Please select your home edition
Edition
Pantaenius Sail 2025 AUS Leaderboard

Australian Flying Fifteen Championships - Competitors ready for action

by Jonny Fullerton on 28 Dec 2016
FF Aus Champs Spot-the-Difference Jonny Fullerton
Esperance Bay Yacht Club are hosting the International Flying Fifteen 55th Australian National Championships from Friday 30th December 2016 to Thursday 5th January 2017.

The popular Western Australian venue held the memorable International Flying Fifteen World Championships in 1999 and boasts aqua marine waters, good solid sea breezes and a social scene with a reputation!

41 entries include interstate competitors from Victoria and Queensland and one top team all the way from the UK. An eclectic mix of competitors include world champions, a good mix of male and female sailors and all ages ranging from 17 years to 87 years!

Former world champion Alan Bax and crew Simon Childs have come all the way from the UK to enjoy some competitive warm water sailing (no doubt in training for the Worlds in Napier, New Zealand in March 2017). But (Baxxy) will surely have his hands full with a number of strong WA teams including another former world championship pairing, Nick and Janet Jerwood and the exuberant glamour buoys, Greg Leaversuch and Peter Barblett and a mixed pairing of Philippa Packer, crewed by former world champ and current RFBYC commodore, Dean McAullay.



Other strong contenders include Ron Packer, crewed by Steve Ward, (builder of the 1983 AC winning Australia ll), former national champions, Ashley Smith and Adam Kingston from Queensland, amongst a strong continent from Royal Freshwater Bay YC and South of Perth YC.

Knowledge of the local waters will likely favour some of the local teams which are represented by a broad range of age groups from the youngest pairing of JJ Wallace (18yrs) and Sam Gardner (21yrs) all the way up to the local icon of the fleet Nils Blumann (82yrs) and his crew Gary Warman. Nils is a former FFI commodore and recipient of the Uffa Fox medal and once sailed a Flying Fifteen from Esperance to Perth, some 560 nm by sea! Also a number of the stories regarding social events seem to be linked to Nils for some reason!

Another veteran of the FF scene is Bill Shand (a mere 87yrs) who will be driving across the Nullarbor from Melbourne to compete in his umpteenth championship.



Racing takes place in Open, Silver and Classic categories. An invitational race is scheduled for Sat 31 Dec, followed by a lay day on Sun Jan 1st to enjoy some of the local scenic delights and tastes of Esperance before racing commences on Mon 2 Jan through to Thu 5 Jan.

There is a full schedule of social events for friends and families. For more details are available from click here and here and the Facebook page.

The organising authority of the 2017 Gemmill Homes Flying Fifteen 55th Australian National Championship is Esperance Bay Yacht Club (Inc), in conjunction with Flying Fifteen International Australia (Inc).

Sponsors include Gemmill Homes, Agribusiness, Cliffs, South Coast Insurance Brokers, Southern Ports Authority, Brahma, Ferngrove and Southeast Petroleum.

It is guaranteed to be an event not to miss!

Excess CatamaransX-Yachts X4.0Vetus-Maxwell 2021 v2 FOOTER

Related Articles

2025 Formula Wing Worlds Sardinia day 1
Tactical minefield confuses even the best Four long-distance races on day one set the tone for a competitive Formula Wing World Championships. 93 competitors from 22 countries are racing each other for the first ever Formula Wing world title.
Posted on 24 Sep
Cure Marine and McConaghy join forces
Leveraging McConaghy's world-class manufacturing and advanced composite technology Cure Marine has always been synonymous with high-quality, high-performance cruising catamarans, and we are excited to share news that will elevate our brand even further.
Posted on 24 Sep
52 Super Series 2025 Porto Cervo day 2
Immaculate Sled on song in breezy Sardinia With a race win which they delivered with a near perfect execution in brisk Mistral conditions, Takashi Okura's Sled today moved further ahead at the top of the leaderboard at the 52 SUPER SERIES Porto Cervo Range Rover regatta on Costa Smeralda.
Posted on 24 Sep
The latest in fleet monitoring and tracking
Join us on October 22nd for an in-depth exploration of the latest in tracking technology Fleet monitoring and tracking are essential for efficiency, safety, and compliance with real-time visibility into fleet movements critical.
Posted on 24 Sep
Record fleet set for 13ft Skiff 2026 Championships
The biggest fleet in the event's history is set to line up in January The pain of handing over the national 13ft crown after owning it for a year is driving Manly's Theo Franklin to recapture the title when the biggest fleet in the event's history lines up for the 2026 Australian Championships in January.
Posted on 24 Sep
2025 Six Metre World Championship Day 2
Eau Vive and Jill claim first victories in Oyster Bay After the disappointment of a wind and raceless day one, the 2025 International Six Metre World Championships at the Seawanhaka Corinthian Yacht Club finally got under way in warm sunshine and a south-westerly of around 6-8 knots.
Posted on 24 Sep
46th Cannes Royal Regatta day 2
A dream day! If we had to give a score for the entry of the "classic " and 5.5 m on Tuesday 23 September, we would hesitate between an 18 and 19/20... knowing that you never put a 20/20!
Posted on 23 Sep
Middle Sea Race set to attract exceptional fleet
Royal Malta YC has 118 entries already At midnight on Friday, 19 September the 46th Rolex Middle Sea Race had amassed a fleet of 118 yachts. The entrants represent 30 countries and territories: from Australia and New Zealand to Finland and Norway, and from the United States to Romania.
Posted on 23 Sep
52 Super Series 2025 Porto Cervo day 1
Solid Sled earn early lead in Sardinia Takashi Okura's Sled lead the 52 SUPER SERIES - Porto Cervo - Range Rover regatta after the first two windward leeward races.
Posted on 23 Sep
Melges 24 Worlds 2025 at Trieste, Italy Day 1
No racing possible on the first day Good things are worth waiting for, and that was the adage at the opening day of the Melges 24 Worlds, which ended without any races in the scoreline. The weather in Trieste proved too unstable, with storms in the morning followed by a lack of wind.
Posted on 23 Sep