(North Haven, South Australia)- The CN Management South Australian State
titles were held at the Cruising Yacht Club of South Australia over the
weekend of the 9th and 10th of March off North Haven, just north of
Adelaide sailing in the challenging waters of Gulf St Vincent. A
predominantly light wind event saw the local fleet joined by a few guest
skippers chartered boats and one visitor from Victoria. Andrew Townsend
pulled a crew together and entered JJF, while Jamie Goode returned to
the fleet in NO EYE DEER after downgrading to a Farr 30 at the start of
the year and Bill Coutts (the previous owner of JJF) was the guest helm
in STOCKCAR. Special thanks go to Ron Thomson and the crew of KICKING
BOTTOM who made the trip from Sandringham for the weekend.
With
concerns about whether there would be enough wind for any racing, the
race officer got proceedings underway in a very light and shifty breeze
and had to rotate the course through more than 90 degrees before the two
laps were completed. A slightly stronger and much steadier breeze
allowed for a fairer 2nd heat however the 3rd race of the day was
abandoned as the wind disappeared completely with most of the fleet
getting swept north on the tide. With 2 wins EL FIDELDO were looking
like the boat to beat with KICKING BOTTOM pushing them hard with 2
second places.Sunday saw one race completed in a light northerly before the wind started swinging to the west bringing the possibility of a sea breeze. Although the direction steadied, the breeze failed to build and the last two races were run in similarly light conditions. EL FIDELDO managed to maintain their unbeaten record with KICKING BOTTOM close behind and Dave Nicholson on SUCH IS LIFE finishing consistently at the front end of the fleet to secure third place overall.
Under PHS, it was Bill Coutts that took the honours by only half a point from Andrew Townsend with the other Townsend's in GOOD COMPANY taking third.
It was good to see almost all the boats at the CYCSA on the water for the weekend and great to have some competition from further a field. The next event in SA is the Great Southern Regatta, again held by the CYCSA, on the 6 and 7th of April. To secure our One Design start, it would be great to see as many boats on the water as possible. Details are available on the CYCSA website. For more J/24 Australian sailing information
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