Strong competition drives Manly Junior NSW State Championship

by Philip Copeland on 24 Feb 2011 The coveted NSW Manly Junior (MJ) State Championship was awarded to Jim and Tom Colley, Avalon Sailing Club, in Bullet following a competitive three weekend sailing series.

The regatta was a spirited success with 120 Sailors (60 boats) from seven clubs across New South Wales participating this year.

'The Manly Junior Sailing class continues to be one of the most successful ways in which children and young teenagers can master and finesse their sailing skills on the water. We are thrilled with the continued growth of this class, and the caliber of the sailing', said Philip Copeland, President, Manly Junior Sailing Association of Australia.

The Manly Junior class was started in 1959, and continues to grow with a number of sailing clubs including Avalon, Cronulla, Hornsby, Manly 16ft Skiff, Middle Harbour 16ft Skiff, and Port Hacking participating and supporting the class across NSW.

Series winner, Jim Colley explained; 'It was a tough series, with many changes in weather, and conditions. Tom and I worked hard all season to focus on getting a solid start and consolidating our position'.

All-female crew winner, Annie Wilmot, Manly 16ft Skiff Club, said; 'Having a strong competitive environment helps us continue to grow our sailing skills. The younger crews will develop this class and lay the foundation for future team success. It was so much fun getting out on the water and delivering this result '.

Place Settings for the Series were:

MJ Scratch Fleet Winners:
Place Boat Skipper Crew
1 Bullet Jim Colley Tom Colley
2 Wet n Wild Shaun Conner Will Divola
3 Another Dark and Stormy Daniel Nugent Angus Metcalf

MJ All Women Crew Winners:
Place Boat Skipper Crew
1 Gizmo Annie Wilmot Grace Powers
2 Rexea Solandri Gemma Walmsley Rebecca Bromelow
3 Crazy n Wild Chelsea Connor Ashleigh Coles

MJ Junior Division Scratch Winners:
Place Boat Skipper Crew
1 MWD Daniel Heyworth Barney Dowse
2 Rowdy Chris Holmes Tom Schulenburg
3 Tinny Jackson Twomey Flynn Twomey

MJ Novice Fleet Winners:
Place Boat Skipper Crew
1 Hissy Fit Grace Hughes Hannah Horton
2 Jimmy Buoy James Doyle Jonty Malouf
3 Bahari Simon Murnaghan Alistair Hunter

MJ Handicap Open Fleet Winners:
Place Boat Skipper Crew
1 Quantum Leap Isabela Lawira-Fernandez Nicholas Bendall
2 Public Enemy Niall Powers James Pinnington
3 Chimp Madeleine Clancy Jake Barnadas

MJ Handicap Novice Fleet Winners:
Place Boat Skipper Crew
1 Trick or Treat Juliet Costanzo Margot Mason
2 Mad Lucy Heyworth Sascha Heyworth
3 Windspeed Rebecca George Lauren Gallaway


The Manly Junior Sailing Association of Australia intention is to promote and further the interest of the MJ Sailing class throughout Australia and to represent the interest of owners of Manly Juniors. The MJ class is intended to be a training class for learning to sail, and a racing class in which success is achieved through the skills of the helmsman, and crew.

For more details visit: http://www.mj.yachting.org.au/