Wild and wet finish to SLAM Combined High Schools Championships

by Rod Carter on 24 Apr 2013 The final day racing in the Combined High Schools Championship saw competitors greeted with a 16-20knot Sou-Wester. Soon after racing was underway, the breeze increased and many sailors struggled to handle the blustery conditions.

The skiffs that dominated racing earlier in the series found it tough going in Race 4. The eventual overall winner of Race 4 was Harry Brown (Central Coast Grammar) sailing his Sabot ‘Missile,’ second place was Lachlan White (Irrawang High School) sailing his Maricat 4.3 ‘Lil Feral’ and Nicholas Hord (Lake Munmorah High) was third in ‘Magic Marine’ also a Maricat 4.3.

Race 5 was abandoned due to a severe weather alert for Gale force winds and wind readings of over 30knts on the course.

The overall standings from the event:

First Place: 16ft Skiff ‘Aristocrat’ Henry Makin (Avondale College)
Second Place: Maricat 4.3 ‘Lil Feral’ Lachlan White (Irrawang High School)
Third Place: Flying 11 ‘Hi Roller’ Nathan Lilley (Balgowlah Boys High School)
All Girls: 29er ‘Spitfire’ Tayla Watkinson (Sydney Secondary College)

Special mention to event sponsors SLAM and particularly Phil and Melissa Yeomans from DeckHardware for offering their time and effort in coordinating the Q & A dinner with the special guests. The night was a huge success and those who attended certainly had a great night of stories and laughs.

Plans are already in place for the 2014 Combined High Schools Championships which is expected to be an even bigger event.