Sydney’s had a run of “interesting” weather this season, with the planned first leg of the B14 NSW States postponed from 25 October after Woollahra cancelled racing due to a howling southerly. Racing was cancelled the following Sunday with southerly gusts in excess of 30 knots. And the rerun of the States on 8/11 saw southerlies again, albeit not ridiculously strong, but still gusty and swinging wildly.
Six boats braved the conditions to complete 3 races. It wasn’t easy to sail well, and some less than graceful manoeuvres were displayed! Of note was the less-than-a-minute-to-go-to-the-start-of-the-first-race capsize by class veterans Sophie Hunt and Andy Payne in Purple Cow aka Hunt Leather. But like the pros they are, they managed to finish in second place behind Richie and Lissa in The Nude.
Glenn Cardwell and super-crew Audrey Schue in Bandit were with the Hunties going around the top mark but their mast hit the water, pushing them back through the fleet. The boom also hit Audrey’s head during righting, which might partly explain Bandit’s unanticipated performance – they were not their usual highly competitive selves, chalking up 3 fifths.
On the other hand, Yellowbone (Anthony House and Natalia Wu) and Usain Boat (Nathan Reynolds and Ellen Noye) both had sustained periods of brilliance. The most impressive was the third race when they led the field to the first top mark, going around together. The Nude and Hunt Leather managed to get around the pair, with Yellowbone finishing up third and Usain Boat fourth in that race, and indeed in the regatta.
Despite not much time in the boat this season, Stan Bland and daughter Anna showed good pace, particularly off the start and upwind. The full results are here.
On a demographical note, it was a very balanced regatta, with one female and one male on each boat. The age range was also impressive, from 16 to 66!
Good fun was had by all and hoping others can join us for the second leg of the States to be held at Illawarra Yacht Club on 14th March.
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The B14 Class Association regrets to announce that the 2021 World Championships to be hosted by Woollahra Sailing Club in Sydney, Australia from January 3 – 7, 2021 have been cancelled.
The World Council has been closely monitoring the worldwide developments in the COVID-19 pandemic and the huge impact this has had on international travel and logistics. They understand the huge commitment of time and money it takes to participate in a major Championship, as well as the enormous resources that host clubs dedicate to putting on such events. Sadly the current global situation simply doesn’t allow this to happen.
Australian and World Class President, Lissa McMillan, said it was not feasible to continue to plan the regatta within the current climate of uncertainty. “There’s no guarantee international competitors and their boats would be able to enter Australia by January next year. The B14 Class focus now shifts to the World Championships on Lake Garda in mid-2022, by which time we hope the global situation is vastly improved.”
The B14 Australian Nationals will now take place at Woollahra Sailing Club in Sydney in the January 3 – 7 2021 window vacated by the cancellation of the World event. A massive thanks to everyone who has been involved in organising the B14 Worlds. The European fleet were really looking forward to sailing in Sydney Harbour once again and whilst we fully understand and respect the tough decision that has had to be made, are disappointed we’ll have to wait a bit longer to return to our spiritual home down under!”
The European/UK National Championships at Rock Sailing and Waterski Club are scheduled for 3-6 September and we still hope these are able to go ahead as planned.
Further details of upcoming B14 events will be published on the Class website, b14.org as soon as the calendar is confirmed.
Rob Taylor, B14 European Class Chairman
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The final leg of the B14 NSW State Titles was held at Woollahra Sailing Club on 15th March, just before COVID-19 started shutting down pubs and clubs in Australia.
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