 4th right up in the action. Just back at the next bunch a Rocketship, sailed by Adrian Beswick and Jono LeBis was doing their best to nip on the stern of Snatch, sailed by Craig Garmston and Paul Newman, despite best efforts from Rocketship, Snatch held their final downwind challenge off to take out 5th and Rocketship come through in 6th. Right up there in heat 3 was Bondi Tram who ended the race with a 10th overall, their best result for the championship thus far and newcomers to the class, Nick McElwee and James McIndoe managed a 12th place.
Race two started in a wind of around 15 knots after the wind had strengthened during race 1. The fleet again hit the left early with boats diving right on the first sign of a knock out left to get across to the top mark. Playing the shifts was critical to getting a good placing, as big gains were available to those who played it right. Unfortunately for frontrunners, Bone Work, they managed a capsize right before the start of the 4th heat. Looking good early was Snatch along with Richie Reynolds and Lissa McMillan sailing in The Nude, by the top mark, Canberra crew, Allan Graham and James Reynolds, sailing Toxic rounded in first after a sensational first work, they were closely followed by The Nude and Rocketship after they also picked some good lines to keep in the front of things.Kingston legend Robbie Hunt and his gun crew Ben Price on The Hitcher were looking a glamour after catching some good gusts down the course with Bonus Bone and by the bottom mark The Nude were leading from Snatch who also had a great downwind followed by The Hitcher, Rocketship, Toxic and Bonus Bone. In the next bunch, Kelvin Boyle and his Ring in local crew, Lucas Upton on Flipper were having a tight tussle with Nick Richardson and Mark Padgett on Get Nicked. Chris Wells and Rani Dabner on Epic were also looking the part until they hit spinnaker trouble in lap two.
Following another challenging upwind leg the placings again changed with Snatch taking the lead from The Hitcher and Rocketship with Bonus Bone not far behind, close on their tails. The Nude managed to slip back a little after a tough upwind saw them loose out on a couple of knocks on the way up. With little separating the top 3 boats, it was down to the last lap to see who would be going into day 3 with the wind in their sails. Sailing flat and fast was the order of the race with good pace to be carried through the pressure on the course. Playing the middle left saw Rocketship manage to pull through from 2nd into the lead after the second downwind by the top mark. It was all down to the final hoist of the spinnakers and staying in the pressure to make the line before a fast Snatch could catch them. After everything going to plan and the breeze remaining consistent down the final downwind, Rocketship managed to secure their first heat win for the regatta. Snatch came in a close 2nd with Bonus Bone managing to take 3rd from The Hitcher who ended up 4th and The Nude 5th. The next finishers saw Cromarty Engineering getting in a gybing tussle with Get Nicked. After a couple of tactical decisions, Get Nicked managed to take out 6th with Cromarty Engineering 7th. Of note after heat 4 was Usain Boat sailed by Nathan Reynolds and Sarah Simonds coming through to grab 9th position, their best result for the regatta, Richard McMinn and Lucy Rees sailing Catharsis (Definition: the purification and purgation of emotions—especially pity and fear—through art or any extreme change in emotion that results in renewal and restoration) also had a good race finishing 14th and Steve Miller and Lauren Bird also had a great race, finishing in 11th position, also their best for the regatta thus far.
Currently without drops, Snatch leads on 11 points from Rocketship 2nd on 16 points and The Hitcher 3rd on 17 points. Races 5 and 6 are scheduled for tomorrow starting at 1330hrs, with a stronger 15 to 20 knot southerly breeze forecast; the racing should be great for spectating. Get along to the Midway Point Yacht Club for great food and a room with a view of the racing and take in the sights.
Day 3 Heats 5 & 6
Today’s report is brought to you by ‘Buggar the Bone’ pie eating annual state grudge match sponsor, Banjo’s Shoreline (Supplier for all things pastry).
Day three was looking to be one for the heavy crews, a southerly at 15 to 20 knots was forecast and was building throughout the afternoon. Warm conditions and a cool southerly made for a top days racing on flat water allowing for fast and close racing.
Race 5
In race 5 the fleet hit the left shore of the course, but it was clear those who took a dip to the right early pulled out in the lead at the top mark. With only 2 laps in the race, The Hitcher lead from Get Nicked at the top mark closely followed by The Nude, Bonus and Cromarty Engineering rounding out the top 5. Bondi Tram started in a perfect hole in the fleet near the boat end with clear wind. Bangers and Gracie were immediately to leeward and gradually clawed up to windward just before they reached the left shore of the course. After sending it downhill, Bondi managed some good spinnaker hoists and gybes by gun crew Adrian Bell
Despite yesterdays heat win, Rocketship had a shocking first upwind and rounded back in the mid fleet with a lot of work to do. On the first downwind, they were hard on the tail of Toxic and had locals, Early Warning and Phantom in the mix. By the bottom mark, good gains were made and Rocketship headed right with the hope of clawing back some more places on the final upwind.
On the final downwind, The Hitcher managed to hold everything together to take their first heat win of the championship from Snatch who was well back but just In front of Bonus and Cromarty Engineering. In the next bunch came The Nude 5th, Bone Work 6th and Get Nicked in 7th position.
After working hard, Rocketship managed to get back into 9th position before chasing down Epic on the final downwind to secure 8th position. Back with the Tram, slipping through the fleet, by lap two at the top mark it was Flipper, Just in Time, and Catharsis (Richard McMinn & Lucy Rees) followed by the Tram. Sending it downwind on a port gybe together, the Tram gybed away early in pressure and took that well down to the finish line – a perfect gybe onto starboard and crossed three boats before the line resulting in a 15th for the race.
Race 6
Race 6 got underway in about 15 knots of breeze with all crews hitting the line with speed and good height. After the first race, crews were looking for a clear lane to hit the right of the course on the upwind. Getting through was Bonus, Snatch and Rocketship with The hitcher and Cromarty engineering starting to play the left who were also looking good. By the top mark, Snatch rounded in the lead followed by Cromarty engineering and Rocketship, Bonus and Get Nicked were very close behind.
Race 6 was a disaster for the Tram boys. At the start they were coming up to the line when the Nudists tacked onto Port and trapped the Phantom. Both boats capsized with the Nudists tearing their high tech mainsail. The Tram managed to avoid the collision and got away to a very average start.
By the end of lap one the Tram had slipped back through the fleet and a Startboard drop meant either a windward hoist of a two sail gybe at the top mark. Windward hoist was the wrong decision with an instant wineglass followed by a capsize in the gybe.
Back at the front of the fleet, Rocketship managed to work through Cromarty Engineering and close the gap on Snatch on the first half of the upwind. After some serious hard work and tacking the Rocketship crew managed to get in the lead and just round infront of Snatch at the top of the second lap before shooting off downwind. Unfortunately on a tight hoist and Skipper Beswick managed to catch his crew, LeBis unaware and hit his head on the boom during the Gybe after the hoist. Despite mild concussion, Rocketship managed to get off to a flying start on the downwind and held off a closing Snatch and close by Cromarty Engineering. Bonus continued to work hard in their chase of Get Nicked who were sailing consistently holding their ground to Bonus on the second work.
On the final lap Rocketship again went right initially with a dip across the the yacht club jetty to pick up strengthening breeze. Covering close by competitors was critical whilst making the most of changing wind directions. Pulling away on the top of the course from Snatch and Cromarty Engineering, it made the last hoist a little less pressured. With a perfect set and gybe to the bay side of the course, Rocketship looked assured of their second ever heat win. About half way down the course, Snatch was closing in on Rocketship and gybed away into pressure. Despite concern, Rocketship held their course and gybed as planned to head to the finish line. Snatch was looking close early, but as the boats came back together Rocketship kept their lead claiming the win from Snatch in 2nd and Cromarty Engineering 3rd. Get Nicked got to the finish line in 4th after holding off Bonus who finished 5th. The Hitcher managed a 6th for the race and the ever consistent Cunninghams in Bonework 7th.
Bondi Tram got back up again with Misunderstood on their tail. After holding them off back upwind and staying upright downhill, Bondi managed to finish in 20th position.
Buggar the Bone
This years’ traditional ‘Buggar the Bone’ interstate competition was a pie eating contest. With teams representing NSW, Vic and Tas along with a representative NS14 Tas ring in team the competition was hot. From NSW was Kostya and Luis, Vic, Dave and Craig, Tas, Adrian and Matt and Tas NS14 reps, Nick and Josh. From the onset rules were outlined to competitors first pair to consume their 7 pies. No mess, No Vomiting, Unlimited sauce and no cross pie eating, once you start you can’t give it to your team mate. Adjudicating was undertaken by class great Guy Bancroft and Nick Richardson as well as Mark Padgett to ensure all competitors played by the rules.
The NS14 team got out of the blocks early closely followed by Vic and Tas. On observation the NSW team seemed to be enjoying their pies a little too much and were leaning back in their chairs relaxing and taking in the scenery. Competitors soon realised that some of the pies were on the hot side and mouths were burning as they all slurped down the delicious Banjo’s meat pies. After a little over 5 minutes the NS14 team took the win. This left a strongly finishing Tasmanian team on the chase to Victoria for 2nd. Despite Adrian’s best efforts consuming 5 pies in the time his team mate matt had finished two, the Vic’s managed to take 2nd and Tas finishing third. Unfortunatly team NSW decided to share their last pies amongst the other NSW sailors and were listed as a DNF.
Sailing tomorrow will be interesting with a 10 to 15 knot south south-westerly forecast. After 7 and 8 races, 1 drop is used which will tighten up the points at the top of the rankings. At this stage, Snatch is looking strong in the lead with Bonus coming through based on predictions to 2nd, The Hitcher 3rd with Rocketship a close 4th. But anything could happen in the changing and shifting conditions on what has been a great racetrack consisting of some of the flattest water for a National Championship to be sailed on. Tassie is certainly fairing better than normal with 3 of the top 5 boats in the fleet.
See you tomorrow for some more great sailing.
The day four forecast was for light to moderate southerly winds at around 10 to 15 knots. The day was brilliant sub with partial cloud. As crews prepared their boats on the startline for race 7, the wind was building significantly and reached a stable 15 knots,
Race 7
In race 7 the fleet split with boats taking chances across the course, both left and right sides, the race was three laps with Bonus taking an early lead closely followed by The Nude in 2nd and Cromarty Engineering and Bonework close behind. Next came Toxic, Snatch, Rocketship along with Get Nicked and The Hitcher.
After the first downwind, Rocketship had lost a few places as Get Nicked and The Hitcher get through them in pressure. With the wind easing back to around 10 knots the fleet was changing gears and it was clear that the lighter crews would fare better in the final laps of the race.
Snatch had a great second upwind getting right back up to the top 3 after a great windward working the left shore. The Hitcher also did well and after the second downwind had caught Bonework with Snatch and were right on the tail of The Nude. Rocketship continued to have a close tussle with
By the final downwind Bonus remained clear in the lead to take the win but with a great last downwind The Hitcher managed to get through past Snatch, Bonework and Cromarty Engineering to take 2nd place from The Nude in 3rd and Cromarty Engineering 4th and Snatch 5th. Despite having a good start to the race, Bonework fell back into 6th position closely followed by Rocketship in 7th and Side Effects in 8th.
Race 8
Again in building breeze race 8 got underway with an individual recall off the startline. This resulted in Bondi Tram and Early Warning being On Course Side (OCS) and carrying full points for the race.
After the first upwind Bonework had a great work and rounded clear of the fleet in the lead closely followed by The Nude and Bonework. Following hoisting Bonework ran into trouble with their pole resulting in a capsize and subsequently a finish in 19th for the race.
Just behind again Snatch, Rocketship, The Hitcher and Cromarty Engineering were fighting it out to try and pull through to a good finishing position. Not far off again were both Canberra boats, Toxia and Usain Boat.
After three laps were completed, The Nude got through Bonework to claim the win on the final lap along with Snatch who came in second. After pulling a second downwind off down the left side of the course on the last lap The Hitcher also got through to finish 3rd with Bonework and ending up 4th. Cromarty Engineering got through Rocketship on the final upwind to finish 5th, Rocketship 6th with Usain boat 7th, their best result for the regatta.
Other Mentions for today go to Peter and Karen Davis who have jumped Good Question for the regatta. Peter and Karen traditionally sail NS14’s but took the chance at a B14 for the regatta. They placed 18th after getting the boat in order over the last couple of days.
WRAP UP
After two drops the fleet has tightened up, in the lead on 12 points is Snatch with Bonus and the Hitcher sitting on a joint total of 15 points. Only 2 points separate 4th from 6th with The Nude currently in 4th, then Rocketship and Cromarty Engineering.
The championship is still up for grabs with only 3 points between Snatch and Bonus and The Hitcher. With two races to go tomorrow is going to be a great one to watch.
See you tomorrow for the final day of sailing.
The day five forecast was for light to moderate westerly winds at around 10 to 15 knots. The day was brilliant sun with partial cloud. As crews prepared their boats on the startline for race 7, the wind was abating from around 15 to 18 knots,
Race 9
Race 9 started in an abating breeze after a Westerly change resulted in a North West airflow over the Pittwater racecourse. After the first lap the usual suspects were at the top end of the field including the likes of Bonus, The Nude, Snatch and Cromarty Engineering. The breeze and tide played a huge role in making the sailing very interesting. On the first upwind, Rocketship managed to get a terrible start getting rolled by Bonus and The Hitcher, after tacking out Right on the course Rocketship managed to get back into the race by the top mark rounding around 5th. After the first downwind Bonework had managed to take the benefit of the tide and subsequent winds to get through a number of boats and make their way up into the top of the field. Bonus continued with a good lead with The Nude making good gains in the lighter breezes to keep in a safe position. After the second work light wind specialists such as the crew on Epic and Usain Boat were poking their way up in the fleet. Commensurately the heavy wind experts on Rocketship continued to suffer in the challenging conditions. On the final lap Bonus hung onto take the win from The Nude and Snatch in third position. Bonework got through in the dying breeze for 4th closely tagged by Get Nicked for 5th and The Hitcher in 6th position. Of note was father , Daughter combination, Tony and Amy Van Galen sailing on Jumpin’ Jack Flash who got 16th in the race and were going very well in the lighter conditions.
Race 10
The final race of the regatta saw a number of Tasmanian boats do well off the startline. By the top mark Cromarty Engineering had a commanding lead closely followed by The Nude. On the first downwind The Hitcher smashed the right side into the tide and got the best gust of the race pulling them through into the top 3 with Cromarty Engineering just holding onto their lead. Unfortunately Bonus got snagged on the pin end and had to restart their race resulting in them being at the top mark mid fleet. Again Usain Boat was sailing a sensational race in the light conditions with Epic close behind. The Crew on Snatch again worked their way into a safe position after the second lap whilst Cromarty Engineering and The Nude held off The Hitcher who continued to challenge the top competitors in the race. On the final lap of the race, in a shot for desperation, both Bonus and Rocketship who hadn’t made up the ground they needed to hit hard left which had shown signs of good gains in the previous laps. The resultant change was a significant run over of the remainder of the fleet with both boats dropping significant places and being eaten up by the main bunch in the middle of the fleet who stayed right. Final results for the final heat were Cromarty Engineering in 1st position taking their first win for the championship, The Nude in 2nd and The Hitcher in 3rd position. Snatch got 4th, Bonework 5th with Get Nicked taking 6thafter getting on top of their jib struggles in the main part of the regatta.
WRAP UP
The final results have resulted in another new Australian Champion partnership sailing on Snatch, Craig Garmston and Paul Newman, from Victoria, finished on what multiple world champion, Guy Bancroft described as a regatta winning total less than 21 of 19 points. Their nearest rival being The Hitcher, a local Tassie Boat sailed by class youngster, Robbie Hunt and his rockstar crew, Ben Price on 24 points. Multiple World champion in the class, Guy Bancroft finished a commendable 3rd position with a total of 25 points after having to carry his final race result of 9th after having an OCS on day 1 and gear failure on day 4 and a 19th place in race 8.
Not far off the beat were long time NSW crew The Nude, Richie Reynolds and Lissa McMillan with 26 points, Tassie crews Cromarty Engineering, Cole Dabner and Clare Cromarty in 5th on 32 points, Rocketship, Adrian Beswick and Jono Le Bis in 6th on 37 points and Victorian crew and Father Son combination, Ian and David Cunningham in 7th 1 point behind with 38 points.
The overall Handicap results threw up a consistent improver in Usain Boat from the ACT sailed by Nathan Reynolds and Sarah Simonds who sailed a sensational last half of the regatta showing consistent improvement and a great ability to capitalise on the lighter winds. Local Tassie crew Darren and Josh Eggins sailing Misunderstood got 2nd after showing a lot of consistency throughout the regatta and after a great back half of the regatta, Richie and Lissa on The Nude got 3rd position.
Watch the B14's in action at last years Worlds
Results for all heats and overall below (note the Handicap results have had a small amendement, no change to placegetters)