NSW Youth Championships - Strong conditions on the final day

by Peter McIntosh on 8 Oct 2013 At the four-day NSW Youth Championships on Botany Bay, Gosford 29er skipper Kurt Hansen and Belmont crewmate Harry Morton nailed it in strong conditions on the final day to win their highly competitive class.

The teenagers in Ship Happens - who were recently fourth in the Worlds - managed a first and three second placings in over 20 knots to beat Newport’s Jim Colley and Shaun Connor overall by three points, with Southport’s Charlie Wyatt and Tom Siganto finishing third overall among 25 competitors.

Lake Macquarie sailors Owen Long and Corey Hamilton were fourth in 29ers followed by Henry Makin and Scott Charlton, also from the lake region. Many boats tipped in on the final day but the winners were not among them.
The regatta gave everyone a chance to show their strengths, starting off with light shifty breeze but finishing with gusts recorded at 26 knots at the airport.

In other class results, Lane Cove’s Henry Larkings took out the 20-strong Sabot fleet followed by Andrea Davey and Miles Davey.

The F11s class was won convincingly by Belmont’s Tom Grimes and Chelsea Williams from Henry Stabback and George Richardson and Nathan Lilley and Jesse Lilley. A ninth placing in the final race was an outstanding improvement for Gosford brothers Harry and Stuart Brown in the 32-strong fleet.

The 11-strong 420s were emphatically won by Middle Harbour’s Xavier Winston-Smith and Joshua Dawson, followed by the consistent Drummoyne pair Dana Tavener and Catherine Pagett and third-placed Finn Gilbert and Louis Collins from Middle Harbour. Early leaders Gosford’s Sophie McIntosh and Demi Gilbert finished fifth behind James Griffin and Conor Campbell after a tough final day.

William Bates won the intensely competitive Laser Radials a solitary point ahead of Christopher Anderson, the pair finishing in the same order in the final race, with Nicholas Connor third overall. William Fox dominated the 4.7 Lasers winning by 10 points ahead of Hamish Wiltshire, with a similar margin to third-placed Blake Selley. Charlie Piacun took out the Optimists from Anderson Bird and Angus Sloane. Many use the youth championships as a tune-up for upcoming nationals.