2009 J24 Brother National Australian Championship

 

The recent J24 Nationals had 2 unique entries this year with 2 all-girl teams lining up to give it to the guys. The Guys in typical fashion were cocky, totally dismissed the girls team in being anywhere in the fleet, and the general consensus was that they would be at the back of the fleet.

 

The teams consisted of Aus 16 “Litigant” skippered by Helen Willmer and the Victorian Entry Aus 201 “Hyperactive” skippered by Kirsty Harris.


 

 

The regatta was run with a mixed bag of winds during the week with Thursday bring strong breezes of up to 28 knots. To everyone’s surprise the girls on Hyper smoked out of the pin end of the line and crossed the fleet well in front, they continued down the run and the next legs to clear out from the fleet and to create some J24 racing history.

 

The first all-girl team to Win a race at a J24 Nationals.

This raised a few eyebrows – Shit!!! Chicks can really sail!


 

Friday started with a light breeze and a 10 knot sea breeze filled in. The girls on Hyper got a good start and smoked the fleet to the first mark and game over for the race. The girls had another win under their belts. Hyperactive finished a well-earned 7th in the regatta and the other girls team finished 14th out of a 15 boat fleet. Congratulations Hyper team for achieving such a good result including 2 gun smokes and welcome to the J24 family.


 

Peter Stevens:- J24 SA president 14th Jan 2009