McKellar’s Kokomo wins Endeavour Aussie title after dramatic finish

by Wai Lee on 18 Jan 2011 As the wind petered out for the leaders just 200m from the finish line in the final race of the Endeavour Australian National and NSW State Championships on Sunday, Grant McKellar’s Kokomo capitalised on a massive wind shift and slipped past to wrest the race and overall title from overnight leader David McKay.

It was a fitting and exciting finale to the 45th anniversary of the championships and Memorial Regatta held in honour of the late Reg Gardner, creator and visionary of Endeavour yachts, who died last September.

And a victory oh-so-sweet for experienced ocean racer and shipwright Grant McKellar, who first learnt to sail on the waters of Sydney’s Botany Bay 35 years ago as a kid. Because on Sunday, his 10-year-old son Kyle was on board Kokomo, the Endeavour 26 he painstakingly and lovingly restored over seven months after it had been ‘written off’.

And because just minutes before the end of the final race, the 2011 Endeavour 26 Australian title had looked well and truly sealed for David McKay, a former Moth world champion, as he steered Mackay Marine II round the last mark for the ‘soldier’s course’ home. Then right before the disbelieving eyes of spectators and race officials, but none more disbelieving than McKay and crew, the light easterly clocked right almost 90 degrees. And Mackay Marine II ‘stopped dead in the water’ as the breeze line hovered just beyond reach ...

'When we started the final leg, there were big windless holes and we eased sheets towards the finish, hoping things would change,' said a delighted McKellar. Someone heard him. The final upwind leg turned into a reach as the breeze shifted from south to east and for a while, any change in positions looked highly unlikely. With a one-point lead going into the final race, all that McKay needed to do was just stay ahead.

'Then we saw David’s sails soften, and we stayed high. We were just at the edge of the breeze,' said McKellar. And Kokomo glided past the limp sails of MacKay Marine II to resounding cheers from his supporters and the championship title, with three bullets in four races . McKay, who could only sit and watch 10 other yachts go past, wasn’t alone in his ruminations of the weather. Botany Bay Yacht Club (BBYC) Commodore Colin Cole, at the helm of Haul N’ Coal, was lying second in the race when he, too, fell victim to Mother Nature’s little prank on an otherwise glorious summer afternoon.

Cruel? Or just what makes sailing so addictive? It was an exciting end to the three-day regatta on Botany Bay, ‘home of the Endeavour’, which delivered all sorts of wind conditions. The 20 knot winds on Day 1 saw the some of fleet opting not to fly a kite and just try to survive. Day 2 dawned with the bay looking like glass and peaking at 6 knots, just enough for the race committee to squeeze in a morning race. The fleet bobbed around in scorching heat for two hours before a second windward-leeward race was held, then discarded following a protest about the start sequence. And the final day started with a perfect 10-12 knots sou’easter before dying off and forcing the fleet to try every trick in the book.

Local knowledge and sheer experience in the Endeavour class provided that extra edge as BBYC dominated the top four positions. 'I’m really proud to win this regatta, there are many good competitors and it’s largely a homegrown fleet,' said McKellar.

Above all, the regatta was an emotional tribute to the Gardner, who built the first Endeavour yacht on Botany Bay 45 years ago. His family gathered on Friday and Saturday morning to watch the fleet of 24 yachts in the Endeavour 26, 24 and 27+ classes as they held a sail past round a white buoy laid in front of the family home, as a mark of respect, enroute to the race course.

If Gardner had been there, he would probably have waved back and reminded the competitors .... ‘it’s never over ‘til the fat lady sings’.

Final results:
E26:
1. Grant McKellar (BBYC) ‘Kokomo’: 1-1-1
2. David McKay (BBYC) ‘Mackay Marine II’: 2-1-2
3. Colin Cole (BBYC) ‘Haul N’ Coal’: 4-2-3
4. George Reed (BBYC) ‘Missconcepcion’: 3-6-3
5. Graham Macpherson (CSC) ‘Divine Intervention’: 5-4-4
6. Guy Irwin (SASC) ‘Clewless?’: 5-5-5

E27+:
1. John Lee (BBYC) ‘Jeeves’: 2-1-1-1
2. Rodney Childs (NHSC) ‘Hagar IV’: 1-3-1-2
3. Ken Lee (BBYC) ‘Rhumbline IV’: 2-2-2-3