Top Gun Catamaran Regatta at Kurnell Catamaran Club, Botany Bay, Sydney, NSW
by Shane Baker 3 Nov 06:25 GMT
1-2 November 2025
"Talk to me, Goose..."
If you were among the elite few who travelled from afar, Sydney rolled out the red carpet — complete with thunderstorms, gale-force gusts, and sideways rain. Nothing says "welcome to Kurnell" quite like your swag flapping at 2 a.m. and lightning lighting up Botany Bay.
Just as you drifted back to sleep... BOOM — a Qantas A380 touched down across the bay at 6 a.m. sharp, doing its best impression of a 50-knot gust. Nothing like jet engines to start race day. Bliss.
Those driving up from Victoria or South Australia enjoyed the scenic 10-14-hour "adventure cruise," complete with a multi-car crash near Gundagai. Extra hours on the road = extra anticipation. Or frustration. Depends on the playlist.
Day 1
Morning broke with spring in the air and aircraft in the air, the chirping birds bravely attempting to drown out the departing Boeings. A few cheeky rain showers passed through, but sailors at KCC are waterproof by nature.
A fantastic turnout — especially in the Formula 18 fleet, which came ready to race (and clearly not ready to wait). The charming, classic Kurnell Catamaran Club once again provided the perfect HQ, while BoatCrewGear.com was on-site to fix everything except your bad starts.
Classes included Maricat, Hobie Cat, Taipan, F18, and F16 Viper, so there was plenty of fibreglass flying across the bay.
Race 1
The F18s came in hot — too hot — earning themselves a general recall. Let's call it "enthusiasm." The wind teased at 10 knots, the sun peeked through occasionally, and shifts kept tacticians busy (and skippers humble).
Race 2
Everyone behaved this time, starting cleanly in a softening breeze under 10 knots. Then a massive wind shift hit mid-race — flipping positions faster than you can say "where'd that puff go?" Some went from chocolates to boiled lollies in seconds.
With the wind disappearing faster than the beer supply, racing wrapped up early and sailors headed to the local sports club to refuel and rehydrate (mostly).
Day 2
A few sore heads surfaced under overcast skies and a light 5-10 knot southerly. Local fireworks in the early hours ensured nobody overslept. The KCC car club served up egg-and-bacon rolls — breakfast of champions (and the mildly hungover).
Races 3-6
Four back-to-back races in 5-10 knots — proper "make your own wind" conditions.
Each race ran around 35 minutes; the key was spotting that elusive shift or praying for divine intervention.
Finally, the sun burst through, lighting up the 27-boat fleet, with the F18s making up 16 entries. Light-air trapezing was more of a core workout than an advantage, but spirits were high and hulls were flying (occasionally).
The forecast easterly never arrived — clearly it hit snooze — but the racing stayed close, clean, and good-humoured.
Wrap-Up
Huge thanks to Kurnell Catamaran Club and their awesome volunteers — launching, retrieving, cooking, scoring, and keeping the beers cold. You're the real Top Guns.
Congratulations to all the podium finishers and to everyone who kept the shiny side up and the leeward bow out of the drink.
So... who was the Top Gun?
Overall Results:
| Pos | Sail No | Boat Name | Class | Div | Helm | Crew | Club | ASYS | R1 | R2 | R3 | R4 | R5 | R6 | Pts |
|---|
| T+W/L Course |
|---|
| 1st | 5000 | ZAX | Maricat 4.3 Cat | 1 | Ian Fraser | | VSC | 95.5 | 1 | ‑2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 5 |
| 2nd | 41 | | Maricat 4.3 Cat GRP | 1 | Steven Backhouse | | SLSC | 96.5 | ‑3 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 10 |
| 3rd | 11 | | Maricat 4.3 Cat | 1 | Mitch Backhouse | | KCC | 95.5 | ‑4 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 14 |
| 4th | 3701 | Havoc | Maricat 4.3 Cat | 1 | Jeff Reid | | PKSC | 95.5 | 2 | 4 | (DNC) | DNC | DNC | DNC | 24 |
| 5th | 5228 | Raptor | Maricat 4.3 Cat | 1 | Anthony Brown | | VSC | 95.5 | 5 | 5 | (DNC) | DNC | DNC | DNC | 28 |
| W/L #2 Course |
|---|
| 1st | AUS 151 | My Lady | Taipan 4.9 Cat | 2 | Mick Colecliffe | | TBSC | 76.5 | ‑3 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 12 |
| 2nd | AUS 173 | Blast | Taipan 4.9 Cat | 2 | Ethan Micaleff | | MPASC | 76.5 | 4 | 8 | ‑15 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 15 |
| 3rd | AUS 312 | Slippery Willy | Taipan 4.9 Sloop | 2 | Andrew Williams | Petra Williams | KCC | 73.5 | 2 | 2 | (DNF) | 4 | 5 | 11 | 24 |
| 4th | AUS 04 | Harken WIP | F18 | 3 | Brin Liddell | Amy Giri | KCC | 65 | 9 | 6 | 1 | 7 | ‑16 | 3 | 26 |
| 5th | AUS 307 | Royston Capital | F18 | 3 | Chris Boag | Josh Baker | McRae YC | 65 | 7 | ‑15 | 6 | 6 | 7 | 4 | 30 |
| 6th | 888 | ODIE | Hobie 18 | 2 | John Forbes | Lily Norton | PBSC | 76.5 | ‑14 | 4 | 11 | 3 | 8 | 7 | 33 |
| 7th | AUS 2001 | YKnot ‑ Muzzaratti | F18 | 3 | Archie Gargett | Beau White | KCC | 65 | 5 | 11 | 2 | 5 | ‑15 | 12 | 35 |
| 8th | AUS 2319 | Jamem | F18 | 3 | James Henderson | Emily Henderson | MPASC | 65 | 6 | 7 | ‑12 | 11 | 3 | 9 | 36 |
| 9th | AUS 3 | Cracker Jack | Taipan 4.9 Cat | 2 | Steve Ramsden | | WSC | 76.5 | ‑18 | 1 | 10 | 9 | 13 | 10 | 43 |
| 10th | AUS 42 | Mostly Harmless | F18 | 3 | Peter Skewes | Bailey Skewes | KCC | 65 | 10 | 10 | 4 | ‑16 | 6 | 14 | 44 |
| 11th | AUS 000 | Flat Bickie | F18 | 3 | Michael Cook | Lois Burn | YMCASC | 65 | ‑19 | 14 | 9 | 13 | 4 | 5 | 45 |
| 12th | AUS 715 | Mataus | F16 Sloop | 3 | Lewis Abbott | Anthony Abbott | RPAYC | 67.5 | 8 | 12 | 8 | 8 | 10.5 | (DNC) | 46.5 |
| 13th | 181 | White Cap | Hobie 18 | 2 | Oliver Leech | Geoff Leech | ASC | 76.5 | 17 | 5 | 14 | ‑21 | 12 | 8 | 56 |
| 14th | AUS 69 | Flirting with Disaster | F18 | 3 | Simon Hallsworth | Peter Dunk | ASC | 65 | 12 | 16 | 5 | 10 | 14 | ‑18 | 57 |
| 15th | AUS 218 | The Barbalootz | F16 Sloop | 3 | David Fisher | Rebecca | PBSC | 67.5 | ‑22 | 13 | 17 | 12 | 9 | 6 | 57 |
| 16th | AUS 880 | Maverick | F18 | 3 | Grant Maver | James Butler | KCC | 65 | 16 | 17 | 13 | 14 | 10.5 | ‑19 | 70.5 |
| 17th | AUS 3 | Green Dog | F18 | 3 | Alan Herbert | Bailey Hord | MPASC | 65 | 11 | 20 | 7 | 15 | 19 | (DNC) | 72 |
| 18th | AUS 555 | Captain Morgan | F18 | 3 | David Morgan | Cameron Kaul | QLSC | 65 | 15 | 9 | ‑18 | 17 | 18 | 13 | 72 |
| 19th | AUS 777 | Muzzaratti | F18 | 3 | Murray Makin | Danielle Makin | KCC | 65 | 13 | ‑23 | 16 | 20 | 22 | 17 | 88 |
| 20th | AUS 4 | Harken WIP | A Class (Flying) | 4 | Steve Brewin | | KCC | 59 | 1 | ‑26 | 22 | 24 | 23 | 20 | 90 |
| 21st | DAZ 23 | Bo Dazzle | F18 | 3 | Trevor Lowder | Richard Brewin | KCC | 65 | 20 | ‑25 | 20 | 18 | 17 | 16 | 91 |
| 22nd | AUS 442 | WED Racing | F18 | 3 | Tim Makepeace | Toby Austin | KCC | 65 | 21 | 19 | 19 | ‑23 | 20 | 15 | 94 |
| 23rd | AUS 517 | Magical | F18 | 3 | Kyle Amadio | Neil Tarrant | KCC | 65 | 24 | 18 | 21 | 22 | 21 | (DNF) | 106 |
| 24th | AUS 64 | Brewin | A Class (Flying) | 4 | Jarrod Spencer | | MPASC | 59 | ‑25 | 24 | 23 | 25 | 24 | 21 | 117 |
| 25th | AUS 8008 | | F18 | 3 | Brad Ashmore | Talia Ashmore | KCC | 65 | (DNS) | 22 | DNF | 19 | DNF | DNS | 125 |
| 26th | AUS 100 | | A Class (Flying) | 4 | Simon Nelson | | BBYC | 59 | 26 | (DNF) | DNF | 26 | 25 | 22 | 127 |
| 27th | AUS 70 | ANY | F18 | 3 | Ian Lamb | Sophia Walton | MPASC | 65 | 23 | 21 | (DNC) | DNC | DNC | DNC | 128 |
