Sports Boats and Royal’s
by Darren Spence on 28 Mar 2013
Local Cam Rae and his Monkey Business crew have a good track record on Port Phillip - Australian Sports Boat Association National Championships 2013 Teri Dodds
http://www.teridodds.com
What do you call a National Title fleet made up of boats from all Australian States, varying in size from six to eight metres long, up to 3.5 metres wide and from 250kgs – 900kgs in weight that do 6+ knots upwind and over 20 knots downwind?
An Australian Sports Boat Association National Title!
The 2013 ASBA National Sports Boat Titles are taking place this Easter weekend out of Royal Yacht Club of Victoria in Williamstown.
Arguably the best fleet ever assembled, the 2013 National Titles is the sixth event of its kind under the ASBA banner. With entries from all States and even the ACT, representation is at record levels.
Favourites? This is anyone’s event. The winner will be the crew that attack the event.
The Victorian State Titles held last weekend saw Monkey Business (Cam Rae) take their third State Title in as many years.
Crank (Brett Whitbread) is the boat formally known as Blokes World which has finished no worse than second in the last three Titles and was the 2011 National Champion. The boat has been renovated to be now 3.5 metres wide and been dieting.
Zippier (Andrew Waugh) defeated a class field of seventeen boats to win the NSW State Titles earlier this month and has not missed an ASBA National Title.
Octopussy (Rees Howell) and The Ducks Nuts (Evan Lutey) have made the trip from Perth and are keen on making their mark in their first National Titles.
Stuart Shimeld (Hot Gossip) is also doing his first ASBA National Title and has been the dominant Sports Boat in South Australia.
Tachyon (Andrew York) and Weapon of Choice (Fred Kasperak) have identical boats but are also new to the fleet doing their first Sports Boat event.
Bruce Hollis (Excel) is making his welcome return to the fleet as well, having not raced a Sports Boat event since 2009.
The current National Champion boat, Kaito (Tom Kelly), is also back to defend her title with different crew but the same spirit that has seen it attend all five National Titles to date.
With a diverse fleet, ASBA has made the decision to run two divisions within the fleet as well as overall honours at it’s events – this way we can hand out more 3 Oceans Wine and Gill clothing. The division split is based around a boats displacement to sail area ratio. It allows like boats to race one another and also compete as a whole to be the overall winner.
Live Race Tracking will also be available via the ASBA web site or the Tack Tracker App on your iproduct. Follow your favourite crew live and show your support on the Facebook page. ASBA is also about participation, no matter where you are in the world.
For all the latest Sports Boat News, Results and Events find us on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/sportsboatsaus?ref=hl or visit our web site www.asba.org.au
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