2019 SB20 Australian Championship in Hobart - Overall
by Jane Austin 3 Nov 2019 21:26 AEDT
1-3 November 2019
Export Roo on the final day of the SB20 Australian Championship © Jane Austin
SB20 sailing stars Michael Cooper, David Chapman and Sam Tiedemann (Export Roo) successfully defended their Australian Championship title on the River Derwent in Hobart yesterday.
The Championship was sailed as part of the Royal Yacht Club of Tasmania's Hobart BMW Showdown Regatta. Cooper finished the series on 27 points, four points ahead of Ollie Nicholas, Jonny Cooper and Chris Jones (2Unlimited) on 31 points. Brett Cooper (Aeolus), Darren Jones and Jock Calvert finished in third place on 43 points. Nick Rogers (Karabos) retained the Australian Master's Championship, finishing on 57 points with his crew of Simon Burrows and Will Keyes.
Nicholas was determined to make Cooper earn the title and took control of the last day of sailing winning the first race of the day, and after a sixth place in Race Nine, there was only five points separating the top two boats. The final race of the championship started in very soft conditions and was shortened by Race Officer Ian Ross after one lap. Nicholas was in prime position, winning the last race, however with Cooper comfortably in second, the championship was never in doubt.
"I wouldn't be where I am today without my crew - they were very much in tune, so I just jumped back on the boat and they told me what to do," said Cooper. "We really enjoyed the regatta - the Race Officer, Ian Ross, was amazing and did a great job in challenging conditions. Young Ollie Nicholas and his team were a standout - they sailed exceptionally well. They are a new team that I don't think has even sailed together before - they are very talented guys and put a lot of pressure on us which was quite nerve-wracking," said Cooper.
Australian SB20 Class President Stephen Catchpool said the regatta was an enormous success. "We managed to get all ten races in in wildly varying conditions. It was exciting racing and with so many top SB20 world sailors in the fleet, a top ten result was a really big achievement," said Catchpool.