RS Aero Victorian State Championships at Black Rock Yacht Club

by Richard Furneaux 23 Apr 2018 10:53 BST 21-22 April 2018

RS Aero Victorian State Championships 2018 © Chris Visick

The RS Aero Victorian State Championships were held over the weekend of the 21st/22nd April at Black Rock Yacht Club as part of their annual Skiff Regatta.

The event attracted twenty one entries that reflect the diversity of sailors that are sailing the three different rigs available in the Aero Class. The age range among the men and women competing was from 15 years of age to our oldest competitor at 74, who incidentally had just 'downgraded' to an Aero from his foiling Moth. Five boats made the trip down to Melbourne from Sydney and also in the fleet was an international sailor, hailing from the Isle of Man.

RS Aero Victorian State Championships 2018 - photo © Chris Visick

On both days sailors were welcomed to a misty morning until the sun eventually burnt off the cloud cover, generating a light northerly breeze, in time for the first warning signal. On both days the winds tracked steadily from the north to the south, increasing in pressure as it rotated. This meant a lot of work for the Race Management teams but the courses were altered between races seamlessly.

Over the six race series the lead was hotly contested by numerous sailors. Ron Fergusson, Michael O'Brien, Steven Case, Chris Brain, Warwick Foy, Greg Kelly and Rhett Gowans all had their moments at the head of the fleet. However, it was the sailors that managed to stay in pressure on the lifting tack that moved through the fleet for better results overall.

RS Aero Victorian State Championships 2018 - photo © Chris Visick

The consensus from the sailors after the event was that it was great to be part of such an inclusive and hotly contested fleet and they all learnt a lot over the course of the regatta.

RS Aero Victorian State Championships 2018 - photo © Chris Visick

Greg Kelly (Aero 7), from the Isle of Man took the overall honours, sailing conservatively, while using his knowledge of the class to the best of his ability. In second place overall and Victorian State Champion was Rhett Gowans from Mornington YC/Royal Brighton YC (Aero 7) and rounding out the podium was Chris Brain (Aero 7) in third place overall from Sugarloaf SC, pipping Steven Case Royal Geelong YC on count back. Warwick Foy was the overall Aero 9 winner and Ryu Watanabe from RGYC was the Aero 5 winner.

RS Aero Victorian State Championships 2018 - photo © Chris Visick

Competitors are now looking forward to the RS Aero Nationals that will be held at Port Stephens, NSW in early December so they can become familiar with the waters where the RS Aero Worlds will be held in late 2019.

Overall Results:

Pos	Rig	Sail No	Boat Name	Helm	R1	R2	R3	R4	R5	R6	Pts
1	Rsaero7	20	Greg Kelly	Greg Kelly	1	1	1	[2]	1	1	5
2	Rsaero7	1679	Mortein	Rhett Gowans	3	[5]	2	5	4	2	16
3	Rsaero7	1393	Jack	Chris Brain	[12]	2	6	1	6	4	19
4	Rsaero7	10	7777	Steven Case	2	3	3	4	7	[8]	19
5	Rsaero7	2500	Feats of Strength	Michael OBrien	4	4	5	[12]	2	5	20
6	Rsaero9	188	The Business Partner	Warwick Foy	[11]	6	4	6	3	3	22
7	Rsaero7	7	Glide Free A	Pedro Stephinson	6	7	7	7	10	[12]	37
8	Rsaero7	1189	Mr Magoo (Hull 1191)	Ron Fergusson	5	10	9	[13]	12	6	42
9	Rsaero9	1188	Camp Freddy	Simon Reffold	9	[14]	10	11	5	7	42
10	Rsaero7	1284	B2	Nick Collis-George	7	8	11	[16]	8	10	44
11	Rsaero9	1194	Tijuana Taxi	Andrew Giles	[14]	9	13	3	13	11	49
12	Rsaero9	2047	ASAP	David Innes	8	[15]	12	10	11	9	50
13	Rsaero7	2049	Retrenched	David Andrew	13	13	8	8.5	9	[22U]	51.5
14	Rsaero7	1	Rocky	Brian Case	10	11.5	14	8.5	[22F]	22C	66
15	Rsaero5	1388	TBA	Ryu Watanabe	15	11.5	[16]	15	16	13	70.5
16	Rsaero7	1074	None the Wiser	Brendan Chaplin	[18]	16	15	14	14	14	73
17	Rsaero5	2045	Little Whippet	Victoria Land	17	[18]	17	17	15	15	81
18	Rsaero5	2492	apple	David Adams	16	19	18	18	17	[22C]	88
19	Rsaero5	1683	No Name	Kendra Gallety	[19]	17	19	19	18	16	89
20	Rsaero7	1704	NA1	John Fordyce	[22F]	22C	22C	22C	22C	22C	110
20	Rsaero7	1697	Jen	John Sammons	[22C]	22C	22C	22C	22C	22C	110