The Showdown of Tasmania's young sailing talent

by Peter Campbell on 2 Nov 2009
The River Derwent has been a showcase of sailing talent this past weekend, with an extraordinary fleet of more than 200 off-the-beach sailors contesting up to eight races in conditions that have varied from just five knots to a stiff seabreeze kicking in at 18 knots.

Without question, the inaugural The Showdown regatta has been a resounding success for the organisers, the Royal Yacht Club of Tasmania, the many volunteers who conducted the racing, and the sailors who come from all over
the State to compete in the off-the-beach classes. The late spring weather provided excellent conditions for the racing through Friday evening to Sunday.

Chairman of the organising committee, RYCT vice commodore Murray Jones, was delighted with the response of the off-the-beach classes, less so for the limited support of keelboat owners. 'Overall, however, The Showdown has
been an outstanding success. We aim to make it biggest and best regatta in Tasmania. We have seen the biggest fleet of mixed fleet off-the-beach classes in the State racing over the past two days. Next year we hope to have many
more keelboats,' he said.

'The media has also recognised the significance of sailing as a major participant sport in Tasmania, with extensive newspaper, television, radio and internet coverage over the weekend,' Vice Commodore Jones added.

In total, 147 off-the-beach boats entered The Showdown, with several classes using the regatta as part of their interclub season. For example, it has been the final selection series for the Tasmanian team to go to the Sabot Nationals.

More than 30 Sabots contested the regatta while other strong fleets were Laser Radials and Laser 4.7s, Formula Sailboards, Mirrors, International Cadets and Sabres. Encouraging, too, was the turn-out of boats in that great class, the Sharpies, with the national championship to be sailed in Hobart this summer.

The Derwent was a sea of sail over the weekend, with some spectacular sailing from the Formula sailboards and those extraordinary Mothfoilers, as well as from the big fleets of Lasers, Sabots, International Cadets and Mirror dinghies.

While the winners were grinners, the losers seemed just as happy to having been able to be part of the inaugural Showdown Regatta, with the Royal Yacht Club of Tasmania a hive of activity after each day of racing. The club
organised special entertainment for sailors, from the juniors through to the seniors.

An example of the good sporting spirit among the off-the-beach classes was that disputes over racing rules and incorrect finishing positions appeared to have been resolved amicably between the sailors themselves.

With eight races sailed by most classes, it was a demanding weekend for all the sailors, not the least being Christine Atherton who sailed for the first time as crew for her daughter Jessica in the Mirror class on Saturday. 'One day was enough. I had never set a spinnaker before or really raced in a dinghy. I'm black and blue all over,' Christine said, gracefully withdrawing from being a sailing mum after just one day, albeit five races on one day.

For the record, Jessica, a former national champion, and her mother notched up two wins on Saturday. Today, however, with regular and younger crew in Katherine Maher, Jessica had three straight wins in Kamikaze to win the
series and the prestigious McIntyre Cup, a trophy engraved with such famous Tasmanian sailors as Nick Rogers.

Despite light winds on Sunday morning, Royal Yacht Club of Tasmania race officers completed most of the scheduled racing, including the eight races for the Sabots, the final national series to select the State's top twelve Sabots for the Australian Championships.

Topping the Sabots was Dylan Gore, sailing Red Herring, who won six of he eight races, with Robbie Hunt, sailing In the Limelight, and Aleksandrs Price in Priceless filling the minor placings.

Many family members competed in The Showdown, including Aleksandrs' sister, Silka, finished third in the 420 class with Elizabeth Phillips as crew.

The Calverts, one of Tasmania's outstanding sailing families, is continuing the tradition. Vintage yachtsman Don Calvert in his evergreen yacht Intrigue won the IRC category of Division 1 of the keelboats while his grandson Jock
Calvert, sailing Loose Cannon, placed a close fifth in the Sabot class and is in the running to make the team for the nationals.

Father and son Paul and Toby Burnell had a successful weekend. Paul, the Commodore of Sandy Bay Sailing Club and past World champion in International Cadets, and his crew Tom Ransley, sailed Gunsmoke to victory in the Sharpie class while his younger son Toby finishing second in the Optimist class, sailing Are We There Yet?

Another winning family outcome saw Elliott Noye sail Shake 'n' Bake to victory in the Laser Radial class and his younger brother Lewis win the Laser 4.7 class, sailing Cold Reason.

The strength of the Laser class in its various formats was evident from the calibre of competition in the Laser big rigs, the Radials and 4.7s.

Elliott Noye won the Laser Radial class by just one point from George Jones, sailing Gutted Rabbit, third place going to Tamar Yacht Club's Angus Barton, sailing Tiller Happy. In fourth place was highly ranked Victorian Alison Dale, sailing Dream On consistently throughout the regatta, including winning race six.

In the Radial 4.7s, Lewis Noye won by just three points from Kailas Johnson sailing Mandala, third place going to Hysteria (Olsin Stimson).

The Formula Sailboards provided some spectacular racing when the breeze freshened, with Stewart Gordon sailing T3 to a close-fought victory from Starboard (Dave Morehead) and Starboard 159 (Ian Johston).

The International Cadets, one of Hobart's traditional dinghy classes, attracted a strong and competitive fleet. In fact, first place had to be decided on a countback, the winner being Sirocco (Ella Conner and Hannah Chadwick) from Impulse (Alec and Samantha Bailey) after both finished on equal points.

The Sabre class, sailed mainly by adults, is a popular single-handed class with 15 boats contesting The Showdown. Matt Westland took first place in Essence, winning five races, although closely challenged by Jeremy Fish sailing xs and Grant Fish, helming 2XS.

The Showdown committee member Tim Jones won the Windsurfer class with six first places, while other class winners were Lisa Blackwood in the 2.4 Metre class, Doug Shephard and Pat Hutton in the 420 class, Julian Salter in the Mothfoiler class, Scott and Natasha Wilkie in the NS14s, Angus Lane in the Optimists, Liam Virtue in the Sabot Development class, Thomas Cooper and Isabella Millhouse in the Sabot two-up junior class.