Parramatta River Championship
| Skiff | Club | Skipper | Crew | Place | Handicap Place |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gemmell Sails | LC | Murray Press | Ben Gemmel | 1 | 6 |
| Garde | SFS | Brett Hobson | Alex Johnson | 2 | 9 |
| Yabba Dabba | LC | Nick Press | Brad Yabsley | 3 | 12 |
| P & 0 Nedloyd | SFS | Jonathon Temple | Richard Jones | 4 | 15 |
| Gizmo | SFS | Michael Bochner | Cameron McDonald | 5 | 16 |
| Datacall | LC | Andrew Stevenson | Brad Greenrod | 6 | 2 |
| Geotherm | SFS | Scott Hobson | Brad Phillips | 7 | 4 |
| Dimension Polyant | LC | Ashley Banks | Michael Bartley | 8 | 7 |
| Kiroshi | LC | Bill Olsen | Jamie McCrudden | 9 | 5 |
| Foxy Lady Too | LC | Peter Polec | Ben Faulkner | 10 | 10 |
| Road Kill | SFS | Ed Cox | Duncan Rae | 11 | 11 |
| Serious but stable | LC | Michael Spies | Jason Marks | 12 | 8 |
| The boat & yacht store gladesville | ABB | Matt Peat | Paul Wilson | 13 | 3 |
| Acer | SFS | Matt Killoran | Richard Johns | 14 | 17 |
| Vantage Real Estate | LC | Jack Winning | Brett Phillips | 15 | 13 |
| 24/7 Pest Control | ABB | Peter Hill | Steve Hill | 16 | 1 |
| Holt Marine Fittings | ABB | Grant Nicholson | Duncan Griffiths | 17 | 14 |
| Rudog | LC | Julian Moran | Jeremy Johnson | 18 | 18 |
| Breaking Wind | ABB | Jacob Ronoswic | Scott Hill |
Twenty-two boats greeted the start at Abbottsford for the Parramatta River Championships, which doubled as Heat 2 of the NSW State Championships.
Rig choice was made interesting as those with binoculars saw the emergence of white caps off Searles monument. Three boats gambled and thought it would go Nor-East and fill in, half the fleet gambled that it would die and stay big rig and the rest just went with the numbers. Luckily for the majority, the wind didn't kick and the second rigs had a quiet day.
Usually when you mention that a skiffie is "in good form" it means that he is drunk but at the moment I think we can say that Murray and Ben are in good form on the racetrack. The Gemmell Sails is getting good starts and are as fast as anyone else, especially in range or slightly under-cooked. They got a good start again at Abbotsford and once they rounded the corner first were always going to be hard to beat.
It would be amiss of us to mention that Nick Bernard was also said to be in good form. Nick had to sprint the Abbotsford hill to grab his sailing gear when called in at the last second to replace the injured Jack Winning. Tragically a child, fooled by the colour of Nick's shirt, thought he'd found Grimace and gave chase.
The tight course at Abbotsford ensured that racing stayed close. The battle raged at the front as Gemmell Sails bought a little break on a pack of Garde, Yabba Dabba, Gizmo and O. A line of kites followed them down the river, Andrew and Brad in Datacall and Scott and Brad in Geotherm had solid races, the new combinations starting to gel as the season starts to hot up.
Garde skipper Brett Hobson tried hard to bridge the gap to Murray and Ben but Gemmell Sails appeared to ease away on the downwind legs. The chasers weren't helped by the fact that they kept going around marks together, allowing Murray to get nervous in breeze of his own. They stayed ahead to cross the line ahead of Brett and Alex in Garde and Nick and Brad in Yabba Dabba.
The locals were also happy with the performance of two young crews from Abbotsford who grabbed first and third on handicap. Pete Hill's 24/7 Pest Control grabbed first and Matthew Peat steered The Boat and Yacht Store into third. Matt's race will probably be better remembered for the capsize right in front of the spectators sitting on the Club's balcony.
Huge thanks must go to the club for again putting on one of the best afternoon teas in world sailing, those who donated trophies and The Boat and Yacht Store Gladesville. Your efforts are appreciated year after year.
Ben Faulkner