Garde wins 12ft skiff Upper Harbour Championships

by Peter Valpiani on 12 Oct 2009
Defending champion Garde (Brett Hobson and Alex Johnson) outperformed a strong 12ft skiff fleet to win the Vantage Real Estate Upper Harbour Championship.

Faced with a patchy southerly breeze, the race committee of the Lane Cove 12ft Skiff Sailing Club set a short windward/ leeward course combined with a traditional river start and finish. This course, nicknamed the ‘NASCAR circuit’ was intense. With racing taking place in a small area of water, boat handling, rather than sheer boat speed was all important.

With the layout of the river making a reaching start necessary, big changes to stating tactics were necessary. O (Jonathan Temple and Richard Jones) were off to a blistering start, but unfortunately were called O.C.S. Off the start, Gemmell Sails (Murray Press and Ben Gemmell) and Maersk Line (Harry Bethwaite and Peter Valpiani) led the fleet up the river. In attempt to extend their leads, both boats played Russian roulette and set spinnakers on the reach to the first mark. While playing this game, Maersk Line were hit with a massive bullet forcing them to capsize into the moorings.

The first of the NASCAR laps saw Gemmell Sails take control of the race, with a decent lead over Garde and the chasing pack of Dimension Polyant (Nick Press and Brad Yabesly), Andrew Short Marine (Michael Spies and Damien Vlotman), and Foxy Lady Two (Peter Polec and Jamie McCrudden). Unluckily, this lead was lost when Murray decided to cool off by falling out of the boat during a tack. These positions remained the same throughout the rest of the race with Garde racing away to victory by one minute and 27 seconds.

The rest of the fleet enjoyed close racing with mid fleet positions changing constantly. Skiff.org.au (Ben Faulkner and Peter Bevis) managed to take leaving boat work to the last minute to a whole new level, making a complete bow pole and forestay in an hour and a half. They even decided to test their handiwork by allegedly mining their boat at the top mark. Hood, skippered by Octogenarian Graham Colless backed up his two national championship wins in 1957 and 1985 by taking out third place in the Handicap results. The top recorded speed of the day was 21.8 knots by Foxy Lady Two. The next interclub regatta is the Parramatta River Championships, hosted by Abbotsford 12ft skiff sailing club on the Sunday, the first of November.

Lane Cove 12ft Skiff Sailing Club - East Coast Championship Heat 2

1st : Garde - Brett Hobson & Alex Johnson
2nd : Gemmell Sails - Murray Press & Ben Gemmell
3rd : Andrew Short Marine - Michael Spies & Damien Vlotman