Please select your home edition
Edition
Henri-Lloyd Dynamic Range

Starling Nationals Day 4- Erica Dawson wins National Championship

by Julia Hamilton on 14 Apr 2012
Erica Dawson, 2012 Starling National Champion Murrays Bay Sailing Club http://www.murraysbay.org/



She is the first female in Starling history to make it into the top three, let alone win the Nationals. Erica sailed consistently throughout the regatta and ‘it was great to finish with a bullet,’ she quipped. Her domination of the last race set her clear to win the title. Oscar Rorvik finished in second, after a day which did not quite go his way.

Favourite Matthew Hughes had a tough day, but managed a bullet in the second race to place him fourth overall. Sam MacKay had a decent regatta to finish third overall.

Other awards in the open fleet went to Matthew Hughes for winning the Traveller Series, Zac Merton for youngest competitor in the top ten and Michael Stern as winner of the Silver Fleet.

The weather today proved difficult to pick for the sailors, with big shifts of pressure that were crucial to hook into in order to establish a place at the front of the fleet. Some of our front runners got tripped up with this, highlighting the importance of constantly sailing on the lifted tack.

In the development fleet, Julia Ebert took it out overall, after winning five races. This is a great achievement for her and should set her well on course for the open fleet next year. Amy Watt won the most courageous sailor award, and coincidentally also the rig pack from NZ Rigging, which was kindly donated.

The fickle conditions were a great roundup to the regatta, proving that Murrays Bay can put on all conditions to test the sailors’ all-round ability.


We had almost a record number of entries this year, which tends to suggest that the Easter spot is more popular than the New Year time, thus it was decided last night that next years South Island Nationals are to be held in the same spot.

This great regatta would not have happened without the enormous effort put in by the many volunteers, but particular mention goes out to Marie Mitchell for her fantastic job on results, Brett Craies for his amazing organization skills and hard work, Ian Mitchell for sponsoring the regatta, and other parents such as Julian Beavis, Gavin Closey, Gary Hughes and Lance Wickman for their time and dedication to this regatta. Also, behind every great man is a woman, and Wendy Craies, Toni Wickman, Serena Beavis, Nicky Beckman and Shirley Closey, deserve recognition for their time put into making it all happen, especially with the lunches and food. It is hard to thank everyone, but thanks to all the sailors who came and made the Murrays Bay Starling Nationals 2012 the great event that it was.

For full results for the Open fleet http://www.murraysbay.org/uploads/2012%20events/Starling%20Nationals/results/Final%20open%20results%202012.pdf!click_here and for the Development fleet http://www.murraysbay.org/uploads/2012%20events/Starling%20Nationals/results/Final%20development%20results.pdf!click_here

V-DRY-XNorth Sails Loft 57 PodcastLloyd Stevenson - Catalyst Yacht Tender 1456x180px BOTTOM

Related Articles

All smiles among first finishers of the AEGEAN 600
The fastest teams crossed the finish line today at Cape Sounion As the fastest teams crossed the finish line today at Cape Sounion and made their way to the harbour at Olympic Marine, there were exhausted smiles all around.
Posted on 10 Jul
British Classic Week day 4
It was a classic Solent day in Cowes for the OneSails inshore race It was a classic Solent day in Cowes for day 4 of British Classic Week with hot temperatures, sunshine and no breeze in the morning before the sea breeze kicked in from the west and it was time to go racing.
Posted on 10 Jul
iQFOiL Worlds a Aarhus day 5
Finalists locked in for new Medal Series format With the sea breeze stubbornly refusing to make an appearance, Day 5 of the iQFOiL World Championship turned into a long waiting game both ashore and on the water.
Posted on 10 Jul
Jazz Turner Video Interview
How she Faced Everything And Rose during Project FEAR I travelled to Brighton Marina to catch up with Jazz, talking about her own sailing, the challenges she faced during the circumnavigation, how the money raised will be used, and a glimpse of her future projects!
Posted on 10 Jul
CYCS SailMV's Vineyard Cup Preview
The regatta will feature stunning classics racing around the beautiful island of Martha's Vineyard. The second Classic Yacht Challenge Series (CYCS) event of the 2025 season gets under way on Friday, July 11 with the Vineyard Cup organized by Sail Martha's Vineyard (SailMV).
Posted on 10 Jul
America's Cup: Luna Rossa to sail for Naples club.
Italian Challenger Luna Rossa will contest the next America's Cup as the team of a Naples club. Italian Challenger Luna Rossa will contest its seventh America's Cup as the team of the Circolo del Remo e della Vela Italia of Naples, as club that is new to the America's Cup.
Posted on 10 Jul
International Moth Worlds at Lake Garda Day 3
Big breeze in the morning, calm in the afternoon The third day of racing at the 2025 Moth World Championship kicked off early, with the first warning signal for the Blue fleet scheduled for 8:30 AM. Due to strong northerly winds, however, the fleet's departure was postponed to 9:00.
Posted on 10 Jul
Introducing the Micro Gateway from Cyclops Marine
Live load data, simplified - smaller, smarter, even more connected At Cyclops Marine, we're driven by the pursuit of precision, performance, and progress. As the marine industry continues to embrace digital transformation, our technology is evolving rapidly.
Posted on 10 Jul
Everything to know about The Ocean Race Europe
One month to go to the race start in Kiel One month out from the start of the 2025 edition of The Ocean Race Europe seven mixed-gender crews made up of sailors from across 13 nations are in the throes of their final preparations for the Race start in Kiel, Germany.
Posted on 10 Jul
The countdown to the Race to Mackinac
2025 is a landmark year for the Chicago Yacht Club 2025 is a landmark year for the Chicago Yacht Club and the Race to Mackinac presented by Wintrust Financial Corporation.
Posted on 10 Jul