Australian VX One Midwinters at Royal Queensland Yacht Squadron - Day 1
by Nic Douglass 12 Jun 2016 10:12 NZST
11-13 June 2016
Day one of the Australian VX One Midwinter Championships kicked off today at the Royal Queensland Yacht Squadron with two races in variable conditions. While the breeze was light, the racing was tight among the fleet of eleven boats (a record for Australia), one of the biggest draw cards for owners in this new and exciting one-design class.
Race one got away just after 1300 hours in a slowly building sea breeze on beautiful Moreton Bay. Freddo Kasparek from the Canberra Yacht Club on his boat Kasparek Architecture, was the leader around the first mark of the day out of the right hand side of the course, with local boat, Brett Whitbread on SuperVax close on his heels. At the bottom mark, Kasparek still led by a small margin, and opted to take the starboard mark of the gate, with Whitbread taking the port mark to head to the right hand side of the course. Whitbread came out on top, leading Kasparek around the final windward mark, and onto the finish. Third across the line was Andrew York on Speedwagon, fourth was John Whitbread on Pipeline Drillers, and fifth was Michael James on The Beast.
There was a quick turn around to race two, with the Race Committee keen to get as much racing in ahead of the forecasted 25+ knots tomorrow. There was an individual recall on the start but no one returned to the line. Brett Whitbread on SuperVax (winner of race one) and his father, John Whitbread on Pipeline Drillers were the early leaders, however, John was announced as the OCS boat a quarter of the way up the beat. Brett Whitbread took a handy lead from this point, making the most of the dying breeze. Newbie to the class, Adam Janczyk from the Gold Coast on Sticky Fingers rounded in second, with the local boat Angry Beaver skippered by Daniel Alcock in third, and Alan Moffat's Ovi One Kenobi in a close fourth to The Beast and Speedwagon in fifth and sixth.
On the second work there was a 45 to 50 degree shift to the right, making for a soldiers course on what was to be the final leg of the day, with a shortened course at the top mark. A great call by the Race Committee, as nine of the eleven boats managed to finish in breeze, with the final two still making it in the time limit. Brett Whitbread took his second win of the day, with Alcock slipping into second, Janczyk in third, Moffat in fourth and Kasparek moved through to fifth on The Beast and Speedwagon.
Boat of the Day was without a doubt SuperVax sailed by Brett Whitbread, second overall is Freddo Kasparek on Kasparek Architecture, and third is Daniel Alcock on Angry Beaver after his slippery second in race two.
Check out the video from today with on water interviews after both races, and the daily awards, as well as the gallery of images or the full results.
The breeze is forecast to be over twenty knots for the next two days, so it is early days yet in this championship, and there is plenty of action yet to come!
Thanks to the sponsors of the VX One Midwinter Championships for their amazing support of the class, not just at this regatta; Boating and RV, Moreton Bay Signs and Beast CNC & Design.
More tomorrow, with plenty of live action on my social channels, Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram.