Sports Boat Winter Nationals title to Sherring
by Darren Spence on 15 Jun 2015
The crew onboard Stay Tuned had some good rides down the ocean swell Teri Dodds
http://www.teridodds.com
The third Australian Sports Boat Association (ASBA) Winter Nationals, conducted by Mooloolaba Yacht Club, had it all on the weather.
The conditions went from huge seas, breeze and rain on day one, sunshine, swell and steady breeze on day two and then overcast and light air on the final day.
But best of all, it had a great winner. Graham Sherring and the crew from the Southport Yacht Club boat Stay Tuned dominated the racing every day. They went home with the overall trophy and an all but perfect score despite the weather variations.
Consistency wins events, especially in a mixed fleet in varied conditions, and the Stay Tuned crew had their home build Leech 650 dialed-in and trucking. The big question now is after umpteen sail recuts and boat modifications, will the temptation to “tinker” to be too much before the upcoming ASBA National Titles at RQYS in Manly in January 2016. Will she ‘stay tuned’ ?
Second through to sixth overall was only decided in the seventh and final race of the regatta with Michael James and his crew from Brisbane on The Beast taking the win on SMS and securing second overall.
The Peter Ray’s Barley Legal, from Royal Prince Alfred Yacht Club, have been coming to the event since its start three years ago. They had an outstanding day two and secured the final spot on the podium.
After a number of gear breakages on day one which took out their competition, John Rae’s Vivace and Andrew Wiklund’s Crank were left to battle it out for line honours with Vivace taking the gong and fourth overall ahead of Crank. Crank however wins the award for sexiest boat after making the local newspaper and staring in a very popular video.
Despite all efforts, the video featuring ASBA President Chris Bland’s Porn Star was surprisingly not as popular. That team did stay dry on day three though, so star they did.
While the Division 2 fleet was small, Jim Dwyer’s Emma Peel and Jason Ruckert’s Mister Magoo ended up being a battle between the inaugural winner of the Talk it Up Award to the soon-to-be crowned winner of the Talk it Up Award. Emma Peel won.
ASBA thanks all the volunteers at the Mooloolaba Yacht Club for making the event come alive again in 2015. Despite some testing times for all involved on the first day, four races where run on the second day and a full program achieved.
Special thanks to all the crews that travelled from somewhere to get there; amazing efforts from the interstate crews and safe travels home.
We also very lucky to have great support from our long term event partners - Gill Australia, 3 Oceans Wine Company in WA and Hogs Breath Cafe. Major thanks also to The Wharf Tavern for “hosting” our sailors and providing liquid refreshments.
All the results can be found on the ASBA Event Page - http://www.asba.org.au/event/2015-asba-winter-nationals/
There is heaps of video and pictures from Teri Dodds Photography (www.teridoddsphotograhy.com.au) on the ASBA Facebook page and web site -
https://www.facebook.com/sportsboatsaus and http://www.asba.org.au/gallery-2/
Mooloolaba Yacht Club have confirmed the dates for the 2016 ASBA Winter Nationals are June 17 to 19.
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