71st Australian Titles
Abbotsford 12ft Flying Squadron 14th - 17th April 2006
The Norman Booth Trophy
Yabba Dabba Wins National Championships at Abbotsford
Yabba Dabba takes flight in Heat 2
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Ben Faulkner; Reporting from Abbotsford - Easter 2006
Thirty Boats contested the 71st 12ft Skiff Australian National Titles held at Abbotsford Sailing Club over the Easter Long weekend. The regatta was sponsored by Computer Air Services and received great support from the local community and other Race sponsors including Suttons Parts, Gemmell Sails, Gill, Ronstan and Katoomba Adventure Centre.
The success of a National Titles should be judged on the memories it provides and this series had plenty of those. I am sure those spectators standing on the Parramatta River Club will remember the sight of 30 skiffs screaming past only metres from the shore in a howling southerly. Sailors will remember every fighting work, crash tack, call for water and the face of every sailor who got in their way during a series held on tight courses. Abbotsford gives you no easy legs and no chance to relax and that's why we love it and hate it at the same time.
Much had been made about the chance of four consecutive days of drifters on the Parramatta River, too far from the light easterlies that prevail on Sydney Harbour at this time of year. There had been rumoured plans within the fleet to construct big rigs specifically for the predicted light conditions over Easter. On the down-low, Wolfie had to scrap his plans after Air-Traffic Control voiced concerns about dangers to low-flying aircraft.
The sight of the postponement flag before the start of Race 1 appeared to confirm our worst fears but as the flag disappeared and a boat park full of sailors scrambled for their wetsuits, Huey proved us wrong.
Three days of decent big rig, one day of cranking third-sail and no drifters made for an always exciting, sometimes nail-biting series.
And as is the Abbotsford Sailing Club way, the regatta was meticulously organised, the food was excellent and the support from the locals and sponsors was more that we could have hoped for.
Day 1 - Races One and Two.
Plenty of skippers had arrived early on Day 1 so that they could bury their trailer as deep as possible. They arrived about three hours before their crews, five hours before the scheduled start of Race 1 and Six hours before the breeze arrived.
The postponement flag flew from the Abbotsford control tower, giving skippers like Unit a little bit more time to 'prepare.' A Nor-Easter was coming and duly arrived around 1.30. Murray Press was one of about 6 that decided we wanted a bit more time for the breeze to come in and so we threw in two General Recalls before we could get away.
If I were a betting man, I wouldn't have fancied Nick Press and Brad Yabsley in Yabba Dabba to take out the Nationals. They were one of the favourites obviously, a commanding win in the NSW State Titles showed they were on form but I figured that their heavier crew weight would count against them on the tight course.
After watching race 1 from mid-fleet, I was lucky that no TAB was offering odds on the Nationals. With enough breeze to get the Solo Man (big Brad Yabsley) stretched on the wire, Yabba Dabba smashed the start of Race 1 and held onto the lead to take the win. They were followed across the line by pesky Brett and Alex on Garde. Pesky isn't a nice way to describe the Garde but it is the only way to describe their regatta. No matter what happened on the start line or if they had a capsize, they were constantly in the leading pack. Third was old-timers Jonathan and Rich in P&O.
Race 2 followed Race 1 immediately and the boys on Road Kill piffed a cat into a bunch of pigeons by leading from go-to-woe to beat a fading breeze and chasing pack and snatch a win. It came as no surprise to the watchers of the Garde Series who knew the Road Kill was quick in big rig conditions.
After the race poor Ed Cox was looking to be suffering from the "Abbotsford Complex." It is a serious condition brought about by entering the 'Dunny Bowl Doldrums' with a small break from the boats behind. As you drift, looking for the next puff, the kites of the chasing pack get closer and closer and your lead gets smaller and smaller. The only known cure is a can of Old and a good lie down . . or maybe a good Yabsley.
Brett Hobson produced some magic on the last kite ride to get the second 2nd for the Garde, P&O again 3rd.
Day 2 - Races Three and Four.
Collective will is sometimes enough to make something happen and the big sou-wester for Day 2 of the regatta was almost exactly what we wanted. It might have been nicer if it had been true south or true west but it was true third sail and the kite rides were truly sensational.
Race 3 - A start-line was hard to set and harder to master for the fleet. Old-Man Temple got it right and disappeared up the first work only to be resighted by the fleet making their way back to sure shortly after. A broken vang putting pay to should have been a race win.
Yabba Dabba had also had good start and lead easily with the retirement of P&O. The curse of the broken vangs also hit Nick and Brad though, allowing Garde through to take a win. Interestingly, Emmett and Cam also broke a vang in CST Composites. Yabba Dabba did enough to keep second and Mr Heavy Air himself (Michael Bochner) used the conditions to score third.
The dramas on the start line of Race 3 should have prepared us for the same in Race 4. Does skiff sailing harm your short-term memory? Yabba Dabba got their forth good start in four races to hit the top mark first. There were lots of capsizes and making the point at the Parramatta River Sailing club could gain you places by the handful.
Yabba Dabba were fast enough to hold off a repaired P&O and Garde were good enough to again fight through the pack (from well back midway through the race) to take third.
Day 3 - Race Five.
Like a young woman who had had one to many Bacardi Breezes, Race 5 could have been anybodies. Tricky conditions turned the race into a bit of a dogfight with packs of boats trading places at will.
Matthew 'Unit' Killoran had said the lighter conditions meant it was a day for the thinking sailors and it was his Acer that aced the start and led up the first work. They would hold on for third in a race that I personally thought would never end. It was the first long course of the regatta and combined with the Abbotsford Complex and the second postponed start, it meant for a long day on the water.
It was Jonno and Rich that led at the right time to guide P&O across the line in first and put themselves in with a chance of taking the overall win. Yabba Dabba did themselves a huge favour by crossing 2nd, holding Garde to forth. Abbotsford hero Matt Peat got the biggest cheer of the day, crossing in 6th.
Day 4 - Race Six.
Nick Press displays a calm persona, at least off the water. I believe he must have got this from his mother. When skiff.org.au interviewed Nick before the crucial Race 6, Nick claimed that he hadn't done his sums; he was just going to beat Brett Hobson in Garde, get a spot in the top 3 and win the Regatta. He didn't look nervous but the big rig did get put in early on the Yabba Dabba for some last minute tuning.
Brett Grandma Hobson did look slightly flustered in the boat park though. With a realistic chance of taking the regatta, the news that a nor-easter was blowing at 18 knots on the Harbour was making rig selection difficult.
Abbotsford was never going to get all the breeze from the harbour but got enough to make for some fresh moments, as Murray discovered when he and Chaddie went 'down the mine' on the last time down to the bottom mark.
Yabba Dabba got a horror start, adding to the drama of the race, especially when Garde was spotted only just behind Emmett and Cam in CST Composites. One of the Pre-Regatta favourites, the breeze had failed to suit CST in the first 3 days of competition. It seemed a bit more breeze was all they needed as they lead the race from gun to gun.
The race was on in earnest behind them though. Nick and Brad were clawing their way back into the race and Garde was holding second from challengers including P&O and Gizmo.
I am no mathematician, I leave that type of thing to 'the Accountant,' so I can't exactly say what would have happened if Garde had finished 2nd and Yabba had stayed 5th. Maybe Garde would have won, if you want to be critical, take your shoes off and work it out.
Tragically for Brett and Alex, a mistake on the last run down let the chasers, including Yabba Dabba through. Yabba actually ended up 2nd after a sensation run, securing the Computer Air Services 12ft Skiff National Championships. Garde recovered to take 4th in the race and 2nd overall. P&O took their forth-3rd place of the series, earning them 3rd Overall.
Handicap
Well, when Nick Barnard purchased another boat for parts and combined this with some of Jonno's sails, you sensed that something was brewing. When he poached Glenn from Curly for the regatta, to bring together two blokes that had sailed the last Nationals held at Abbotsford (in 1984!) tongues were wagging. Naughty Nick Barnard had put some work in and was rewarded with a popular Handicap win.
Veterans
I promised I wouldn't make too big a deal about the Veterans Trophy. Peter Polec was defending the title in Foxy Lady Too and he and his (super) crew were happy with their 8th placing overall, two places ahead of their Veteran rival, The Accountant Murray Press. What they hadn't counted on was that a "young" pretender had sauntered into Veterans town only two weeks before the Regatta. So, sincere congratulations Jonno and Rich in P&O on winning the veterans trophy.
Juniors
Flying Eleven National Champs Andrew and Alison Chapman took their CST Bambino skiff to the junior title. Their skiff, with only one rig, sailed smartly against much bigger rigs to get some results.
Talking Points
Matt Peat
Local hero and Renaissance man.
Matt Peat was everywhere. From Press Releases before the regatta, to chasing
the sponsors and ferries, to general organising. Matt has heavily involved
the NSW Association this year and the success of the regatta has much to do
with his efforts.
He was obviously not the only one. Abbotsford had an Army of volunteers who
made every effort to ensure we all enjoyed ourselves; I just thought I would
single Matt out because he asked me to!
Jamie's Boat.
If you looked at the pictures before reading the article you would have seen
pictures of Jamie Frances' new boat. Steve Jarvin Motors had a few of us a
bit scared and a few of us sceptical before the regatta. I was sceptically
scared because I am impartial. It would be fair to say that James wouldn't
be overly pleased with his results but it is far too early for the sceptics
to claim a victory. James has some way to go in learning to get the most from
his boat and shifty conditions on a tight course were never going to be the
best place to take the boat on it's first outing. It will be interesting to
see how the boat fairs in a consistent sea breeze on open water.
River Cats and the MSB.
Finally, it would be easy to gang up on the maritime workers that honour the
MSB and Sydney Ferries with their service. It's a tough job working on our
waterways, many of these 'Servants of Sydney' gave up their jobs as lawyers
or corporate bankers so they could ferry people too and fro all day, or in
the MSB's case, keep the waterways safe so that all of us can enjoy our time
on Sydney's greatest asset. In many cases, they do their job really well.
Ben Faulkner
Nick and Brad with the Norman Booth Trophy
Handicap Winners Bush Oyster
Murray and Adam on Gemmell Sails took out the Miners Award
Photos by Tennille Noach and Chris Urquhart
Previous National Championships here.