46th Interdominion 12' Skiff Championships, Jan 2006
Auckland Sailing Club, New Zealand
Pre
Event Press Release
Notice of Race
Click here for Previous Interdominions
TV footage
from heat 5
Nuplex Crew Alex Vallings and Nathan Handley with the Silasec Trophy
Silasec Trophy returns to New Zealand soil
Auckland Sailing Club's Alex Vallings has won the 12ft Skiff Interdominion Championships, managing to squeeze home in front of three Australian boats. Nuplex, crewed by Nathan Handley, won 1 race and grabbed a couple of seconds in a series that was reduced to only 8 races. New Zealand also won the John Brooke Teams Trophy on their home waters.
It has been 16 years since an Australian skiff has won the title in New Zealand and the strong Australian team was unable to beat the trend. It wasn't for lack of trying though as they did manage to wrap up places 2, 3 and 4.
It was a case of history repeating itself for Seaforth's Michael Bochner (Gizmo) who was once again denied the chance to win the regatta on the last day. Racing was again cancelled, just as it was in on the same day only 4 years ago.
Nick Press & Brad Yabsley in Yabba Dabba sailed well but a couple of poor races saw them finish 3rd . Brett Hobson & Alex Johnson in Garde continued their strong showing this year to score 4th.
The regatta was one of the closest fought for many years with multiple heat winners. Up until heat 7, no skiff had won more than one heat.
Alex Vallings, the winner of the 2001 Interdomions, sailed smart in a series full of challenging breezes. The regatta was predominantly light with most skiffs using their big rigs for the morning race and changing down to middle rigs for the afternoon race as the breeze built.
NSW 12 Skiff President Brett Hobson was disappointed to miss out on the overall and teams trophy but was pleased with the way the team performed. "The conditions definitely tested us" said Hobson "the team sailed well, but we just weren't consistent enough across the board. Michael (Bochner) was especially unlucky not to take out the regatta "
The famous miners trophy, awarded to the skiff that has the most spectacular capsize of the regatta, went to Australian skiff Vantage Real Estate after they became tangled with a pilling. The President also managed to take home a piece of silverware, winning the overall Spinners Trophy.
Ben Faulkner
2006 Interdominion Australian Team
Yabba Dabba - Nick Press Brad Yabsley
Gemmell Sails - Murray Press Ben Gemmell
Garde - Brett Hobson Alex Johnson
P & 0 Nedloyd - Jonathon Temple Richard Jones
Gizmo - Michael Bochner Cameron McDonald
Acer - Matt Killoran Richard Johns
Geotherm - Scott Hobson Brad Phillips
Datacall - Andrew Stevenson Brad Greenrod
Vantage Real Estate - Jack Winning Brett Phillips
Kiroshi - Bill Olsen Jamie McCrudden
Road kill - Ed Cox Duncan Rae
Gobsmacked Dwarves - Paul O'Malley Jones Paul Gleeson
Reserves
Steve Jarvin Motors - James Francis Rob Bell
The Boat and Yacht Store Gladesville - Matt Peat Grant Nicholson
Flying Animals - James Fleming Richard Billet