Flying Fifteen Western Australia State Championship at South of Perth Yacht Club

by Bernie Kaaks 3 Apr 2018 07:29 BST 30 March - 1 April 2018

Nick and Janet Jerwood on their way to another State title - 2018 Flying Fifteen State Championships © Bernie Kaaks

In a widely diverse range of weather conditions, the husband and wife combination of Nick and Janet Jerwood added another title to their CV when they won the Western Australian Flying Fifteen Championship on the Swan River over the Easter weekend. Jerwood, who last month won the World Viper 640 championship at the same venue, acted quickly to scotch rumours of a jump to the Viper class, declaring his allegiance to the Flying 15, the people who sail them and the closeness of competition.

The Western Australian Flying Fifteen has defied its critics by remaining numerically one of the strongest fleets in the world, with boats competing in Esperance, Albany, Perth and Geraldton.

Championship runners-up, John Wilson and Matt Summers - 2018 Flying Fifteen State Championships - photo © Bernie Kaaks

John Wilson teamed up with Matt Summers to finish second on a count back with David Yu and Chris Nelson, finishing the final day with a curious mixture of results – a first in the penultimate race and a 17th in the last, which became his drop. David Yu and Chris Nelson had a strong showing up to the last day, with a run of seconds and thirds, but would have been disappointed in their last two races, recording 20th and 12th placings.

Third place went to David Yu and Chris Nelson - 2018 Flying Fifteen State Championships - photo © Bernie Kaaks

Still, in this company, any podium position is hard earned. Jerwood is a past world champion, as is Grant Alderson, who finished fourth.

One of the ways in which the class keeps itself vibrant is the introduction of new ideas. There are several husband and wife combinations within the group, and in an effort to encourage and recognise the importance of women to the future of the class, awards for the best female skipper and best female crew were introduced.

Consistency winners, Albany's Simon and Aileen Lucas - 2018 Flying Fifteen State Championships - photo © Bernie Kaaks

In conjunction with the championship was a handicap-based consistency competition, which was won by Simon and Aileen Lucas, with the minor placings going to veterans Ron Packer and Steve Ward, who in turn just pipped third placegetters Tim Walker and Alan Sharpe.

Carl and Christine Pettersson, one of many husband and wife combinations in the 34-boat fleet - 2018 Flying Fifteen State Championships - photo © Bernie Kaaks

A special presentation was made to the regatta's principal organiser, John Hassen, to recognise his contribution.

Nick Jerwood was effusive in his praise for the South of Perth Yacht Club, which hosted the championship and the efforts of race officer Les Swinton, who coped remarkably well with conditions ranging from south westerlies gusting well over 25 knots to shifty easterlies on the final morning to ensure that the full program of races was delivered while keeping competitors safe.

Overall Results:

Pos	Sail No	Boat Name	Skipper	Crew	Club	R1	R2	R3	R4	R5	R6	R7	Pts
1	3986	INEFFABLE	Nick Jerwood	Janet Jerwood	SoPYC	2	1	1	2	1	[4]	1	8
2	3989	FFAST LANE 4	John Wilson	Matthew Summers	SoPYC	8	2	5	7	3	1	[17]	26
3	3859	TUFFAN UP	David Yu	Chris Nelson	RFBYC	3	3	3	3	2	[20]	12	26
4	3933	EL TORO	Grant Alderson	Gordon Blaauw	RFBYC	[7]	6	2	5	5	5	5	28
5	3743	SPOT THE DIFFERENCE	Greg Tonnison	Graeme Lillingston	SoPYC	1	8	7	[12]	12	2	3	33
6	3809	NEFFARIOUS	Hamish Carnachan	Peter Mudford	RFBYC	6	4	8	1	[35O]	3	11	33
7	3980	AUS SAILMAKERS	Brad Sheridan	Jodi Earnshaw	SoPYC	4	[15]	6	8	8	10	2	38
8	3987	FOLLOW US	Tim Walker	Alan Sharpe	SoPYC	9	[16]	12	4	7	11	6	49
9	3855	FFLASHPOINT	Peter Rooke	Martin Arrowsmith	SoPYC	[19]	7	9	6	6	6	18	52
10	3775	ABSOLUTELY FFABULOUS	Philippa Packer	Dean Mcaullay	RFBYC	[17]	13	4	9	4	13	14	57
11	3744	LIGHTNING	Gregor Mcqueen	Peter Fox	EBYC	[21]	5	13	11	15	8	9	61
12	3619	AFFRODISIAC	Ron Packer	Steve Ward	RFBYC	[18]	10	15	14	13.5	7	4	63.5
13	3822	A-SQUARED	Andrew Knowles	Anne Knowles	SoPYC/RTYC	5	9	10	14	9	18	[24]	65
14	3983	NELSONS LOOSE CANNON	Peter Groom	John Muscio	GYC	11	14	19	10	13.5	[24]	16	83.5
15	3797	WINX	Christopher.J. Wells	Brad Elliot	EBYC	[20]	19	11	16	19	15	10	90
16	3800	SALTHEART	Mark Gooding	Michael Gooding	SoPYC	12	27	16	17	11	9	[31]	92
17	4010	MR FOX	Mark Millman	Arron Parker	GYC	16	11	23	14	[24]	21	15	100
18	3910	YES NO MAYBE!	Jennifer Sims	Adam Semple	SoPYC/RFBYC	15	17	14	[28]	25	16	19	106
19	3984	FAFFIN	Carl Pettersson	Kristine Pettersson	SoPYC	10	23	27	23	[35F]	12	13	108
20	3935	SHEWHOMUSTBEOBEYED	John Hassen	Tony Finch	SoPYC	14	20	28.5	22	10	[35S]	25	119.5
21	3964	FFOREIGNER	Simon Lucas	Aileen Lucas	PRSC	[33]	30	22	26	17	19	8	122
22	3879	AUSSIE WAY	Neil White	Kim Peaker	SoPYC	25	[29]	17	21	16	25	21	125
23	4032	FREUDE	Rob Donaldson	Ryan Norris	EBYC	29	[33]	21	18	22	14	23	127
24	3719	FFAST LANE	Jeff Vance	Greg Vance	SoPYC	26	22Y	24	20	18	22	[29]	132
25	3781	16	Stephen Pidgeon	Stu Adamson	GYC	13	28	[32]	31	23	17	22	134
26	3858	SECOND BREAKFAST	Karen Dawes	Russell Dawes	SoPYC	[35R]	31	18	25	20	26	20	140
27	3578	FOOLS RUSH IN	Seth Eggleston	Rob Naish	RFBYC	23	18	25	19	21	[35S]	35S	141
28	3928	SWIFFT	Peter Emby	Phil Lammonby	SoPYC	31	22	31	[33]	28	25N	9N	146
29	3991	FFANCY CLASSIQUE	John Midolo	Gordon Roe	SoPYC	22	21	30	24	26	[35F]	27	150
30	3057	FFOENIX	John Lyus	Richard Warren	SoPYC	27	26	20	29	31	31	[33]	164
31	3609	ELECTRIFFLYING DIAMO	Richard Blaquiere	Henri Thuijs	SoPYC	24	[34]	33	27	27	27	26	164
32	3833	NO BULL	Tim Bussemaker	Kevin Griffiths	SoPYC	28	25	26	[30]	30	29	28	166
33	3531	WILDFFING	Mark Walters	Keith Thompson	SoPYC	30	24	[35R]	32	29	28	32	175
34	3493	FFULLBACK	Humphrey Hale	Menno Weustink	RFBYC	32	32	28.5	34	[35F]	30	30	186.5