A spectacular fleet of 90 boats converged on BYS over the weekend of 19 & 20 Feb to contest the 47th Victorian Sabre State Titles. The fleet boasted many former State & National champions, World Champions from other classes, the broadest possible range of age groups and a strong contingent of female competitors…all eager to contest the Open and highly coveted Divisional prizes on offer at the event.
With covid cancellations plaguing the sailing calendar in recent times, it was a fantastic sight to see 90 boats gather for a major championship…the largest single fleet dinghy event conducted in Australia since Feb 2020. A credit to both the organisers and sailors whose collective efforts over the weekend delivered a spectacle that will live long in the memories of all involved.
The weather gods smiled, with brilliant sunshine and a moderate sea breeze on the Saturday offering RO Doc Little the opportunity to send the fleet away for three full distance races, not only guaranteeing a series on day one but also for many, a very solid night’s sleep leading into the final day. BYS youth sailor Hamish Cowell and BRYC’s Adrian Finglas shared the day one spoils, with strong showings from Tom Warner, Alex Bolton, Lucas James, Sam Backwell, Pippa Danks and several other BYS youth sailors plus some of the local class stalwarts including Geoff Smith, Johnny Petschel, Al Danks and our senior flag officers Marty Kudnig & Matt McCarthy. Spectators were treated to extraordinarily tight racing, with many entertaining mark rounding, some sufficiently intimate to see the gaffer tape being applied liberally to unlucky boats between heats! Following on from the successful live coverage at the J70 Nationals over Easter, the starts, certain roundings & finishes were streamed live on Facebook for the benefit of those on shore.
Sunday dawned with a less promising wind forecast and skies with a distinct grey hue, prompting the AP to be hoisted from the club mainmast and offering some extra time for sailors and support crew to enjoy the famous BYS hospitality on shore. Eventually the light westerly showed signs of swinging south and the fleet got afloat for a long broad reach out to the southern sands where Doc & crew were seeing the breeze build & stabilise sufficiently to get racing underway. Proving their ability to sail fast in all conditions, Hamish & Adrian again went 1,2 in Heat 4 with another BYS junior Angus McIntyre in 3rd. Exciting stuff, setting up a final race showdown between Hamish and Adrian to determine the new State Champ.
Heat 5 got away in an 11-14 knot sea breeze with Commodore Matt McCarthy leading at the top mark with Al Danks, Lucas James, Gus Mac & Gary McLennan hot on their heels. Notably absent from the top group were our two leaders, with Adrian taking Hamish hard right to the port layline, both rounding the first mark close together but deep in the fleet. Despite the sea breeze staying moderate, it oscillated in a consistent fashion throughout the race with no particular side of the course favoured and rewards accruing to the boats finding pressure lanes and staying in phase. Al Danks did both splendidly to take a solid lead and flashed home for the win followed by Gary, Gus and Matt. Attention then turned to the tussle between Hamish & Adrian who had worked their way into the top 10 and match raced all the way home with the provisional winner to be determined by whoever got their nose in front at the finish line. In the end it was Adrian that found a clearer lane on the final run to gain the inside berth at the final leeward mark to gain 7th a placing to Hamish’s 8th. A couple of protests ensued (not between the lead boats themselves) but none had any impact on final results, seeing Adrian Finglas as our Open Champion from Hamish Cowell in 2nd, Angus Mac in 3rd, Al Danks in 4th & Gary McLennan 5th. Pippa Danks was crowned Ladies Champion and it was smiles all round with all divisional winners receiving warm congratulations as SSAV President Bruce Abbot (himself the Grand Vet winner) divvied up the spoils on the BYS deck.
Congrats to all competitors and a special thank you to all the BYS volunteers and SSAV committee members that worked so hard behind the scenes to make the regatta such a success.
All photos courtesy of Russell Bates Photography – www.russellbatesphotography.com.au/
