Locals blitz Victorian Trailerable Yacht Championships
by Stuart Loft on 26 Apr 2011
Halfa Spud - Victorian Trailerable Yacht Championships Victorian Championships
Gippsland Lakes Yacht Club members Stuart Loft, Andrew Somerville and David Eickmeyer dominated the recent Victorian Trailerable Yacht Championships held at Paynesville on April 2 and 3.
Sailing the RL 24 class yacht 'Spudgun', they sailed a near flawless regatta with a scoreline of three firsts and three second places in the six-heat event, winning by a comfortable margin to next placed boat 'Whatever' sailed by Mitch and Darren Dyer from Sale.
Competitors came from all over the state including a contingent from the Albury Wodonga Yacht Club.
Conditions for the first day of racing were a gentle 10-15 knots. The second day sailors were greeted to more lively winds gusting to 25 knots at times. This resulted in one boat breaking their mast and another capsizing.
The crew on Spudgun, during the post regatta presentations, praised principal race officer James Frecheville and his team for a well run event in the trying conditions.
The winning boat, Spudgun was originally built in 1977 by Rob Legg Yachts on the Gold Coast and as skipper Loft mentioned after the event 'she isn’t a shiny new boat but makes up for this with great speed, and not to mention a very professional crew'.
He also thanked Bernie and Ruth Ryan, the owners of 'Spuddy' for the use of the boat and their continued support of their race team.
Results - Top 10
1. Spudgun - Stuart Loft, David Eickmeyer, Andrew Somerville (crew), GLYC (club), 7.0 (score);
2, Whatever - Mitchell Dyer, Darryn Dyer, Chris Amiet, Rob Telfer, LWYC, 13.0;
3. Tainui - Ron Parker, Peter Gheller, Doug Whitby, MTYC, 15.0;
4. Zilzie Express - Terry Caldwell, Tony Harrington, David Stoffels, AWYC, 21.0;
5. The Sting - Lloyd Graham, Adrian Cassar, Peter Rochford, 32.0;
6. Sirocco - John Landon, John Hanksworth, Brian Royal, AWYC, 33.0;
7. Plane Sailing - Peter Kalin, Ian Jeff, 33.0;
8. Cosmic Sedso - Paul Corben, Jon Knight, Tim Seal, GLYC, 40.0;
9. Magic Pudding - Phil Mannes, Rod Lake, Yurgen Maxa, MYC, 44.0;
10. Full Circle - Peter Morrison, David Morrison, GLYC, 45.0.
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