113th Botany Bay Championships - Typhoon takes the honours
by Adam Lucius 14 Feb 2023 08:41 GMT
Brett Davis-Nathan Wilmot-Malcolm Page - 113th Botany Bay Championships © SailMedia
Half of Nathan Wilmot wants the 16ft skiff season to go on forever - the other half is craving a well- deserved breather.
The Typhoon skipper added another piece of silverware to the collection on Saturday, combining with Mal Page and Brett Davis to take out the 113th running of the Botany Bay Championship. It means the Manly boat has picked up an Australian 16ft championship, the Belmont Bay Championship and now the Botany Bay title in the space of a month. Rivals are joking team owner Craig "Ed" Nicholls may soon be able to give away the air conditioning business and live off the prizemoney Typhoon is picking up along the way.
It's been a long season but a rewarding one for Typhoon, which again had regular nemesis and eventual runner-up Noakes (Lee Knapton) close in the rear-view mirror throughout Saturday's race at St George.
"I'm exhausted but it'd be nice if we can keep the winning run going for a few more weeks," Wilmot said. "They were some of the toughest conditions I've encountered on a skiff (during the Botany Bay Championships) and credit to Brett and Mal for getting us through. "It was a 20-plus knot nor easter and coming down that big, long run off all the way through to Yarra Bay back into St George with an outgoing tide, it was terrifying. "It's probably one of the hardest runs I've ever done and somehow we survived what should have been a proper cartwheel. "We were conservative when we had to be and took advantage when we hit the flat water."
The winning margin was nearly three minutes but that didn't tell the whole picture of a tough 90-minute race. Wilmot said: "We led from start to finish but Noakes came right back at us and were right on our stern for the last work before we sailed away from them again.