Sean Wallis takes out the Western Australian IOM State Championship
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- Created on Tuesday, 04 December 2018 22:25
- Written by Glenn Dawson
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2018 Western Australian IOM State Championships - the shenanigans from Albany.....
The weekend of December 1 and 2 was the date for the WA IOM State Championship. The regatta was held this year in the lovely seaside town of Albany, which is a 4 and a half hour drive south of Perth. The locals were looking forward to welcoming the visitors and a great turn-out was evident.
15 visitors made the journey mostly on the Friday prior. The bakery in Mount Barker would have received a steady stream of radio sailors looking to sample the BEST pies you will ever find. Mine was a Scallop pie, which was magnificent! On Friday afternoon, you could find a few skippers sneaking down to the marina far a sneaky practice sail in conditions which would prove to be pretty standard for the whole weekend.
Read more: Sean Wallis takes out the Western Australian IOM State Championship
A Class Club Championship heat 8 17/11/2018
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- Created on Saturday, 17 November 2018 15:38
- Written by Denton Roberts
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A Class Club Championship Heat 8 and A Class State Championship.
Winds from the NW -W -W SW as the day progressed. The light winds suited the two Venoms who we hard to beat. Thanks to PRO Rosco Bennett and Boatman Bruce Robins, who kept the day rolling despite some very difficult and frustrating conditions. Setting a course which resembled a race course was taxing to say the least. Rosco and Bruce did a good job of positioning the course to allow racing.
The morning dawned with a thick layer of smoke in the air from a controlled burn somewhere up the coast. Visibility was attrocious, and we were hoping that a decent wind would come along and blow the smoke away. Not to be! Fortunately, there was plenty of high growing weed banks in the water which meant that the course had to be set close to the shore. Unfortunately, bits of the weed were breaking off and we were doing our best to catch the weed and bring it back to shore.
WA Ten Rater State Championships
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- Created on Saturday, 27 October 2018 20:50
- Written by Glenn Dawson
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2018 Western Australian Ten Rater Championships.
Saturday 27 October 2018
Austin Lakes was the venue for the 2018 Western Australian Ten Rater Championships. The lake is still the best radio sailing venue we have in WA and it turned on a beauty today. The sun was shining, the wind blowing, the water level was high and it was crystal clear…. all was well in the world.
Fortunately (some might say otherwise), the trees that were planted a couple of years ago are struggling! They have not grown at all well, and are not looking all that healthy. Whether this is a good thing or not depends on your perspective. When we first saw all these trees being planted, predictions of the doom of Austin Lakes as a radio sailing venue abounded. At the moment, we are planning to visit the lake more frequently, as it provides a wonderful place to race.
There were 9 boats in the fleet, slightly down on previous years, as a few of the regulars were unable to attend.
Hub Bell took control of the day, setting good long courses and keeping the racing moving at a nice pace. Andree Bennett took the finishing positions and kept the scores. Rob Mews came down to assist, as he was not able to sail all day. Thank you, Hub, Andree and Rob for making the day go so smoothly. Roger Paul provided the boat, buoys and motor from Champion Lakes – thank you too Roger.
The day started with winds in the south-east, at about 6 to 9 knots. There were plenty of shifts, as is typical in an easterly in Perth. Racing got underway on time with Glenn Dawson taking his Sanga to three race wins in the first three races. Rosco Bennett and Roger Paul had a slow start to the day, with both having some of their worst races of the day in the first few races.
As the day unfolded, it became clear that these three would be at the front of the fleet. From time to time, Jeff Green and Chris Woods pushed hard and had some good finishes. However, consistency is the name of the game, and you can’t afford to have slip-ups. Some lower placed finishes pushed Jeff and Chris’s scores up.
The Lincoln McDowell designed Blade 5 was showing some really good signs of speed in Ian Sherriff’s hands. The boat looks really well behaved, and typical of Lincoln’s boats – flies downwind. Denton Roberts and Ray Bassett had their moments with some good showings. Phil Brown’s home-built wooden Graffito looks superb on the water, and he is to be commended for persevering, learning and certainly improving as time goes on.
Rosco’s morning wasn’t going too well, until the Mr. Whippy van came cruising by. One choc top soft serve ice cream later, and Rosco was ready to go. All of a sudden, things clicked on the #39 boat, and the race was on. As the day unfolded, Rosco kept chipping away at Glenn’s lead, until the two of them were neck and neck on the score board. Luckily for Glenn, the Mr. Whippy van stayed away in the afternoon, and the effects of the ice cream wore off, bringing Rosco back to being a mere mortal again.
After lunch, the breeze swung around towards the south and increased to about 10 to 12 knots. Those with B+ rigs were quick to change, and those with B rigs were left wondering why they had not built a B+. The B rig boats just didn’t quite have the pressure to make the B rig work well, but it was just over the A rig limit.
In the last two races, the wind built just a bit more, and the B rigs were in their element. These last two races were won by Glenn, to retain his title from last year. Rosco finished in second place, just a couple of points in front of Roger Paul. Jeff Green and Chris Woods were level on points after 18 races, so they had to be separated by countback.
Thank you again to Hub Bell, Andree Bennett and Rob Mews for donating your time so that we could all sail. Well sailed to all the competitors, who participated on the day with great sportsmanship.
Results:
