Women in wooden boats top the fleet at the Australian Mirror Champs

by Grant Atherton on 9 Jan 2010
Hobart teenager girls Jessie Atherton and Katherine Maher in 'Kamikaze' took out their second International Mirror Australian Championship from a fleet of 32 boats at the 44th Australian Championships sailed from the Lake Cootharaba Sailing Club in Queensland over the Christmas – New Year period.

The two, known almost universally as 'the girls' opened with a solid win in the Cliff Scott Memorial Invitation Race (which started the usual superstitious talk in the rigging area) but then 'struggled' on the first day when they returned results of third, third, and second which put them one point behind day one leaders Anita Scott-Murphy and her son Ben Cruse in 'Stealth' who opened their campaign with a fourth, second and a win in Heat 3.

Day two saw 'Kamikaze' break a spinnaker pole when leading on the final reach of Heat 4, but they managed to stay in front for their first heat win of the series. Having replaced the spinnaker pole between races, the girls had a great day by also winning heats 5 and 6 and take the overall lead. The girls repeated this performance with wins in Heats 7, 8 and 9 by which time they had the Championship won from the ever consistent Anita and Ben in 'Stealth' who finished with a remarkably consistent [4],2,1,2,[3],2,2,2,3,2 and who led for significant periods in several races.

The breeze was very consistent in strength throughout the series, although shifty at times which provided passing opportunities, with only the final heat sailed in light 5-10 knot winds whereas all other races were sailed in 10-15 knots.

While both 'Kamikaze' and 'Stealth' are traditional timber Mirrors constructed from the famous 'stitch and glue' method, the fleet of 32 boats featured a number of the new fibreglass Mark III Mirrors, with third place overall going to Mark 'Freddy' Phillips the former World Veterans Champion in the Contender Class sailing with young son Hugh which included heat wins in Heats 1 and 10. Mark is manufacturing Mark III Mirrors and Foils from his 'Dinghy Sports' and 'Freddy Foils' businesses.

The fleet featured two imported Winder Mark III Mirrors and five of the Dinghy Sports Mark III Mirrors. Greg and Ben Field in 'Money Box' who finished fourth overall in a Dinghy Sports Mark III sported the latest sail number of 70590 while John Morrison's beautifully restored 'Jumbuck' sported sail number 2736 indicating an age of around 44 years and weighed in several kilos lighter than 'Kamikaze'.

Perpetual trophy winners:

• Open Championship: Jessie Atherton & Katherine Maher 'Kamikaze'
• Sub-junior Championship (under 16): Sienna Galante & Esther Taylor 'Quickstep'
• Junior Championship (under 19): Lawson & Austin Taylor 'Bombora'
• Ladies Championship: Rebecca Price & Luke Ziebarth 'Arrow'
• Veteran's Championship (over 45): Greg & Ben Field 'Money Box'
• Norm Deane Master's trophy (over 55): Mark & Hugh Phillips 'Binge Thinking'
• Frank Buxton trophy (for parent and child): Anita Scott-Murphy & Ben Cruse 'Stealth'
• Cruiserweight Championship (combined weight > 130kg): Antony & Hugo Galante 'Aqua Holic'
• Cliff Scott Invitation Race: Jessie Atherton & Katherine Maher 'Kamikaze'

For full results, refer to the Mirror Sailing Association of Queensland Web Site: http://nationals.qldmirror.com/

The modernisation of the Mirror class is progressing, with no Gaff (actually Gunter) rigged boats in the top ten for the first time, and the move to 'centre sheeting' has been widely adopted across the fleet.

The focus now is firmly on the International Mirror World Championships to be held in Albany WA at the Princess Royal Sailing Club next year starting on January 2nd, a day after the 45th Australian Championships conclude.

The Championships are likely to attract a large Australian fleet who can take advantage of a World Championships in their home waters without the need to qualify for the Australian Team as has been the case in previous Championships. For more information on the 2011 World Mirror Championships, refer to the Web Site: http://mirrorworlds2011.com