Sabot NSW State Titles Round 2 at Teralba Amateur Sailing Club
by Holly Norris 21 Mar 2022 22:59 PDT
19-20 March 2022
The NSW Sabot State Championship concluded over the weekend with Round 2 being hosted on Lake Macquarie by Teralba Amateur Sailing Club. The event was sailed over a variety of conditions across both rounds, giving the 43 competing boats lots of opportunities to advance their sailing skills.
Round 2 saw some big waves and strong wind on the Saturday, providing the kids with lots of great rides and stories to share on shore. While sibling rivalry was extremely high in the final results, in true sabot style, the real winners of the event were the friendships embedded between competitors and the opportunities for improvement in sailing skills through participation.
The NSW State Championship was taken out by Belmont 16s sailor Marshall Day in Speed Demon, who finished one point in front of sister Keisha Day, sailing Holy Guacamole. Port Macquarie SC sailor Charlie Nosworthy in Vitamin C finished in 3rd place, ahead of his brother Aidan Nosworthy, sailing Red Herring. The Sabot 2-Up State Title was won by Lane Cove and Drummoyne sailors Luke Mercer and Mary Lou Doolan, in White Pearl, who finished 3 points in front of Aerial, sailed by his siblings Lily and Harry Mercer. Aerial was leading this division after round 1, showing the close the racing between the 2-Up Sabots.
Lane Cove 12 Foot Sailing Skiff Club sailors took out the top handicap placings with Max Nicholson sailing Missing in Action winning the Handicap division, ahead of fellow club sailor Lucas Wood, sailing Adventure Time. Drummoyne sailor Alex Clark in Spitfire finished 3rd place on handicap.
The Spark sail division had 6 entrants and was taken out by Meg Ellis, representing Teralba Amateur SC. The Spark Sail is a slightly smaller sail, a class initiative aimed to provide the opportunity for smaller kids or those new into the class and preferring to sail 1-up to participate in events.
The future for sabot sailing is looking extremely positive, with half the competitors in the NSW State Titles being 12 years old or younger. Additionally, it was really pleasing to see three boats travelled to Round 2 from Coffs Harbour Yacht Club, where an emerging NSW regional sabot fleet is gaining momentum. Finn Savage from Coffs Harbour competed in a Sabot States for the first time and finished 11th in heat 10, showing this new fleet has lots of future potential.
Full results of the NSW Sabot State Titles are available here.
Round 2 of the NSW State Championship was the perfect leadup regatta to the Lake Macquarie City Council Sabot National Championship and Paul Stivano Sabot Week, to be held at Teralba 9-12 April 2022. The upcoming regatta caters for all levels of sailing skill, with kids newer to sailing participating in Sabot Week, while the more experienced sailors will compete for the National title. Sailors registered to participate in the event are travelling from areas including Townsville, North Queensland and Tasmania. It is exciting that the 11 registered Tasmanian sabots are representing 5 different clubs, evidence of the strength of the class in Tasmania. The vast distances families are travelling to compete confirms that sabot sailing is serious fun. There are currently 52 boats registered and counting to compete in the event commencing 9 April (39 National Titles, 11 Sabot Week). Charter boats are available for the event - see the Notice of Race (sabot.com.au/australian-sabot-news) for details to be part of the action.