2014 NSW O’pen Cup - Sailor's excel in challenging conditions

by Ryan Spring on 3 Nov 2014 The first leg of NSW O’pen Cup was held at Avalon SC, as always the host’s put on a great show and were very welcoming. Saturday brought a constant 20+ Knots with a nasty short, sharp chop. Gold fleet squeezed in two races in the morning and unfortunately due to the increasing wind and storm warnings Silver fleet’s race was abandoned.

This concluded racing for the day as the afternoon saw three storms roll in. Heading into the second day left a clean plate for the Silver fleet and the battle for second in the Gold could not be called. Another day of shifty strong winds was set but with no forecast to increase racing got under way quickly. Great performances were put on by all who sailed in these testing and tiring conditions and with several 45 degree wind shifts the Race Officer Kingsley Forbes-Smith showed his experience to keep racing running smoothly and fairly.

The Wadley’s showed their class on day two with Kristen claiming a straight set of bullets for the Regatta and Travis following behind in all but one race. The stand out performance however came from the young local Thomas Skinner who only recently came to the class and showed a true desire and determination to finish second overall in the Silver Division and even boast a first place finish in one race.

Mother Nature put on a show for the weekend and threw the race committee and participants several curve balls, Avalon SC didn’t make a bad call all weekend and the fact Gold fleet completed six races and Silver three is a clear indication to the professionalism and organisation of the club and its driving members. The second heat is to be held at Yarra Bay on the seventh - eighth March and if this heat is anything to go by, nothing is set in stone and you won’t want to miss it!

Overall Gold:

Rank - Age Div - Club - Name - Nett
1st U16 Tinaroo SC Kristen Wadley 5
2nd U13 Tinaroo SC Travis Wadley 14
3rd U16 PSSAC Sophie Cottam 14
4th U16U Avalon SC Max Oughtred 19

U13 Age Division (Gold):

Rank - Age Div - Club - Name - Nett
1st U13 Tinaro SC Travis Wadley 6
2nd U13 BYRA Evan Gauci 11
3rd U13 Kurnell CC Archie Gargett 12

U16 Age Division (Gold):

Rank - Age Div - Club - Name - Nett
1st U16 Tinaroo SC Kristen Wadley 5
2nd U16 PSSAC Sophie Cottam 12
3rd U16 Avalon SC Max Oughtred 12

Overall Silver:

Rank - Club - Name - Nett
1st Yarra Bay SC Elijah Grynberg 4
2nd Avalon SC Thomas Skinner 10
3rd Avalon SC Kyra Robinson 10
4th Kurnell CC Gus Kohu 12

Biggest Improver: Layne Cook

Adventure Race (2up): first – Archie Gargett, Elijah Grynberg