The B14 NSW State Titles wrapped up on Sunday at Illawarra Yacht Club, the venue for the 2020 Nationals. The locals were very welcoming, despite the soggy weather. The rain made it very hard to take a transit at times, but the breeze was enjoyable, with 8 to 14 knots from the south / south – west across three races.
The Nude came into the event with a slight lead from the first leg at Woollahra in October, and consolidated with three wins to take out the title for the eighth time. But they didn’t have it all their way, with excellent performances from Glenn Cardwell and local crew legend Audrey in Glenn’s new boat, Bandito AUS793 (formally known as Bonus). Bandito was very quick, and had the advantage in the final race, only to come unstuck on the drop.
Returnee to the class, Dino Oliveri, was the big improver of the day, coming 2nd in the final race. Dino used to sail B14s in the 1980s, and is back with Apparent (AUS 779). Great to welcome him and crew Darren back to the fold.
And speaking of blasts from the past, Chris Bibby (who sold Richie his first B14 - AUS103 Swingshift - in 1992) jumped back into the fray, filling in for Sarah who was away, sailing Usain Boat with Nathan Reynolds. Nathan must have pushed him a bit too hard, as he only lasted two races! But that was enough to keep the boat in 3rd place.
Allen Graham sailed solidly in Toxic to end up in fourth place overall despite only competing in the Illawarra leg. Anthony House sailed with Col Graham in Yellowbone, while Dylan Cardwell teamed up with Jono to keep Blue Bandit in the game.
Another long-term B14 sailor, Martin Mok, who first sailed in Australia in a Hong Kong boat in 1994, has teamed up with Ken Lunty to buy Stan Bland’s second boat in the past fortnight, but didn’t have enough time to get on the water for this event. So the B14 pool keeps growing, which is great to see.
Illawarra was a top place to sail. Kim looked after us with great catering, there’s a nice grassy area to rig, and we were able to check out the area available for camping during the next Nats. It all augurs very well for the Nationals in January 2020!
Attached are the full results for the States.
 Results Overall | [ ] | 42 kB |
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Phantom takes the chocolate in a southern dominated fleet.
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Please see the attached promo for the next B14 Nationals at IYC.
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Beach Box Gin Austarlian Titles Wrap
Day 2 Saturday the 5th of January With day 1 lost due to the Gale force winds that were forecast, the race committee decided to run with 3 races for Saturday and Sunday to get the event back on schedule. Straight out of the blocks Craig Garmston and his new crew Aaron Hirst won the first 2 races. Craig and Aaron had been virtually unseen as a pair due to sailing further up the bay at Chelsea Yacht Club were not expected to perform at such a high level. Scott Cunningham and Hugo Briggs on the otherhand were the favorites who were reguarly turning up to McCrae and beating Bangers and Louis. In the light conditions where the wind was variable between 7-12 knots and with big holes and wind shifts it was a bit of a lottery. It would take Scotty Cunningham till the 3rd race to win a race in this snakes and ladders day. Bangers and Loouis sailed consistently to take 3 2nd places.The top 3 were;Garmston/Hirst 6 pointsBancroft/Chapman 6 pointsCunningham/Briggs 7 points
Day 3 Sunday the 6th of JanuaryBetter conditions prevailed today with the breeze more consistent in strength and direction. And there was something for everyone today the 1st race was 10-12knots , the second 12-15knots and the 3rd 15-18knots. Scaott and Hugo enjoyed the day to go 1-2-1 to be outright leader on 7 points after 6 races. Craig and Aaron again enjoyed the moderate conditions to take 1st in race 5. Bangers and Louis had a day they would rather forget finishing in no better than 3rd place. Adrian Beswick and Jono LeBis had a good day to move into 4th spot overall with a 3rd and a 2nd and were now equal on points with Richie and Lissa. The event was now back on schedule with 6 races run on days 2 and 3.
Bugger the Bone was held on the Sunday night with the skippers convincinly beating the crews in the challenge. This must of been because the crews had nothing left in the tank due to working their guts out on the race course.Competitors then enjoyed the sponsors products of Phaedrus Wine, Beach Box Gin and Jetty Road Brewery beer. And they were all looking forward to having a layday on the Monday with many staying back late enjoying the summer night.
Day 4 Tuesday the 8th of January This would be redemption day for Bangers and Louis sailing in their preferred conditions of 15-20knots they were able to take line honours in both races, but Scott Cunningham and Hugo maintained their consistency to take two 2nds had hold of a 2 point lead going into the final day.
Day 5 Wednesday the 9th of January It was all up to Scott and Hugo now, what would they bring to the table? Bangers and Louis were not going to lay down, Bangers 9 times National Champ knows how to win, just keep putting pressure on your opponent and see them wilt. And that he did all the way through race 9, both Bangers and Scotty fought a neck and neck race but Scotty and Hugo managed to win race 9 under extreme pressure from Bangers and Louis by half a boat length at full speed almost taking out the finish boat in the process. This win was enough to seal the event for Scott and Hugo after drops they had 21 points with ( 4),3,1,1,2,1,2,2,1,(4)
Overall Results found at:http://sailingresults.net/site/event/80218/overall_1.html?Tkn=184716
Overall1st Scott Cunningham/ Hugo Briggs2nd Guy/Bancroft/ Louis Chapman3rd Craig Garmston/ Aaron Hirst
Handicap Results 1st Allen Graham/Nathan Reynolds2nd Ron Kane/David/Cunningham3rd Stephen Miller/ Lauren Bird
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