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Above: Tight Racing in the 2013-14 State Championships which were hosted by the Leven Yacht Club, Photo Phil Good.

Following a number of years rebuilding the fleet after the 2009 Hobart Worlds, the Tasmanian fleet is finally showing significant signs of recovery. 13 Boats are expected to line up at this weekend's State Championships which are to be held at the Kingston Beach Sailing Club in the states South.

Building on the 2015 Blockbuster regatta, the fleet is expecting to see the return of a number of sailors who have been on the fringe of the class for a number of years including Rob Moreton who is teaming up with his Son Ryan from PDYC, Tony Van Galen who is sailing on The Turtle, and participating in the 2015 Cripps Project and Ross Daley who is teaming up with class expert Josh Phillips.

Local Robbie Hunt has again teamed up with his Rockstar crew, Ben Price to sail with him at the championship and following their success at the Tamar Marine Blockbuster, they will be a crew to watch. Nick Richardson, 2 time B14 National champion is teaming up again with MPYC sailor Lauren Keil after his return to the class at the Blockbuster and will be very competitive at the top of the field. Nick has returned to the class and is keen to stick around for the next season, we are all hoping to keep him a little longer. The Rocketship will have their regular crew, Jono Le Bis onboard and will be hto to trot following a nice break since their top notch performance at the 2015 B14 World championships at McCrae, Victoria. Another crew to watch will be Gun combination Grant Atherton and Dave McAully who have reunited following a past Mirror pairing many years ago, with the smarts of Atherton and the agility of Mcaully, anything could be possible!

Forecast conditions on the long range are looking to be light with a chance of a sea breeze so conditions may favour lighter crews such as Chris Wells and Rani Dabner and or Steve Miller and Lauren Bird. Another light wind lover, Steve Mitchell will be one to watch if breezes stay light throughout the weekend.

The aim is to have a total of 8 races for the regatta over the two days and with a traditional post midday start, sailors will have plenty of time to get ready on Saturday morning and plenty of time to enjoy the evening on Saturday night at the club BBQ. Spectators should be able to get a good look at the racing off Kingston Beach over the two days of the championships.

Find the Notice of Race, Sailing Instructions and Entry Form HERE