Flying Tiger 10 yachting class celebrate a successful season

by James Hill on 8 Apr 2011 The Flying Tiger 10 yachting class celebrated a successful 2010/11 season on Tuesday April 5, 2011 with a prize-giving for recent championships.

Held at Balmain Sailing Club the event was well attended by the Flying Tiger class. Prizes were awarded to the place-getters of the two major championships held by the class this year, the NSW State Titles in February and the Australian Championships in March.

Both events sailed on Sydney Harbour were very closely contested. This was most evident in the way top three places were swapped by the top three boats on a regular basis.

The Australian Titles, held as part of the 2011 Audi Sydney Harbour regatta (March 5-6) saw a new title-holder, after Ophir (Bruce & Neil Tavener) won from Hello Tiger (Andrew Bristow). The latter yacht had won the previously two National championships but lost this event by just one point to more consistently sailed Ophir.

Third place in the National Australian titles, meanwhile, went to Balmain Tiger (Neil Hamilton & Brian Wood) also by just a one point margin. It is believed this was one of closes results in Australian national title series. The racing consisted of six races over two days of varying wind conditions from light airs through to 26 knot plus winds.

Sailed in the semi-open waters of Sydney Heads the Flying Tiger 10 Nationals also saw some very exciting sailing and speeds in excess of 16 knots at times when the high-powered 31-footers sped downwind under spinnaker.
A PHS handicap result held over the same regatta was won by Flying Brandy (Marco Tapia) from Shere Kan (Rod Gibbs) second and Tiga (James Hill) third.

The Results for the NSW Titles were also awarded. The overall winner of this series was Hello Tiger, followed by Ophir and Balmain Tiger.

The PHS results in the NSW titles went to Sophia (Phil Mellor) from Fortune of War (Adrian Gruzman) second and Shere Kan third.

The awards night also saw the announcement of a mentor program for next season by which the top boats in fleet will help less successful boats improve their speed. No dates have been announced but the event will be held early season so it’s of maximum benefit to all competitors.

The Flying Tiger is a one-design racing class that was designed in the USA and introduced to the yachting world in 2006. Over 100 have been sold around the world. There are 22 in Australia of which 12 are in Sydney, with the latest arriving last week. The yacht has official International One Design status with strict rules on equipment and any modifications.