Over the weekend of the 2nd and 3rd November 2019, 21 boats took part in Round 1 of the Manly Junior NSW State Titles. Round 1 was hosted by Bayview Yacht Racing Association (B.Y.R.A.). 

On the first day of the regatta, a moderate to strong NE breeze had developed on the race course, located to the north of Scotland Island on Pittwater. Defending NSW champions Liam Karunaratne and Ben Milham in 2761 'Public Enemy' got off to a strong start and stayed in front of the fleet throughout the race to take the first win of the series. Unfortunately the strong breeze meant there were a few retirements in the first race, particularly amongst the novice fleet. With over half of the novice fleet returning to shore after the challenging first race, PRO Steve Ilese and Novice Coach Niall Powers decided to not hold a second race for the day for the novice fleet, but the open fleet to remain on course and continue racing. 

Day 2 was a more comfortable race course for the fleet with a lighter NE breeze settle in. Both the Open fleet and Novice fleet enjoyed some smooth fast sailing around the course, with no retirements. Race 4, the final race of the round, started in a steady NE breeze but soon became a challenge for the sailors as storm clouds loomed close to the race track, which slowed the wind speed down significantly. The lighter and shifty wind on the course caused a shuffle in the order of both fleets, including the leading boats of the open fleet. On the final beat to the finish, Liam Karunaratne in 2761 'Public Enemy' was trailing 2776 'Twin Turbo' and 2781 'Go with the flow', but managed to work the shifts into 1st position. 

PUBLIC ENEMY NO.1!

Karunaratne and Milham's strong form was on display over the whole weekend, winning all four races. They are now six points ahead of Gemma Hopkins & Chloe Cotton in 2781 'Go with the flow' who are in 2nd place overall (without a drop). The battle for second place is still very close with Theo Franklin and Lucas Rolfe in 2776 'Twin Turbo' only one point behind in 3rd place. The battle for the top 3 is still very much open when the series continues at round 2. 

In the novice fleet there were some close finishes with 2 boats able to take race wins. Tom Milham & Harrison Thomas in 2769 'Another dark & stormy' took two race wins on scratch, while Sam Burkett and Henry Read in 2771 'Red Hand' are leading the event on Handicap after 3 races. 

The NSW State Titles series will continue at Round 2 over the 8th and 9th February 2020. Round 2 is to be hosted by Port Kembla Sailing Club. Thank you to all of the volunteers and families at Bayview Yacht Racing Association (B.Y.R.A.) for hosting the regatta and their hospitality over the weekend. 

Thanks to Ian Urban for the on-water photos and Cam Mills for the drone pictures. You can view more picutres here. 

Results are available here

Visit the event webpage here