Tag Archives: Abbotsford

Sydney Sailmakers take out 12ft Skiff Sprint series

Sydney Sailmakers take out 12ft Skiff Sprint series

The 12ft Skiff fleet turned out to compete for the 12ft Jack Dempsey Memorial Sprint Series hosted by Abbotsford 12ft Flying Squadron. Plenty of chat and excitement through-out the park with the much-anticipated debut of the newly refurbish Skiff Shu-Styx Fabrications (Warren Miller & James Beck). A few of the usual teething issues causing a DNF in the first race with the boys recovering for a hard fought 10th in the second race, great to see this new campaign coming together.

The rig choice was easy with a light North Easter filtered down the Parramatta river everyone plugged in No1 rigs. It was a father and son battle up the first work with Geotherm (Brett Hobson/Jeremy Jones) and LCC Asia Pacific (Jonathon Temple/Richard Jones) making the best of a short and sharp first work won the first start. Sydney Sailmakers (Nick Press/Andrew ‘Noddy’ Hay) fended of Maersk (Adam Forbes/ Cameron McDonald) to round in 3rd with the Peloton in hot pursuit. The tight course meant position changes aplenty through the middle of the pack but out front Geotherm extended her lead and was never troubled as everyone else fought for a clear lane. LCC Asia Pacific and Sydney Sailmakers crossed tacks at least 6 times on the last work with Sydney Sailmakers getting the better of the duel to grab 2nd. Fresh from sending it in Auckland Chapman High Performance Sailing (Jack Winning/ Brett Phillips) showed great downwind speed to overhaul Maersk and take 4th position.

Race 2 go underway with the breeze having built slightly to make it a very comfortably big sail. Skiff.org.au (Ben Faulkner/Macca Patton) gave the fleet as sailing lesson with a beautiful port hand start giving them a jump on the rest of the Skiffs. Sydney Sailmakers fought hard with Geotherm up the first work to pull in the leading skiff and lead around the top mark. Once the kites were set Sydney Sailmakers extended their lead as the fleet fought for the podium positions. Skiff.org.au showing good pace to be fighting with Maersk for 3rd position down the run before an unfortunate fishing expedition dropping the kite pushed them back down the order. Sydney Sailmakers sailing through for the win with Geotherm in 2nd, LLC Asia Pacific 3rd, Maersk in 4th and The Bird (Jamie McCrudden/ Glenn Farquahar) 5th.
Handicap honours went to Rip, Rack, Roar and Rumble (Ken Williams/ Bob Paton), The local Skiff Arrogant Frog sailed by the Hill Father and Son combination also had a good day out picking up two 9th places.
The next event on the ‘12s’ calendar is the Port Jackson Championship, to be hosted by Sydney Flying Squadron on Sunday, 25th February. With the Australian Championships in Brisbane Easter weekend, March 30thth

Top Five Scratch Results:
1.Sydney Sailmakers (Nick Press/Andrew Hay)
2.Geotherm (Brett Hobson/Jeremy Jones)
3.Lincoln Crowne (Jonathon Temple/ Richard Jones)
4. Maersk (Adam Forbes / Cameron McDonald)
5. Chapman High Performance Sailing (Jack Winning/Brett Phillips)

Photo’s by Vita Williams

 

 

2017 Parramatta River Championship

The Parramatta River Championship was held at Abbotsford Sailing Club on 5 November. Brett Hobson and Jeremy Jones in Geotherm won a tight race, with Nick Press and Noddy Hay in Sydney Sailmakers second, and Jakub Ronowicz and Craig Nicholson in Stay Connected Electrical third. Stay Connected won the handicap race, with Arrogant Frog second. 14 boats were not deterred by the forecast of not a lot wind and a bit of rain, with a couple of notable absences caused by an eventful race at Lane Cove the day before (it was interesting that Nick Bernard and Peter Polec both watched the race from different sides of the river!)
There are some tell-tale signs in a race at Abbotsford that you are having a good day or a bad day. My crew asking “how long have we been racing for?” at the end of the first run was a sign that the breeze we had hoped for was yet to materialise. There were promising signs when we thought 10 knots of Easterly might settle in, but it never really did and the moments of two-stringing were interrupted by technical discussions about whether it’s best for the skipper or crew to be on the wire when you are down to one wire and how far forward in the boat is too far forward.
The breeze tried to make things interesting but not good interesting by being awesome all the time – it made it interesting by being random. But this is Abbotsford after all and at least the water was flat, the hospitality was brilliant and the only other boat on the water to cause trouble was the amusing sight of one luxury cruiser having to tow another luxury cruiser slowly down the middle of the course. Even the River Cats seemed to be becoming more polite.

The breeze can be frustrating though. At the time, the fact that you didn’t get the gust that sent the boat in front skimming inches past a couple of moored yachts with the kite rolling, as you sit on the floor of your boat being dragged up, somewhat ironically, towards the old asylum in Gladesville, is maddening. Later though, upstairs in the sailing club, alternating between a can of VB, a bowl of nachos and a chocolate cake, it becomes a reason for some banter and some laughs.

Even each of the 4 or 5 boats that had reasonable leads throughout the race managed a laugh, especially Brett Hobson and Jeremy Jones on Geotherm who managed to establish a lead on the last work home after, at various stages, looking like they were almost out of touch with the leading boats.

A short start line made the start interesting, with Stay Connected making the best of it to establish a lead down the first work. A pack made up of the usual suspects, including Sydney Sailmakers, Form Civil, Geotherm and Terms & Conditions tried to chase them down. As expected, the runs were a lottery, with the odd gust sending some boats into the moorings off Abbotsford Point and more than a couple of capsizes among even the top boats. Form Civil, with Scott Hobson up front was one of the boats to get a bullet at the wrong time and end up in the tide.

Jakub and Craig in Stay Connected have both done a lot of sailing at Abbotsford and did an amazing job keeping the chasing pack at bay for much of the first 2 legs. Sydney Sailmakers and Terms & Conditions both had turns at the front as the race closed up on the way down to the bottom mark at Glades, through the notorious toilet bowl section of the course. As the wind is prone to do though, the blue and white kite of Geotherm made its move on the last run and took the lead in the short work up to the finish. At the end of a race that went almost 2 hours, Geotherm won by 10 seconds from Sydney Sailmakers, with Stay Connected Electrical another 30 seconds back.

Special thanks to the Abbotsford club, especially for the generous prizes donated by the Posthill family and the volunteers at the club, with famous 12s and Abbotsford names such as Dempsey and Dewane very much part of the team.

Photos

 

Sydney Sailmakers ‘Press and Hay’ take out 12ft Skiff Sprint series

Sydney Sailmakers ‘Press and Hay’ take out 12ft Spring series

 The 12ft Skiff fleet turned out to compete for the 12ft Sprint Series Championship hosted by Abbotsford 12ft Flying Squadron, the first real hit out for most Skiffs since the Interdominion. The +35-degree day resembling the Brisbane rigging park with even a few XXXX’s drunk to really get the QLD vibe happening.

Big rigs were the order of the day as a light North Easter filtered down the Parramatta river, Geotherm (Brett Hobson/Bill Lusty) and Lincoln Crowne (Jonathon Temple/Richard Jones) won the first start. The tight river course means plenty of close calls and tacks to the top mark. Geotherm held a narrow lead over Sydney Sailmakers (Nick Press and Andrew ‘Noddy’ Hay) with Lincoln Crowne in 3rd. Sydney Sailmakers gybed inside Geotherm at the top mark to grab the lead down the run and maintained the lead throughout the race.

Lincoln Crown and Geotherm locked into a battle for 2nd position for the rest of the race with Geotherm only re gaining the 2nd spot on the last tack to the finish. Bigfoot Foot Custom Trapeze Harnesses (Murray Press/Macca Patton) held off a fast finishing Chapman High Performance Sailing (Jack Winning/Brett Phillips) for 4th place.

Race 2 go underway with the breeze having built slightly to make it a very comfortably big sail. Bigfoot and Havoc (Ben Faulkner/Renn Holland) got the best of the start racing toward the river club. Sydney Sailmakers fought hard with Geotherm up the first work to pull in the leading skiffs and lead around the top mark. Once the kites were set Sydney Sailmakers extended the lead as the fleet fought for the podium positions.

Havoc showing good speed with the big sails until a broken backstay ended the day early for them. Bigfoot Foot Custom Trapeze Harnesses, Geotherm and Lincoln Crowne crossed tacks and gybes entire way around the course. This time Lincoln Crowne coming out on top in the battle with Geotherm and showing excellent speed with their new big mainsail. Slippery When Wet (John Williams/ Zac Tatum) coming home in a solid 6th position is also showing good improvement having their first season together.

Marty and Ian showed of their new purchase (Hempel) in the park but couldn’t connect the dots in time to make the race. They should be hitting the water in the next few weeks.

The next event on the ‘12s’ calendar is the Port Jackson Championship, to be hosted by Sydney Flying Squadron on Sunday, 19th March. With the Australian Championships hosted by Lane Cove 12ft Sailing Skiff Club to follow over the Easter weekend, April 14th

Top Five Scratch Results:

1.Sydney Sailmakers (Nick Press/Andrew Hay)

2.=Geotherm (Brett Hobson/Bill Lusty)

2.=Lincoln Crowne (Jonathon Temple/ Richard Jones)

4. Bigfoot Foot Custom Trapeze Harnesses (Murray Press/Macca Patton)

5. Chapman High Performance Sailing (Jack Winning/Brett Phillips)

Photo by Vita Williams

Parramatta River Championship Results

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Sydney Sailmakers takes 12ft Skiff Parramatta River Championship

The Sydney Sailmakers crew of Nick Press and Andrew “Noddy” Hay won the 12ft Skiff Parramatta River Championship in fresh 25knots+ Southerly conditions. Abbotsford Sailing Club hosted event late yesterday afternoon.

Terms and Conditions (Brad Phillips/ Tim Barraclough) won the start with an aggressive Port hand manoeuvre but it was Geotherm (Brett Hobson and Billy Lusty) who showed blistering speed up the first work to lead at the windward mark.

Sydney Sailmakers and Lincoln Crowne (Jono Temple/Richard Jones) both proved very slipper on the downward leg to get the better of Geotherm who rounded in 3rd. Geotherm moved back into 2nd up the next work but came to grief on the tricky run past the Marina allowing Sydney Sailmakers to build a good lead. Lincoln Crowne also took a break on the fin allowing Geotherm back in 2nd.

The positions remained unchanged to the finish with Bigfoot Customs trapeze Harness fighting back to 4th after an early swim.

Abbotsford 12ft Squadron hosted the event with the conditions making got some great rides for the crews and excellent viewing for the Spector’s.

The 12ft Skiffs step up a gear next month with the NSW 12ft Skiff Championships kicking of 26th November at the Sydney Flying Squadron at Kirribilli.

Top Five Scratch Results:

  1. Sydney Sailmakers (Nick Press/Andrew Hay)
  2. Geotherm (Brett Hobson/Billy Lusty)
  3. Lincoln Crowne (Jonathon Temple/Richard Jones)
  4. Bigfoot Foot Custom Trapeze Harnesses (Murray Press/Scott Lanham)
  5. Chapman High Performance Sailing (Jack Winning/Brett Phillips)

Download Results

Photo’s from Kim Tutt Brown

Photos

 

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Parramatta River Championship Results

Scratch Results

Handicap Results

Forecast light Big rig, day showed stifling hot and completely airless – looked like a bad day.

Then the wind readings at the airport showed a 20 knot aberration. The wind blew into Abbotsford, still under 10 knots on the harbour, leaving the fleet with a conundrum: all chose to go 2nd rig as a compromise.

The fleet launched into the building breeze, about to be given a masterclass in skiff-racing by the 2 front-runners.

Start in puffy South-easter in Bedlam Bay for a short work up under the Abbotsford scarp, with Sydney Sailmakers (Nick Press & Andrew Stevenson), Garde (Brett Hobson & Brad Phillips) and Gemmell Sails (Murray Press & Scott Lanham) just ahead of Lincoln Crowne and Company (Jonathon Temple & Richard Jones) and then Skol (Peter Polec & Jamie McCrudden). Tight-bunched for the run through the twist in the river, back past the club to the bottom mark at Putney Punt. Breeze clearly much fresher than anticipated, all the skiffs well over-powered with their 2nd rigs on.

Garde lead around the bottom mark, then Sydney Sailmakers, with LCC 50m further back, Gemmell Sails having capsized toward the bottom of the run.

Garde and Sydney Sailmakers tussling all the way up the puffy, shifty work, extending on the following boats.

Top mark the second time, for  a by-now very fresh 2nd sail run to the bottom mark, still Garde in the lead, Sydney Sailmakers ahead of Lincoln Crowne and Company, then Skol.

At the bottom mark, the lead two really cleared out on the fleet now, LCC capsized in the approach to the mark, allowing Skol through: Skol then capsized allowing LCC opportunity to catch, but Skol got going quicker.

Last run down, to the last bottom mark in Glades Bay, still tight between Garde ahead and Sydney Sailmakers with daylight to the fleet, to finish in this order.

Skol capsized in the approach to the bottom mark, followed into the tide by LCC: following their recovery, this was the order for 3rd and 4th places respectively.

The 2 front-runners, capsize free and racing every millimetre of the track, gave a great display of over-powered sailing in a tight waterway

Photos by Vita Williams

2013 Parramatta River Championship – Race Report

Jonathon Temple and Richard Jones sailing Lincoln Crowne convincingly won the Parramatta River championship at the weekend.

The breeze forecast very sickly, pleasant surprise of big-rig Easterly when the punters arrived to rig-up.

No question on the rig choice, except for Garde who chose to sail with a light-weight substitute crew in order to free-up regular crew to skipper for driver-less Vantage Real Estate.

All the skiffs away clean from the start off the Cabarita Marina, a line of skiffs heading into the Parramatta River Club, lead by The Bird (David Lusty & Glen Farquhar), closely followed by Garde (Brett Hobson & Philip Hibler ) Lincoln Crowne & Company (Jonathan Temple & Richard Jones) then Skol (Peter Polec & Jamie McCrudden)

At the first tack The Bird came at Lincoln Crowne, who with right of way tacked them back: this caused The Bird to tangle with Garde, stopping the pair & allowing LCC & Skol to get away.

This was the order up through the “esses” at Searles Monument, on the way to the top mark at the Gladesville Bridge.

Puffs & shifts of pressure all the way up this work kept things challenging for the lead skiffs, with 100 metres separating the first 4. LCC around the top mark first for the spinnaker set up-river, followed by Garde, Skol & the Bird. Just behind was www.skiff.org.au (Ben Faulkner & Renn Holland) who were going well.

The lead bunch closed together in the variable breeze in the esses off the club, with LCC out of the doldrums just ahead of Skol.

At the approach to the bottom mark LCC were not able to find the mark, dropping the spinnaker way early to look for it: this allowed Skol through to round the bottom mark first. Garde got a strong gust in the approach to the mark, carrying them deep and forcing a difficult spinnaker drop: this went awry when the spinnaker went around the back of the mainsail, requiring them to eventually capsize to clear it.

LCC passed Skol in the first part of the work, with The Bird also coming back at Skol, passing them on the second half of the work, then loosing 2nd again to Skol at the top mark for the second time.

LCC cleared away on the second run, leaving Skol & the Bird to tussle on the run. The Bird called right of way in a close incident, forcing Skol to attempt a crash gybe, in which they nosedived, catapulting the crew up the rig & punching him through the mainsail some 2.5mts above the boom. This gave The Bird an easier task to concentrate on closing the gap on LCC, which was partially disabled by a broken jib block, preventing LCC sheeting the jib on one tack.

However the margin LCC had was sufficient to hold on for the win, by a minute, from The Bird.

Garde had made gains on Vantage (Brett and Brad Phillips) and both skiffs now neck and neck with a righted Skoll, with half a lap to go, all fighting for 3rd place. Vantage had a capsize 50m from the final mark, and Garde pulled into 3rd at the mark rounding. Skoll and vantage opted to sail high on the reach to the finish, Skoll rolling over the top of Garde, and Vantage making big gains.

Skoll capitialised to take a clear 3rd, Garde just holding out the father/son pairing of Brad & Brett Phillips on Vantage to take 4th by a mere few seconds.

Handicap went to The Bird, with At Call second (John Williams & Will Lusty) then Vantage Real Estate 3rd.

A very interesting day!

Results

Engineered for Failure

Boat Name Engineered for Failure
Skipper Robin Biskupic
Crew Luke Hill
Club Abbotsford 12ft Sailing Club
Seasons with current team 2
Hull Shape Nash 4
Sponsor  
Best results 2021 Australian Rookie Champion

Lincoln Crowne – 2013 Australian Champions

Jonathon Temple and Richard Jones on Lincoln Crowne wrapped up the championship yesterday with another win and a 3rd place.

The win capped off another great performance from the pair, who have dominated the regatta.

The first start was delayed an hour due to lack of breeze. The fleet finally got away in a mid range big rig South Westerly. CST and Maesrk line both had good first works to be at the pointy end of the fleet at the windward mark. Unfortunately Maersk suffered some mast damage ruling them out.

CST continued to lead, with Gemmell Sails coming after them quickly. Lincoln were starting to work their way through the fleet after a bad start, and had moved into 3rd.

Gemmell hit the lead up the 3rd work, passing CST, and went on to record a comfortable win.

During the final lap, Garde made gains on both Lincoln and CST and eventually passed both to come home 2nd.

The breeze swung more to the south for the second race, and the course was moved accordingly. CST again dominated the start and first work, but it was Variety who lead at the top mark showing brilliant boat speed, with Garde rounding 2nd.

The lead pair jumped to a healthy lead from CST, with Lincoln in 4th place.

Variety extended their lead over Garde up the next work, while Lincoln moved into 3rd place, with Gemmell and Havoc now fighting for 4th.

Garde gained back on Variety down the next run, both skiffs were neck and neck rounding the bottom mark. A bad next work by Variety and Garde allowed Lincoln to now threaten for the lead, and the rest of the fleet to move closer. This made for a thrilling final downwind leg, with a group of skiffs including Havoc, CST, Gemmell, Variety, Lincoln and Garde all manoeuvring around Cabaritta at the same time. Garde faired best and Variety faired worst, but it was Lincoln again who would lead at the bottom mark with only half a leg to go.

They hung on to record a 7 second win from Garde, Variety grabbing 3rd place right on the finish line after being 6th at the bottom mark.

Results and Scoreboard

Entry List

Photos

Day 2 – 2013 Australian Championships

Lincoln Crowne continue to dominate the 2013 championships, winning both heats yesterdays (3 & 4).

They recorded reasonably comfortable victories in both, but did not have it all their own way. Garde pushed them right to the last work in heat 3, and both Garde and Gemmell continued to exchange leads with Lincoln in heat 4 before they final broke free down the last spinnaker run.

Lincoln now hold a commanding lead on 4 points, with Garde on 10 and Gemmell on 12.

Vantage Real Estate continued their great regatta, picking up two 4th places, to sit comfortably in 4th overall. Havoc remains consistent, finishing 5th in heat 3. They have showed good speed at time throughout the regatta, and will continue to improve and begin pushing for a podium place very soon.

Results

Heat 1

Heat 2

Heat 3

Heat 4

2013 Australian Championships – Day 1

Lincoln Crowne have won both todays heats, sailed in a shifty 2nd rig Southerly.

Garde picked up a 2nd and 3rd, while Gemmell Sails had a 4th and a 2nd.

Vantage Real Estate had a 3rd and a 4th to cap off a great day out for the crew.

 

In heat 1, Gemmell Sails and Lincoln Crowne fought for the lead up the first work, with Gemmell just getting the jump at the windward mark ahead of Garde, Lincoln and Havoc.

A good battle developed early between the first 3 skiffs, before Lincoln found their way into the lead by the bottom mark, and then extended that lead by some 4 minutes over the course of the next lap.

Garde and Gemmell continued to fight for 2nd place, when Gemmell got the raw end of the deal going through the narrows off Cabaritta, allowing Garde to move ahead, and Variety to catch up and threaten for 3rd.

Vantage Real Estate had a stellar final lap to move ahead of Variety, and closer to Gemmell Sails, and when Gemmell Sails had a quick capsize on the final beat to the finish, the door was open for Vantage to take 3rd place.

Heat 2 saw the breeze lighten off slightly. Havoc made a blinder of a start to lead the fleet up the first work, with Vantage, Lincoln and Gemmell all in close proximity.

Half a lap later, both Lincoln and Gemmell had fought their way to the head of the fleet, and were tussling for the lead.

The minor placings changed several times over the next lap, with Garde, Havoc and Vantage all having a go at 3rd place, and Variety snapping at their heals.

The lead also changed several times, before Lincoln got a small jump on Gemmell and went on to record another win.

Garde had worked themselves into a clear 3rd place, before Variety and Vantage both made a threat for the podium on the final downwind. Garde just managed to hold both out right on the line, Variety were not so lucky, loosing 3 spots in quick succession to end up 6th, Vantage grabbing 4th and Havoc 5th.

2012 Lincoln Crowne State Championships – Heat 5 & 6

Provisional Results

Photos

Garde (Brett Hobson & Brad Phillips) took out the State championships on Sunday, winning heat 5 and not needing to sail heat 6.

Heat 5 was delayed on shore for 40 minutes to let the 30-40knot southerly settle in.

Garde lead up the first work and mark rounding, closely followed by Lincoln Crowne (Jono Temple & Richard Jones) and Gemmell Sails (Murray Press and Scott Lanham).

Both the latter skiffs came to grief on the downwind leg, allowing Garde to get away, and Geotherm to come through to second place.

Arrogant Frog sailed a great race to finish 3rd, pressuring for 2nd place midway around the track.

Lincoln Crowne chased hard on the last leg and gained on Arrogant Frog, but remained in 4th place.

Gemmell Sails retired after breaking both tiller extensions and both crew members.

Only 5 boats made it to the start of heat 6, with the breeze kicking in again.  Lincoln Crowne led the charge up the first work, from Gemmell Sail with stand in Skipper and Crew (Nick Press and Dan Phillips). Most skiffs capsized once or twice on the work in the strong gusts.

Variety (Adam Forbes and Richie Johns) were running in third place before coming unstuck on a jibe leading out of the bay.

Geotherm and Hey Charger were both forced to down spinnakers to get around Cabaritta Marine and lost time on the leaders.

The course was shortened at the next mark, with instructions to proceed to the finish.

Gemmell Sails snuck thru Lincoln Crowne on the leg to the finish to steel the victory.

Geotherm picked up a third to cap off a great series (and won the handicap), Hey Charger 4th and Variety 5th.

 

Parramatta River Championship

Race Results

Lincoln Crowne sailed by Jonathon Temple and Richard Jones convincingly won the Parramatta Championship at the weekend.

The pair virtually led from start to finish and managed the win despite some late drama caused by gear failure. The win maintains what has been a great start to the season for the veteran crew.

A building North East breeze was forecast and had filter up the river to Abbotsford early, with all boats going for the 2nd rig option.

Garde (Brett Hobson and Damien Vlotman) managed a blinder of a start to lead the fleet early on in the first work. A few tacks later, Lincoln Crowne hit the lead, with Gemmell Sails (Murray Press and Scott Lanham) pulling into 2nd ahead of Garde.  Skoll (Peter Polec and Alan Jackson) and Skiff.org.au (Ben Faulkner & Renn Holland).

On the tricky river course, Lincoln Crowne had extended their lead by the top mark with Garde just ahead of Gemmell Sails.

Gemmell Sails and Garde traded places on the downwind run, while Lincoln Crowne were able to extend their lead.

The breeze shifted as it built and this allowed Variety (Adam Forbes & Andrew Stevenson) to briefly catch Garde and Gemmell Sails midway down the run. It look like they were going to take second place before the next crucial gust of wind eluded them.

A scrap was emerging behind the leaders with Vantage Real Estate, Skoll, Variety, skiff.org.au and  Arrogant Frog trading gybes down wind.

Garde extended the gap to Gemmell Sails at the bottom mark but some clever tactical decisions up the next work saw Gemmell Sails move to second.  Garde made emends on the downwind to jump away from Gemmell Sails again.

Mid race, Lincoln broke their side stay. The rig stayed up thanks to the top stays and lowers, and the crew having to hit the trap at just at the right time. This did allow Garde to close the gap to 1st place , but Lincoln had enough of a lead to stay at the head of the fleet at the finish.

Skiff.org.au had a great day out, maintaining 4th place for most of the race, but unfortunately losing 3 places on the last couple of legs as the breeze continued to build.  They picked up the Lenore Dempsey Memorial trophy for 1st on handicap.

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Arrogant Frog

Boat Name Arrogant Frog
Skipper Peter Hill
Crew Steve Hill
Club Abbotsford 12ft Flying Squadron
Seasons with current team 10+
Hull Shape Woof
Sponsor
Best results 1997 NSW Junior Champion
1998 Australian Handicap Champion
2011 Interdominon Underall Champion
2018 NSW Handicap Champion
2020 Interdominon Handicap Champion

Inter-club Championships – Parramatta River

Garde Wins Parramatta River Championship

Race Results

Garde won the Parramatta River Championship at the weekend, held by Abbotsford 12ft Flying Squadron.

The northeast breeze seemed to have settled in about 1hr before the start, only to become shifty and inconsistent soon after the gun.

A tight knit group of boats made there way up the first work, to be lead at the first mark by D-unit, with Skoll in second and Garde in 3rd.

Garde got the jump on Skoll during the first down wind leg, and just held second place at the bottom mark rounding.

D-unit and Garde fought it out for the lead over the next lap and half of the race, each taking turns at leading, to only be overhauled time and again.

The battle was also on for 3rd to 6th between Lincoln Crowne, Vantage Real Estate, Skoll and Pennyliss.

D-unit found themselves on the wrong side of luck and unfortunately got stuck in a large hole in the breeze near the final top mark rounding. This allowed Garde to sneak away for the victory.

Sadly for D-unit, a majority of the fleet would also pass them, moving them back to 6th place.

Vantage Real Estate picked up the handicap.