International 14 Australian Championships at Black Rock Yacht Club - Day 2
by Daniel Vaughan 1 Jan 2023 16:04 PST
28 December 2022 - 6 January 2023
Port Phillip Bay once again turned on perfect sailing conditions, with an almost carbon copy of the previous day's weather. Heat 2 of the International 14 Australian titles at Black Rock, Victoria had glorious sunshine and a 10-12 knot sea breeze.
Once again it Mark Krstic and James Lanati on Sticky Fingers making short work of the first upwind leg rounding the top mark in first position, followed by Brisbane 18 footer sailor Dave Hayter and Trent Neighbour on Wang Wang. This is Dave and Trent's first event since the International 14 Worlds in 2020, and it's great to have them back and battling for the title.
Racing was a tight affair with a large pack fighting it out for third place, Lindsay Irwin and Andrew Perry on Ronstan/Irwin Sails sailed well to fight back through the fleet and move into 3rd place by the next downwind leg.
Local boat Sticky Fingers with Mark Kristic and James Lanati put on another dominant display to book a first placing.
Lindsay Irwin and Andrew Perry on Irwin Sails continued their consistent podium finishes after battling 2020 title winners David Hayter and Trent Neighbour on Wang Wang. Irwin/Perry snatched second on the final downwind leg. Only a couple of boat-lengths separated the two as they powered to the upwind finish line.
As they ran out of race track, it was Irwin Sails who held on to second just ahead of Wang Wang who posted a podium finish for the first time in the series.
Full results available here.
Race 3 is scheduled for 1:00 pm on Monday 2 January.