Gill Noelex Australian Championship at Royal Geelong Yacht Club - Overall

Gill Noelex Australian Championship winners (l-r) Dale Collings, Warren Slater, Glenn Collings, RGYC Commodore Chris Williams, Aust. Noelex President Ron Parker © Trevor Brown

On a typical calm Autumn Day in Geelong, low cloud kept the wind at bay until after the racing was called off, when Race Officer Steve Neunhoffer raised the AP/A at 1pm to end the two-day regatta.

Although the sailors were disappointed not to get on the water, the three races on Saturday constituted a series allowing for Glenn Collings and his team of Dale Collings and Warren Slater on Leewana to take their 6th Australian title in the class. Glenn said "it's a great class that has the benefits of one design racing and the ability to go cruising with my family on this great boat". Second was Frontliner, skippered by Brad Jones, who showed a vast improvement from last year's championships, and evergreen skipper, David Philipps sailing Running Free, in third. First on performance handicap went to Marg Goddard, and second was RGYC member, Howard Hughes. Both Marg and Howard sailed with full family crews on board.

Following abandonment of the racing, the crews hastily packed up their boats, before a sausage sizzle hosted by RGYC, then followed by the prize giving. RGYC Commodore Chris Williams was on hand to present the prizes with class secretary Veronica Burgess and class president Ron Parker.

Ron Parker, Australian Noelex Association president said "We are very pleased with the running of the Noelex National championships at RGYC and we had great support from the Club and their volunteers. Geelong has great facilities for hosting regattas both on the water and in the city, which has been great for the interstate and country visitors coming to Geelong.

Of the 15-strong fleet, seven of the teams had family members on the crew. Ron Continued ". We enjoyed seeing a wide skill level across the fleet, with plenty of families getting involved, and crews ranging in age from 13 to 70. We had close competition across the fleet with some great race management under challenging Autumn conditions".

Overall Results: