NS14 NSW State Championship - Peter V does it again

by Michael Chittenden on 10 Apr 2012 Peter Vaiciurgis and Tina Babbage on ‘X’ took out the 2012 NS14 NSW State Championship held on Botany Bay out of Georges River 16ft Sailing Club over Easter.

The regatta was held in mostly 10 to 15 knot winds except on Saturday which was sailed in southerly 20 knots plus but slowly easing after the initial front went through.

Unfortunately for Hugh Tait and Tara McCall, the challengers to Peter and Tina, who normally do well in stronger breezes, their boom gooseneck fitting exploded accelerating from the start of the race run in the southerly. Hugh and Tara were able to grab a couple of races back from Peter and Tina in the normal close racing between the two teams (Peter and Hugh have won eight of the last 14 States and 12 of 14 Nationals).

Right behind these two were the MG14 champions Rohan Nosworthy and Sophie Holt then Rob Fish back with his usual crew of Cassie Cause followed by the new challengers with Craig Davidson, Alex Chittenden, Bryce Edwards and Tim Dunstan starting to bite at the heels of the perennial leaders; it can only be a matter of time before one of these guys breaks through to the top.

The Botany Bay chop proved a handful for some, especially in the southerly, but most of the fleet revelled in the conditions to provide some entertaining rivalries throughout the fleet. Despite the age difference in boats and crews only 20 minutes separated the leaders form the last boat in most races.

74 boats from 21 clubs entered the regatta from the 29 year old Aero 4 Assilem, which performed amazingly well, to the latest Tiger, Moondance and Aero 12 designs. This is the third year in a row that over 70 boats have competed for the title following a strong showing at the Nationals at Christmas.

Being a development class the handicap honours are keenly sort after. Adam Trickey and Phillip Williams on Bondi Tram took out the Rob Brewer jib this year from Malcolm Graham and Jon Dunstan on Samba Pa Ti. The class actively encourages a wide range of crew demographic with hotly contested categories with a division for older boats within the overall fleet.

The three key divisions saw Karen Branch winning female skipper (eight in the division), Alex Chittenden the youth skipper for the second year (eight too) with Evolution (Ross and Hayden Hansen) taking out classic boat - Aero 9 and older (15). Gary Bellamy scored the veteran skipper (19) with Family going to Duncan and Timothy Dey (27), Jack and Jill to Bryce Edwards and Amanda Stern (32), husband and wife to John and Kerrie Davies (4) and heavyweight to Neil Murphy and Jeremy Smith (24).

Georges River did a great job of managing the changing wind conditions and provided a great event on-water and in the clubhouse. Great gear for all the various winners and place getters was provided by Zhik which has been a wonderful supporter of the class for five years.

Results:

1 X 2032 Peter Vaiciurgis Tina Babbage 6,
2 Carbon Neutral 2024 Hugh Tait Tara McCall 8,
3 Aqua Rodent 2034 Rohan Nosworthy Sophie Holt 15,
4 Dark Side of the Moon 1998 Robert Fish Cassie Cause 23,
5 Rubber Chicken Rocket Car 2002 Craig Davidson Mel Davidson 27,
6 Chitty Chitty Bang Bang 2009 Alex Chittenden Danii-Elle Svendsen 37,
7 Tempest 2033 Bryce Edwards Amanda Stern 38,
8 Einhorn 2038 Tim Dunstan Christina Stewart 43,
9 Saltwater 2006 David Aylward Charlotte Holliday 50,
10 Talk To The Hand 2017 Adam Cause Eamon Smith 54

Full results at NS14 website