52nd Flying Fifteen Australian Championships at Lake Macquarie
by Russell Cummings 21 Jan 2014 12:15 GMT
12-19 January 2014
Matt Owen & Andrew Reed win the Australian Flying Fifteen nationals on AUS3684 'Defcon1' © Paul van Rugge
Matt Owen and Andrew Reed win
So dominant were Matt Owen and crew member Andrew Reed aboard AUS3684 "Defcon1" in the FF Australian Championships which sailed out of LMYC in Lake Macquarie over the last week that they did not need to start in the last race to win the title.
The Canberra Yacht Club pair were right at home in the fresh 20-25 knot ENE breezes that prevailed throughout the regatta to record a perfect score of 6 from 6 scored races (they actually dropped a 2nd place). Their win was never in doubt!
"Idswapthisforabundy" Adam Hawkins and Ben Jones from Melbourne sailed a very solid regatta to finish second with a score of 11 points whist "Lapse In reality" Peter Milne and Phillip Dubbin, also from Melbourne won third place from Western Australian David Yu's "Tuffan Up" on a count back.
"Yes, No, Maybe!" Skipper Jenny Simms from Western Australia did particularly well in the fresh conditions to win the handicap honours whilst "FFlashpoint" skipper Peter Rooke also from WA won the Masters trophy.
It was surprising to note that a very high percentage of the fleet were eligible for the "masters" division but precious few contested the "rising star" trophy. These boats still have plenty to offer young sailors in terms of speed and boat handling challenges. They are very reasonably priced and backed by well-run associations.
LMYC again provided a great venue for a championship event and Lake Macquarie lived up to its reputation as one of Australia's best sailing areas.
Full results can be found here.