Brisbane Waters Championship

Saratoga Sailing Club 19th November 2006

Photos

The NSW 12 fleet made the journey up the F3 for the Brisbane Water Championship at Saratoga, held a little earlier this season than usual. They were greeted with a decent Big Rig Easterly on a day that made you glad you had chosen sailing instead of cricket as your summer past time.

 

Rowan had confidently predicted Big Rig and big rig it was as the boats made their way up the first work. Brett and AJ in Garde took the lead as they often have this season after getting a reasonable start. The absence of Jonothan Temple in Richard Johns in O had been made up for by the return of Murray (the Accountant) Press and Ben in Gemmell Sails and it was Gemmell Sails who set about chasing down the early leaders.

 

An interesting race developed behind them with Northbridge boys and bitter rivals (if they aren’t bitter rivals then they should be) with Bill Olsen in Kiroshi battling with Ed  Blackman in DiPolar software. It was nothing short of a scrag-fight for third, the pack including Datacall and Michael Bochner’s Gizmo, who was recovering from getting buried up the first work.

 

This pack would eventually be cut to two as Datacall ran over a rather large big kite and DiPolar had an interesting and unfortunately public stack on a run. DiPolar recovered to end in a credible seventh, showing that they may be coming to terms with the two-feet less of boat below them.

 

No matter how well you know the course, the site of someone doing something different is enough to send you into panic.  The fans of race reports on skiff.org.au (and we know there are at least 3 of you) would know about “The Accountant” and his meticulous preparation for races. He couldn’t possibly get a course wrong I hear the three of you say – Billy Olsen could, or maybe even Scott Hobson but not Murray “the Accountant” Press.

 

The majority of boats in the fleet wished that they had read the sailing instructions just one more time when Gemmell Sails decided that they would finish a lap early. There have been rumours that Gemmell Sails heard a gun as Garde passed the finish boat on their way to the top mark, a rumour that this site can only inflame when we mention a mysterious second gunman on a grassy knoll.

 

Either way, Murray decided to take the hint, finish and head back to the club. This allowed Michael and Tim in Gizmo to steal second place. Murray and Ben must be commended for realising their error and getting back on course to secure third. We don’t usually go as far as to mention forth but Bill’s Kiroshi fought hard to keep the fleet at bay and really earned it.

 

The handicap points ended up with the Hill boys from 24/7 Pest Control. Dipolar Software took second and Curly Colless in Hood a deserved third in his return to Saratoga.

 

The good news is that the race is here to stay. Saratoga Sailing Club has been granted a two-year extension to the lease of the site, giving us another two years to find a way to fix the mud problem. Congratulations SSC.

 

This year sees the site present its first annual “Brad Yabsley Rock Star Arrival” award. It will be awarded to the crew who arrives latest to a championship race.

 

I think The Chad’s efforts for the Brisbane Water is an early contender. Bill Olsen isn’t one to look overly concerned but let’s just say that the majority of other crews were wedging themselves into harnesses when Chaddie arrived to find his boat completely rigged.

 

For the betting men among us, there is still good money on Gemmell, Alex Johnson and Renn Holland. With Chaddie’s skipper not actually in his wetsuit when he arrived, the race for this award is still wide open.

Skiff-Ed

Place
Skiff
Club
Skipper 
Crew
H'Cap
1 Garde SFS Brett Hobson Alex Johnson 6
2 Gizmo SFS Michael Bochner Tim Barraclough 12
3 Gemmell Sails LC Murray Press Ben Gemmell 11
4 Kiroshi SFS Bill Olsen Adam Chadwick 4
5 Acer SFS Julian Omahoney Richard Johns 13
6 Datacall LC Andrew Stevenson Brad Greenrod 5
7 Dipolar Software SFS Ed Blackman Paul Carpenter 2
8 Geotherm SFS Scott Hobson Brad Phillips 8
9 Space Junk SFS David Lusty Dave Cleworth 7
10 Sirromet LC Michael Spies Damien Vlotman 9
11 Foxy Lady Too LC Peter Polec Jamie McCrudden 14
12 Hood LC Graham Colless Glen Farqhuar 3
13 24/7 Pest Control ABB Peter Hill Steve Hill 1
14 Breaking Wind ABB Jacob Ronoswic Chris Urquhart 10
15 www.skiff.org.au LC Ben Faulkner Ren Holland 16
16 Rudog LC Julian Moran Jeremy Johnson 15
DNF Holt Marine Fittings ABB Grant Nicholson Duncan Griffiths DNF
DNS CST Composites SFS Emmett Lazich Cameron McDonald DNS
DNS Fastway Couriers ABB Steve Hill N.Starling DNS
DNS O SFS Jonathon Temple Richard Jones DNS
DNS Penny Liss LC William Oxby Ian Goodman DNS
DNS Pink LC Nick Bernard Andrew O'Brien DNS
DNS Road Kill SFS Ed Cox Peter Bevis DNS
DNS Steve Jarvin Motors LC James Francis Rob Bell DNS
DNS The boat & yacht store gladesville ABB Matt Peat Paul Wilson DNS
DNS Vantage Real Estate LC Jack Winning Brett Phillips DNS
DNS Woof SFS Jim Walsh James Birdsall  DNS
DNS Yabba Dabba LC Nick Press Brad Yabsley DNS