2025-26 Flying 11 Nationals at Belmont 16ft Sailing Club - Day 1
by Jon Drummond, Flying 11 Association of Australia 29 Dec 2025 08:56 GMT
28 December 2025 - 2 January 2026
The 2025-26 Flying 11 Nationals kicked off yesterday, Sunday 28th December, hosted by the Belmont 16ft SC on Lake Macquarie, NSW. 42 Flying 11s representing 8 clubs are competing, making for exciting racing on the pristine waters of Belmont Bay. Long time Flying 11 Race Officer, Steve Iles, once again took charge of racing, delivering memorable sailing for the young competitors.
The strong southerly that had played havoc with the Sydney to Hobart competitors also provided a stiff breeze for the Flying 11s with a cold 18-25kt breeze and passing showers. The days racing kicked off with a one lap Invitation Race which was won by Belmont 16s pairing Aiden Nosworthy and Elliot Van Kerchof on 1352, Up2NoGood.
Race 1 of the championship then got under way, with tricky conditions as the strong breeze shifted significantly with every passing shower. Cookie Monster, 1413, Lachlan Jansen and Baden Thomas, from Manly 16s, put on a great show, extending out to a significant lead to claim the win. Second place was taken by Aura, 1412, Tayla Lees and Chloe Jansen making a great start to the regatta. Keeping it an all Manly 16s affair, Bandit, 1394, Angus and Annabel Griffin, rounded out the top 3.
After a quick course reset for the shifting breeze, Race 2 got under way, with the South Easterly breeze still up in the high teens to low 20s. 1327, Cheeky, Hamish Skelton and Eli Morris showed great pace to claim the win. Cookie Monster came home in 2nd, showing great consistency and keeping 1st place on the overall leaderboard. Knot Shore, 1363, Hamish and Felicity Cameron sailed a great race to claim 3rd place.
Racing continues on the 29th and 30th December, with the final days of racing planned for January 1st and 2nd. The class has a proud history in Australia with many champion sailors having sailed these boats as a stepping stone to senior classes.
The Class would like to thank the Belmont 16s for their support in providing amazing facilities and fantastic regatta support. We also thank our sponsors, who make it possible to run events like this to a high standard.
Allen have been a longtime supporter of the Flying 11 Class. Along with sponsor Liros Ropes, both provide high quality sailing equipment and are proudly distributed in Australia through DeckHardware.
Red Pumps concrete offer quality concrete pumping services throughout the NSW Central Coast, Hunter and North Sydney regions.
MC Sails have a passion for supporting junior sailing and are heavily involved with sail development across multiple classes and disciplines.
CST Composites provide quality composite solutions to a variety of industries and have been long time spar manufacturers for centreboard and skiff classes.
SailRacing produce top end sailing apparel designed to perform at the highest level, matched with quality and style.