Tasmania's young sailors excel in The Showdown

by Peter Campbell on 1 Nov 2009
The Showdown. Tasmania's most promising young sailors today displayed the skills that could make them future national champions when they competed in the State's newest regatta, The Showdown, on Hobart's Derwent River.

A total of 147 off-the-beach dinghies, skiffs, catamarans and sailboards are competing in the three day regatta that began with a twilight race for keelboats on Friday evening. Today saw a 'sea of sail' on the Derwent.

The fleet was boosted today with yachts competing in the Royal Yacht Club of Tasmania's second and third Pennant races, but results for Division 1 of the Pennant and The Showdown are tonight subject to protests involving at least
six boats.

In the off-the-beach classes there was just one protest lodged, subsequently withdrawn, with the smaller boats enjoying a magnificent day of regatta racing.

With seabreeze coming in early and freshening from six knots to 15 knots in the afternoon, the dinghy sailors had to adapt to a wide variety of sailing conditions as well as intense peer competition in each of the many classes.

In the highly competitive Laser Radial class, George Jones sailing Gutted Rabbit has a one point lead over Shake 'n' Bake, sailed by Elliot Noye, who captained The Hutchins School team in its recent success as top school in the Interdominion Secondary Schools Team Racing Championship. Launceston sailor Angus Barton, sailing Tiller Happy, is third on 12 points, all three being race winners.

For the Sabots this regatta is the final series to select the Tasmanian team for the Australians championships and today Kingston Beach Sailing Club's Dylon Gore scored four straight wins in Red Herring. In second place going
into Sunday's final races is Robbie Hunt, also from Kingston Beach, with Jock Calvert sailing Loose Cannon from the RYCT in third place.

Kingston Beach Sailing Club members are also doing well in the Mirror class, with Jenny Graney, skippering Carpe Diem, heading the series ahead of Matt Schofield, sailing Pukeko, from Austin's Ferry Sailing Club and 2007 national champion Jessie Atherton, steering Kamikaze, also from Kingston Beach.

Competition is close in the International Cadet class with al competitors from Sandy Bay Sailing Club. Impulse (Alec Bailey) is just one point ahead of Sirocco (Ella Conner) with another two points to Pour Quoi (Georgina Kennedy).

Other off-the-beach class leaders after today's racing are: Dame Pattie (Ian Ross) in the 2.4m class, NOFX, Richard Steedman's Laser in the Mixed Division, the Taipan 4.9 The Cat in the Hat, skippered by Mark Gardner, in the Multihull division, Feel Addicted (Silka Price) in the 420's, Starboard 159 (Ian Johnston) in the Formula Sailboards, NOFX (Richard Sleeman) in the Laser standard rig and Cold Reason (Lewis Noye) in Laser 4.7s.

Rob Gough, sailing altitude, heads in the spectacular Moth Foiler class, while other class leaders are Norwegian Blue (Scott Wilkie) in the NS14, Popeye (Angus Lane) in Optimists, X-static (Morgan Davies) in the Sabot Development class, Snap-E-Tom (Thomas Cooper) in the Sabot two-up class and Essence (Matt Westland) in the Sabre class, Gun Smoke (Paul Burnell) in the Sharpies and Wally (Tim Jones) in the Windsurfers.

In the keelboats, Stephen Boyes followed his Friday evening twilight success with his Farr 40 Wired, notching up three firsts and a third today, but Division 1 results are subject to protest, both in The Showdown and the Pennant series.

Going into the final day of racing, Wired looks almost unbeatable in the Farr 40s with her nearest rivals being War Games (Wayne Banks-Smith) and Voodoo Chile (Lloyd Clark).

Don Calvert's Intrigue won both the IRC and AMS divisions of the opening race for Division 1 on Friday evening but final results from today's racing are subject to protest.