General

South Australian State Titles 2013

The CN Management South Australian State titles were held at the Cruising Yacht Club of South Australia over the weekend of the 9^th and 10^th of March. A predominantly light wind event saw the local fleet joined by a few guest skippers chartered boats and one visitor from Victoria. Andrew Townsend pulled a crew together and entered JJF, while Jamie Goode returned to the fleet in No Eye Deer after upgrading to a Farr 30 at the start of the year and Bill Coutts (the previous owner of JJF) was the guest helm in Stockcar. Special thanks go to Ron Thomson and the crew of Kicking Bottom who made the trip from Sandringham for the weekend.

With concerns about whether there would be enough wind for any racing, the race officer got proceedings underway in a very light and shifty breeze and had to rotate the course through more than 90 degrees before the two laps were completed. A slightly stronger and much steadier breeze allowed for a fairer 2^nd heat however the 3^rd race of the day was abandoned as the wind disappeared completely with most of the fleet getting swept north on the tide. With 2 wins El Fideldo were looking like the boat to beat with Kicking Bottom pushing them hard with 2 second places.

Sunday saw one race completed in a light northerly before the wind started swinging to the west bringing the possibility of a sea breeze. Although the direction steadied, the breeze failed to build and the last two races were run in similarly light conditions. El Fideldo managed to maintain their unbeaten record with Kicking Bottom close behind and Dave Nicholson on Such Is Life finishing consistently at the front end of the fleet to secure third place overall.

Under PHS, it was Bill Coutts that took the honours by only half a point from Andrew Townsend with the other Townsends in Good Company taking third.

It was good to see almost all the boats at the CYCSA on the water for the weekend and great to have some competition from further a field. The next event in SA is the Great Southern Regatta, again held by the CYCSA, on the 6 and 7^th of April. To secure our One Design start, it would be great to see as many boats on the water as possible. Details are available on the CYCSA website.

2013 J24 State Championships

Hosted By Cruising Yacht Club of South Australia

*** PROVISIONAL RESULTS ***

Updated:  10/03/13  3:47:47 PM

2013 J24 State Championships

Hosted By Cruising Yacht Club of South Australia

*** PROVISIONAL RESULTS ***

Updated:  10/03/13  3:47:47 PM

Sydney Harbour Regatta J24 Division on 9 & 10 March saw 7 boats enter for racing in a 15-20 knots North Eeasterly  under perfect blue skies – a change after a wet February and a lot of  strong winds recently.

With a very busy harbour,  crews had lots of fun racing and congratulations to those who made it out both days.  Whisper, Kaotic and Waterborne Again only managed one day but added to a fun fleet!  Wildfire, J-Spot, Waterhound and Ace completed the 6 races with no protests.. and no dings… David West steering Ace to 4 wins to secure the series for the third year!!

J24 competitors enjoyed a few too many drinks on the beach at MHYC with thanks going to all involved in running a great regatta and giving us our own division again!!!

If you didn’t win the Nationals in Melbourne and if you aren’t Ben Lamb then you didn’t, well you get another chance as the Victorian States are coming up and will have much the same line up of keen trophy hunting skippers.

Known as the ‘Balmy Regatta’ the Vic States always attracts a good turn out and a great social scene. So if you are sitting on the fence and can’t make up your mind then now is the time to slip off to the YES side.

Entries will be online through the Sandringham YC site   www.syc.com.au and the NOR will be out soon for more information

Regatta dates are :

April 20th-21st

Want to see and download the whole poster – here it is:

2013_States_A3poster_100

Once again our  friends at MONJON are sponsoring the regatta, so if you need security and more in Melbourne then go to the MONJON site   www.monjon.com.au

Just want to ring and find out, then contact: Sarah Thompson 0415 931 046  or  Kirby O’Brien 0403 025 250

In conjunction with Charter World Yachting Holidays Terry Wise from Pacific Sailing School is organising an adventure of a lifetime!

Terry wanted to give the J24 guys and girls an opportunity to enjoy this fantastic opportunity and asked me if I knew any that might want to go, so I said quick – on the website with this idea.

You can join Terry sailing on a 45ft cruiser this July sailing through the superb Cycladic Islands of Kea, Siros, Mykonos, Paros, Serifos, Kithnos and Hydra. Rich in historical archaeological and cultural significance, the Greek Islands are the world’s favourite cruising waters.  A 12 night cruise from $2790 per person.

Spaces are strictly limited to 6 people plus Terry (in charge of ice for drinks !)

Please RSVP by 22^nd February 2013 if you’re interested.

Note – this is a sailing holiday with friends and not a PSS course.

Check out the attached Itinery and brochure

Greece trip       Itinery

March sees 2 of Sydney’s premier yacht clubs hosting regattas with J24 Divisions – you all keep telling us you want more one design class racing so here’s the perfect opportunity for you to race against other J24s.

http://www.shr.mhyc.com.au/

www.rpeyc.com.au

Classic Regatta NOR 13

We have had significant interest from various parties regarding participation in the CN Management South Australian J24 Titles being held at the CYCSA over the weekend of the 9^th and 10^th of March. Our primary aim is to get as many local boats out on the water as possible and have had a good response from both local and interstate crew. As things stand we have 3 boats still available for charter. These have been offered to local sailor s from other classes but would also be available for any interstate crews. Boats currently still available include Amazing Grace, a Peter Stevens refit special, with the current owner keen to join in as part of a visiting crew and last years winner JJF, an older boat but with practically everything excluding the hull replaced for new in the last two years. Both of these boats could be absolutely on the pace and will be allocated on a first comer first served basis. So man up! Bring your sails, and we will hopefully see a few of you in March.

Link to the NOR below:

http://cycsa.com.au/racingdocuments.html

Simon’s note: I know there is a growing swell of interest in Melbourne to go to Adelaide for the SA States, better book a boat sooner rather than later if you want to be on the water !

The Monjon 2013 Victorian State Champs being held on the 20 – 21st April is likely to be a repeat of the the hugely successful and very competitive 2013 Musto J24 Nationals just held. Although we expect a different weather regime which should suit those who like a lighter breeze. Tradionally known as the “Balmy Regatta” for its warm balmy, hazy days, the Vic States is already attracting a swag of interstate entries with several boats being left here from the Nationals.

Once again we are expecting a fleet of over 20 boats competing for the title, which for many years has been owned by Dave Suda and his crew on Pacemaker but last year taken off him by Ben Lamb, our recent Nationals winner. Better sharpen up Dave, the nationals results show this one may not go your way either. And that means there will be a number of top yachts vying for the top spot. Arthur Crothers plans to be back to defend (Bennie not yet confirmed I gather). Steve Girdis will be back, as will the SA sprinter Doug Watson (Two legged Donkey! – you have to be kidding) and Peter Stevens in Haywire, a renovated boat that will turn your head with it’s interior fitout, we have yet to see how fast it is. I hear Terry plans to get a couple of boats down – that may mean Sean is back, we don’t know yet but with a string of seconds recently Sean must be keen to take out a title pretty soon. Seems like he has been in the desert for a while. Could we entice Wallis from retirement and radio controlled playthings, if you have a good yacht and need a top skipper – why not try your luck with a call to him. He did pretty damn well in Sydney with barely a practice day or night out.

Looks like the Thommo Cup will be back on too, with Janette planning to come down with a hotshot girl crew – this is going to be a party for sure, you need to be here !

Then there is the growing list of locals that are at the pointy end on any given day, younger guys like Adam coming up, veterens like Hugo getting back into it again, there’s the girls and Brendan – it’s gonna be a fight on the track again but one thing for sure about the Balmy Regatta, the social side is a big one too and I hear Sarah and her team are at it again with the onshore antics.

So plan to come to Melbourne, if you do then give us a call soon and we’ll organise some accom and all the other things that make your stay in our city just the best time you can have in a J.

NOR will be out soon so check back here for a copy to download.

Contact Sarah Thompson on 0415 761 046 for more information.

March sees 2 of Sydney’s premier yacht clubs hosting regattas with J24 Divisions – you all keep telling us you want more one design class racing so here’s the perfect opportunity for you to race against other J24s.

http://www.shr.mhyc.com.au/

www.rpeyc.com.au – NOR will be available soon.

Sandringham Yacht Club in Melbourne dished up a wide variety of conditions for the 2013 Musto J24 Nationals this week. Starting with 25 knots for the invitation race on Sunday, competitors sailed through the complete wind range from zero to postponement conditions.

Handling the conditions the best and proving he is the most well deserving National Champion skipper is Ben Lamb in Kaotic with a winning margin of 8.5pts over fellow NSW skippers, Sean Kirkjian in Sailpac and Steve Girdis in Convicts Revenge. Adam Evans in SDM, the top Victorian skipper in the regatta was 4th and Doug Watson sailing El Fideldo (means ‘two legged Scottish donkey’ !) from SA placed 5th.

Defending champion Dave Suda sailing his new Pacemaker from Victoria crashed in the placings for the regatta with a wild Chinese gybe on the windy Wednesday injuring his sister Rachel and retired for the day to get medical help at the hospital. Even Dave knows the game is up when you have to carry a DNC and your two drops are also a DNF and a DNC. Happily, Rach is ok and sailed again on the Thursday, with the whole crew wearing crash hats to honour her injury and recovery. The local hospital took in 2 wounds from the racing with Tim Briggs also attending. What they and the general populace think we do out there must be interesting as the girl crews generally end up battered and bruised as well, so much so that we had a bruising comp at the presentation dinner – you had to be there !

You had to be there to try and understand Victorian Vice Pres and the presentation MC Doug MacGregor, as like all Scots they have a thick accent and a great sense of humour (well questionable anyway). With President Sarah Thompson away producing her first baby for most of the regatta, her Vic Association committee went into action without her onsite to produce a great regatta that has been a huge success for organisers and competitors alike. Sarah did front on the night and did the thanks to all concerned and presented the trophies to our worthy winners.

Although Ben has been here in Melbourne taking out trophies before (2012 Vic States), this is his first Nationals crown and he and his crew with long time boat owner and class stalwart Arthur Crothers have been planning their campaign since coming second last year. With 5 wins, a 2nd and two 3rds they were always going to be hard to beat. But impressive as it is, the competition meant they had to earn it the hard way.

The first day’s racing in moderate but shifty conditions meant we had a number of newer and less expecting competitors take single digit positions in the first race, pushing some of the guns down the ladder a bit. Sean Kirkjian took out two wins and a 5th for the day with his largely sailing school crew – nice one Sean !

Tuesday morning and the wind was pretty light and a less likely winner (yours truly) was battling Sean for the lead and (I think winning) when the wind and the race committee finally gave up and sent us all in to the club for lunch. With the wind returning, two races were sailed in the afternoon with 20+knots giving great sailing in a building southerly wind and sea. Ben and the Kaotic crew, went out and smashed the fleet with two solid wins in the heavy breeze. A predicted change arrived about 30 min after we got back to the marina and sent an impressive roll cloud and 40+knots over the top as we all packed up – great timing from the race committee ! Many happy minds quietly thanking them for not being out in that. PRO Graeme Watt from Sandy and his team of volunteers once again showing the fleet the sort of high quality race management that has become his trademark and our good fortune to have him in J regattas around the country.

Wednesday and the wind is still blowing hard, (see the chart). The race committee showed their unruffled competence and kept us on the beach till we got a window for 3 races in moderating breezes and great sailing conditions in big seas, making great surfing downhill. Once again Ben sailed impressively to take two wins and a 3rd, with Sean taking the other race out. Steve Girdis quietly sneaking in to take the minor daily placings, that seems to be his trademark too, as he is often next to you on the racetrack but always seems to be on the podium at the end of it – Mr Consistent !

Also out on the water was Chris Furey and camera, taking some great shots, Chris is a long time J sailor (and will be again) and supporter of the class. Check out the great shot of the Hyper Girls above. There will be a pic gallery added shortly.

Further down the finishing list, amongst a myriad of boat on boat battles, another success story is quietly going about her work. Jess Davis, skipper Gatsby, of one of the Sandy J24 youth boats provided by Vice Versa skipper John Neville is sailing her first Nationals in J24s and 80kg under max crew weight with her crew of mostly girls is improving steadily to come off the back end of the fleet to end the competition with a run of 12s and 13s, that’s an improvement of half the fleet. Awesome Jess !

So well has she sailed that she has taken out the PHS title (including three PHS 1st placings) ahead of an Pete Moulang in Sanguine and new class entrant, but very experienced Sam Haines from UK Sails in Melbourne who learnt the boat on the way out to the first start on his first sail in Make My Jay.

Day four and the last day, provided stunning sailing in 10 – 12 knots, sunny skies and flat water, a relief to many crews finding the heavy going of the last few days starting to hurt bodies. Another win to Ben and then to cap off the regatta for Dave, a display of power sailing to come through the fleet and take out the last race.

There is a zillion stories and ‘if onlys’ throughout the fleet, too numerous to mention. However this year we have had a number of new skippers and owners that have filled out the fleet numbers to create an impressive and larger than previous Nationals fleet. Coming the farthest by a big margin was Brian Dowling and crew from Cairns, having bought Kaos from Hobart and doing the regatta on the boat’s way north. (watch out for an FNQ Regatta coming up). The three placings from NSW already mentioned and Peter Stevens, Robin Townsend and Doug Watson all from Adelaide made up the national fleet. From Melbourne we had Sam Haines, Hamish and Jock Macadie, Peter Skillington and Mark Foster all doing their first nationals and all with little or no previous sailing experience in J24s. The class is alive and well! So good was the regatta that several interstate boats have been left in Melbourne for the Vic States in April, so if you want to be part of the next party – start planning it now !

Once again Richard Hewitt and the SYC team did a great job hosting the regatta both on and off the water, a big thank you to our Jury, all our volunteers and to the competitors.

2013 Nationals OD results

2013 PHS results

See you next time !

The CN Management South Australian J24 State Championships will be held at the CYCSA over the weekend of the 9th and 10th of March with 7 races scheduled over 2 days.

After the success of last year’s national championships, held over the same weekend, at the same venue, the SA J24 committee are looking to attract as many local and interstate boats as possible.

The bonus of a public holiday on the Monday means that any travel time need not eat into precious holiday entitlement!

There are currently boats available for charter for the weekend giving those further afield the opportunity to come and join in without the transport costs/hassle.

Anyone wishing to secure an boat for charter should contact Doug Watson on 0415 677 886.