Tag Archives: Lane Cove

Hey Charger takes out Upper Harbour Championship

 

Hey Charger takes out 12ft Skiff Upper Harbour Championship

The 12ft Skiffs lined up for the first Interclub of the season on Saturday with a healthy fleet of 20 facing the starters. The Hey Charger crew of Ben Austin and Oscar Wilsons won the 12ft Skiff Parramatta River Championship in tricky 10 – 15 knots South Easterly conditions. Lane Cove 12ft Sailing Skiff Club hosted event.

The majority of the fleet chose 3rd sails with a fresh forecast. A select few The Bird (Jamie McCrudden/ Glenn Farquar), Chapman High Performance Sailing (Jack Winning/ Brett Phillips) and Hey Charger (Ben Austin & Oscar Wilson) made a great call for the conditions and plugged in the 2nd rig.

The Arrogant Frog (Peter Hill/ Steven Hill) where quick to get away at the start, a little too quick for the starters earning a recall. The Sydney Sailmakers (Nicholas Press/ Andrew Hay) lead the fleet away to the first mark with new comers to the class Icarus (Andrew Chapman/ Will Chapman) in close company. The 2nd rigs soon stamped their authority on the race with Hey Charger, CHPS and The Bird all mastering the condition to be in the lead bunch coming out of the river.

The racing was fierce throughout the fleet with a couple of altercations as the fleet fought for a lane on the tight South Easterly course. Geotherm and CHPS fought all day with CHPS getting a nice run down the river to cement 4th place ahead of Geotherm. The lead was also hotly contested with Icarus, Sydney Sailmakers and Hey Charger all taking turns at the lead. The 3rd lap into Kerosene bay say Icarus drop off to leave the 2 skiffs to swap tacks all the way to the finish. With Hey Charger taking a well-deserved and hugely popular 1 second victory over Sydney Sailmakers.

Hey Charger took home the double picking up the Handicap Honours as well. With a few more skiffs yet to hit the water it is looking like a bumper season for the 12s with plenty a new faces and fast boats in the fleet. The Interclub series will continue at Abbotsford 12ft Skiff Club with the Parramatta River Championship on 5th November.

Check out a video from the start of the race on the LC12’SSC facebook page

Top Five Scratch Results:
1. Hey Charger (Ben Austin/ Oscar Wilson)
2. Sydney Sailmakers (Nicholas Press/Andrew Hay)
3. Icarus (Andrew Chapman/ Will Chapman)
4. Chapman High Performance Sailing (Jack Winning/ Brett Phillips)
5. Geotherm (Brett Hobson/ Jeremy Jones)

Full Results

Photos

 

Upper Harbour Championship Results

Nick Press and Andrew Hay convincingly won the Upper Harbour championship at the weekend.

The 12’s were faced with a very tough day, with the southerly gusting to 30 knots. The alternate course was used due to a shipping movement, which took the skiffs down to Tarban Creek, adding to the already tough conditions.

Press and Hay were never challenged and won start to finish.

Brett Hobson and Billy Lusty aboard Geotherm finished 2nd, and were forced to work their way through the fleet after a pre start capsize.

Fast finishing Skoll (Peter Polec and Mark Muirhead) were 3rd, who also worked their way through the fleet.

Murray Press and Scott Lanham rounded out the top 4, after being in the hunt for 2nd for much of the day.

Results

Terms and Conditions

Boat Name Terms and Conditions
Skipper Brad Phillips
Crew Oscar Wilson
Club Sydney Flying Squadron
Seasons with current team 1
Hull Shape Woof
Sponsor
Best results  Interdominon Rookie Champion 2017

2013 Gemmell Sailmakers Upper Harbour Championship

 

First inter-club race of the season, 15 knot Easterly at Lane Cove. 

All skiffs opted for the 2nd rig, to cover for the building North East breeze.

Garde was the only boat of those rigging in Woodford Bay who got onto the water on time to get to the club for the start: leaving the club-boats & Garde on the start alone to get away on the gun.

This gave Garde a great lead out of the river & on the first work to Manns Point, chased by Vantage Real Estate (with Guest Skipper John Witty), The Bird & Hey Charger.

Lincoln Crowne & Company had broken a shroud while rigging, they were fighting to come back from the time lost replacing this.

Patchy difficult Easterly saw breeze, lines & shifts coming & going on the water, making the long run to Drummoyne challenging, even for Garde with their handy lead. The breeze never really settled into the north east as expected.

Gemmell Sails carried good pressure down to Drummoyne to make good gains on Garde.

Garde extended again at the Mann Pt round mark. This was the makeup of the day: Garde holding the lead, Gemmell Sails coming back through the fleet into 2nd after their late start, Lincoln Crowne similarly working through to 3rd, to finish in this order. Hey Charger having a good day to take 4th behind LCC just in front of Variety & The Bird.

View Results

Zen Energy

Boat Name Zen Energy
Skipper John Mulquiney
Crew Robbie Polec
Club Lane Cove 12ft Sailing Skiff Club
Seasons with current team 1
Hull Shape  Woof
Sponsor  
Best results 2017 Handicap Australian Champion

Icarus

Boat Name Icarus
Skipper Andrew Chapman
Crew Will Chapman
Club  Lane Cove 12ft Sailing Skiff Club
Seasons with current team 1
Hull Shape O’Mahoney
Sponsor Chapman High Performance Sailing 
Best results 2019 Interdominon Rookie Champion

 

Heat 4 2012 Lincoln Crowne State Championships

Results after 4 heats

With a forecast building nor’easter, all bar a few skiffs elected for the 3rd rigs.

It would turn out the right call as the breeze got in and was gusty, reminiscent of a few heats of the interdominions 2 years ago at Lane Cove.

Right from the start two skiff in Gemmell Sails (Murray Press with stand in crew, and son, Nick) and Geotherm (Scott Hobson and Mitch Deane) got a small jump on the fleet.

Lincoln Crowne (Jono Temple and Richard Jones) and Variety (Adam Forbes and Richard Johns) not far behind them, the former skiff lagging slightly after an altercation with Garde (Brett Hobson and Brad Phillips) soon after the start.

The rest of the pack were all mixed together heading down the river, consisting of Vantage Real Estate (Brett Phillips and Jack Winning), Hey Charger (Nick Bernard and Robbie Polec) and Vintage (Cam Gundy and Cam McDonald).

Once out of the river, Gemmell and Geotherm extended their lead on the fleet.

Vantage Real Estate had an early capsize on a strong gust, Vintage and Garde gained on Variety after they were forced to drop their kite to round Clarkes point.

At the bottom mark, the top three remained unchanged, Gemmell, Geotherm and LCC, and Garde getting past Variety.

By the top mark at Manns Point, Gemmell still held the lead, but LCC had now overtaken Geotherm, Garde holding 4th.

Down to the bottom mark again, and Garde overtakes Geotherm. The breeze starting to get very wind at times and many skiffs retiring due to damage. Vantage with a broken rudder fitting and Hey Charge breaking a mast in 4 places and current 5th place Variety also retiring.

The next leg of the race was a hairy two sail across Cockatoo Island from Valentia Street Wharf to Cove Street. Garde had just got by LCC, both skiffs electing to use their spinnakers early on to gain some time on Gemmell. Both were forced to pull the spinnakers back down again to pass the island.

The top 4 positions remained the same for the next lap.

Arrogant Frog (Peter and Steve Hill) and Madonna (Dave Winning and Pete Bevis) where making there way through the fleet, and damage boats, after both having bad starts. Now holding positions 5th and 6th respectively.

Garde gained more time on Gemmell on the next downwind, bring more breeze with them that Gemmell missed.

Up the next work, Garde overtook Gemmell and held a lead at the final top mark.

The breeze continued to freshen and clock to the North.

This forced Garde to down spinnaker around Cockatoo island, Gemmell were able to hold, pass Garde and again lead the fleet.

LCC were a comfortable 3rd, 3min back, and Geotherm a few minutes further back in 4th.

Gemmell led Garde back into the river for the finish, only 10 seconds separating the two. A thrilling finish was on the cards until a rushed tack on board Gemmell caused a capsize, handing the victory to Garde.

Gizmo

Boat Name Gizmo
Skipper James Birdsall
Crew Ewan Duckworth
Club Lane Cover 12ft Sailing Skiff Club
Seasons with current team 3
Hull Shape Woof
Sponsor
Best results

Chapman High Performance Sailing

Boat Name Chapman High Performance Sailing
Skipper Jack Winning
Crew Brett Phillips
Club Lane Cove 12ft Sailing Skiff Club
Seasons with current team 10
Hull Shape Woof
Sponsor Chapman High Performance Sailing

www.chps.com.au
Best results 2006 Interdominon Underall champion

2009 Australian Handicap champion

2015 NSW State Handicap Champion

Rip, Rack, Roar & Rumble

Boat Name Rip, Rack, Roar & Rumble
Skipper Ken Williams
Crew Bob Paton
Club Lane Cove 12ft Sailing Skiff Club
Seasons with current team 5
Hull Shape McConaghy
Sponsor –
Best results 2016 – 17 NSW Sprint Series Handicap Champion

Rip, Rack, Roar & Rumble

Your Move Conveyancing

Boat Name Your Move Conveyancing
Skipper Dave Winning
Crew Joe Bourne
Club Lane Cove 12ft Sailing Skiff Club
Seasons with current team 3
Hull Shape Woof
Sponsor Your Move Conveyancing

www.yourmoveconveyancing.com.au
Best results 2013 Interdominon handicap Champion

The Bird

Boat Name The Bird
Skipper Jamie McCrudden
Crew Glen Farquar
Club Lane Cove 12ft Sailing Skiff Club
Seasons with current team  4
Hull Shape Woof
Sponsor –
1993 Australian Champion

1996 Interdominon Underall Champion

2 x NSW State Champion

2 x NSW Handicap Champion

Hey Charger

Boat Name Hey Charger
Skipper Nick Bernard
Crew
Club Lane Cove 12ft Sailing Skiff Club
Seasons with current team 3
Hull Shape Woof
Sponsor –
Best results 2016 NSW Handicap Champion

2005 Australian Handicap Champion

Red Energy

Boat Name Red Energy
Skipper Murray Press
Crew Mark Muirhead
Club Lane Cove 12ft Sailing Skiff Club
Seasons with current team 2
Hull Shape Woof
Sponsor
Best results 2009 Australian Champion2015 Interdominon Handicap Champion5 x Interdominon Veterans Champion

7 x NSW State Veteran Champion

5 x Australian Veterans Champion

2012 Vantage Real Estate Upper Harbour Championship

Results

First inter-club race of the 2012-13 season, light easterly breeze forecast to strengthen & turn to the North-East, saw the fleet pondering the big-rigs, but leaning to the conservative option of the second rig: a choice virtually the whole fleet followed.

The Upper Harbour Championship also marked the launch day for the newly sponsored Variety sponsored skiff, and the first coming together of the whole fleet of 12‘s, so a race to look forward to. As well, famous offshore navigator Adrienne Cahalan making her return to the class that initiated her sailing career, stepping in as guest skipper on Hood.

Light wind at the start, with a run-out tide, start-line tight to cross on starboard. No-one was brave enough to chance a port tack. This saw Gemmell Sails, Garde (with guest crew Nick Press, making a skipper/crew combination of multiple interdominion winners) and Lincoln Crowne & Co. off the line well & just ahead of the main fleet. A tight work out of the river, looking for puffs of wind, the new Variety skiff working into the lead bunch.
At the notorious Humbug, beginning the tricky spinnaker ride into the Parramatta River, it was Garde with a small gap to Gemmell Sails then Lincoln Crowne & Co. and Variety, who discovered problems with their new carbon rigging & subsequently having to withdraw.
This was the order on the work to Manns Point, & the start of the long & difficult run to Drummoyne, through the reach along Cockatoo Island and the spectator mayhem of the Red Bull circus on the island. On this run Garde made its first break on the fleet, getting through the traffic better than the following skiffs. Gemmell Sails also slightly gapped Lincoln Crowne on the run, with LCC closing the gap again at the bottom mark. The older skiff, Rip Rack Roar and Rumble, who was the only boat to choose big-rig, were making a fantastic showing at the upper end of the fleet at this stage of the race.

Working back up to Manns point, chasing the now extending Garde, Gemmell Sails second, Lincoln Crowne & Co. 3rd with a slight gap to Geotherm in 4th.

The breeze was freshening & getting gusty, making the second rig choice clearly the correct option. A tight spinnaker reach from Manns Point to the Valentia Street gybe mark in the increasing breeze saw the skiffs unable to reach the mark under spinnaker, having to drop and 2-sail to the mark: Gemmell Sails capsizing in this manouver, allowing Lincoln Crowne & Co. through to second, following Garde around the gybe mark, dodging the Red Bull traffic and re-setting the spinnaker for the remainder of the run to Spectacle Island.

Long work back to Manns Point, Garde well ahead, Lincoln Crowne just holding out Gemmell Sails and Geotherm, around Manns Point then a tight, very windy spinnaker ride to the last mark at Birchgrove, with a 2 -sail into the Lane Cove River to head for the finish.

At Valentia Street the spinnaker on Lincoln Crowne washed out of the kite bin & into the water, dragging the skiff to a halt, allowing Gemmell Sails to pull ahead by 40m. This was the finishing order, Garde a commanding win, Gemmell Sails & then Lincoln Crowne a further minute back, with a long gap to the 4th placed Arrogant Frog (Peter and Steve Hill).
Handicap results was Arrogant Frog 1st, Garde 2nd and Gemmels

A great day, thanks to Vantage Real Estate for sponsoring the event, Variety and Lincoln Crowne & Company for their ongoing support of the 12 Foot Skiff class and to Rotary for hosting the BBQ for the day

Vantage Real Estate Inter-club Championships

Gemmell Sails Takes Opening Inter-club

Race Results

Gemmell Sails, skippered by Murray Press and guest crewed by Cameron McDonald, won the Upper Harbour Championship at the weekend, held at Lane Cove 12ft Skiff Club.

Gemmell Sails took to the lead soon after the start and kept their nose in front all the way to the finish, despite close challenges from multiple skiffs, in a light and shifty south easterly breeze.

All skiffs went with the big rig option with not a lot of breeze forecast.

While Gemmell Sails jumped to the lead, there was a tussle for the minor places throughout the race, initially lead by Maersk Line and Garde, followed up by Linclon Crowne and Dimension Polyant. Garde had a capsize at the bottom mark to loose touch with the leaders.

Gemmell Sails continued to lead whilst Lincoln, Maersk and Dimension traded places right up to the entrance to the river for the finish.

With anything possible between there and the finish, Gemmell Sails held their nerve to take the win, while Garde caught the gust of the day to be back neck and neck with the others in 2nd place. Their luck continued and carried them through the narrows of the river to steel 2nd place.

Dimension picked up 3rd, with Maersk 4th.

Gemmell Sails also picked up the handicap for their stellar effort, with Maersk Line getting 2nd and Vantage Real Estate 3rd.