2025 Australian 13ft and 16ft Skiff Championships Day 5 - IMEI becomes the leader
by Mark Rothfield 11 Jan 15:07 NZDT
4-11 January 2025
One of the cushier jobs at Queensland’s Hervey Bay is to be a surf lifesaver at a beach with no surf – until yesterday, that is, when the waterway bared its fangs for the penultimate two races of the 2025 Hervey Bay Boat Club 13ft and 16ft Skiff Australian Championships.
Conditions went beyond chop and into wave territory as a north-easter gusting to 18 knots met relatively shallow depths and powerful tides. Skippers became surfboat sweeps for the day as they navigated the steep troughs, while crews served as adjustable trim tabs.
Boat of the day was Red Pumps, which became the only 16 to win two races in the series, let alone consecutive victories. It was an extraordinary effort in the conditions, and against such a strong fleet at the business end of the regatta, but skipper Tyler Dransfield is no stranger to rough seas.
“Coming from Manly, we’ve always loved a bit of bump, but we were nicely surprised with how windy it was in the end,” he said. “It was a case of maximum cunningham, maximum vang, a lot of centreboard up then hang on.
“We’d had such a bad day on Thursday [finishing 29th and 43rd] but we decided it was a new day and came out swinging. Probably didn’t think we’d get two firsts but over the moon with that result.”
Manly 16s clubmate IMEI, with Joel Beashel, Trent Barnabas and Rob Napper aboard, placed one hand on the national trophy by finishing 2nd and 3rd in Races 7 and 8 respectively. Rarely outside the top four, but with no wins to their credit, the trio stand 8pts clear on the table heading into today’s final race.
Second-placed Imagine Signage has it all to do, but the crew left nothing on the water yesterday in securing a hard-fought 3rd and 2nd. A blistering reach to the finish in Race 8 allowed the team to pass IMEI with metres to spare, securing an extra vital point.
“We had to battle all day. We had an incident at the top mark in Race 6, where I didn’t see a leeward boat and had to do a [penalty] turn, but we fought our way back to come third, then posted the second place,” skipper Nathan Wilmot said. “IMEI had a good day as well, so it’s going to be tough from hereon.
“For us, every boat is going to count. A bit more breeze helps us but tactically we sailed how we wanted to sail today.”
Redemption also came for Belmont 16s’ Contender Sailcloth after missing a certain win in Race 6 due to course-shortening confusion. The skiff suffered three separate breakages yesterday and twice had to return to the beach at Maryborough Sailing Club to effect repairs. It still managed two 4ths.
“To be honest we’ve sailed really well all week, and missing the win was a tough lesson to learn, but we worked really hard today and we’re just happy to stay consistent.”
In the 13ft Skiff class, Heidi Bates and Orlando Sadlick on Harken are sitting 21 points clear in a 21-boat fleet and can afford to sail conservatively today. They won the final race yesterday and finished just behind QED in the previous race.
QED skipper David Tulk, 19, says it was his maiden victory in the class: “To take our first win on such a strong day, where normally the leaders are way out in front, was really good for us. It was nice to be able to hike out after we’d had some pretty shocking results in the light winds.”
Results here.
See the daily video here.
Race 9 is set to start at 1pm today off Maryborough Sailing Club, with a 10-knot north-easterly breeze predicted. Key regatta sponsors are The Boat Club Hervey Bay, Fraser Coast Regional Council and Fraser Island Boat Charters. More details at the event website.