Brisbane Water Championship - Heat 10 State Titles
Race Report
This is not meant to offend Saratoga.
I mean, I love your steak sandwiches.
I love sailing on your open water in a cranking southerly.
I love looking through the window of a jib and noting that the only boats
we have to dodge are other 12s.
This being said, did anyone think about packing any other rig than big for
Heat 10 of the State Titles. It's March, it's that little bit inland and surrounded
by hills - it's big sail.
Whilst on the subject of thinking, did Garde crew Alex Johnson think of checking his calendar before he made a call to skipper Brett to say "I'm at the SFS - where is everyone?" Everyone was at Saratoga Alex, except for Yabs, who was late despite living five minutes down the road.
Ok, lets get down to the business - a race with more leaders than entrants. A race that saw the Garde boys go from last to first and then back to 6th and Yabba Dabba run basically last all day, only to pop up in 3rd across the line. Needless to say, it was a little all over the place.
Everyone in the fleet appeared to have a different idea of which way to go up the first work but it was young Scott Hobson and Brad Philips in Geotherm that hit the top mark first. They were closely followed by Gemmell Sails, who have made a habit of owning the lighter conditions this year.
Brett and Alex in Garde came around the bottom mark second from last and in a Death or Glory manoeuvre gambled on the left hand side of the course up the second work. No one was more shocked than Brett himself as they raised the borrowed kite in first place at the top mark for the second time. Their lead lasted about ten minutes.
Brad Greenrod and Andrew Stevenson gave the Datacall a new jib from
the Gemmell loft but it was their kite that dragged them from mid-fleet to
first in the space of a reaching leg. They hit the front with a hot dog to
go, which would have made for some interesting conversation between Murray
and Ben on Gemmell Sails in 2nd.
Ben "That new sail I built is making the boat in front of us go fast!"
The Accountant "Yes - thanks for that."
Unfortunately for Andrew and Greenrod in Datacall, they were Saratoga-ed* up the last full work. Murray and Ben found a line of breeze that took them to the top can and won them the final heat of the states. Jono and Rich in P&O Nedloyd and Nick and Yabs in Yabba Dabba both came from the clouds to steal second and third across the line.
All the action was a fitting end to what had been an exciting NSW State Series. Nick and Brad in Yabba Dabba didn't have to leave the beach for the final race to take the title and by the look of Nick's head that Sunday morning probably shouldn't have. A full report for the States will appear shortly, on your home of NSW 12ft Skiff racing.
* Saratoga-ed - The term describes a situation where an opponent, usually
very close in distance and often to leeward, finds pressure and a lift that
escaped you completely. You can be Saratoga-ed in a good or bad way, it just
depends on whether you were giving or receiving.
Other new-ish 12ft Skiff phrases include "chucking a Unit (inventing a reason
not to sail) and being Yabsley-ed (which has nothing to do with sailing and
more to do with a lifestyle.)
Ben Faulkner