2023-24 HARTLEY TS16 AUSTRALIAN CHAMPIONSHIPS

HOST CLUB – SARATOGA SAILING CLUB, NSW.

28^TH DECEMBER- 3^RD JANUARY.

Hello.

The 58^th Hartley TS16 Australian Championships started on the 28^th December with a measurement and weighing day.

Overall, there are 16 entrants, all being NSW boats and crews.

Among the entrants are several Australian Championships winning skippers or crew namely Nigel Short [Maybe], Paul Foster [Vinca], Eric Partland and Gary Wills [Uncle Bob] as well as Sophie McIntosh, [Maybe] who is a member of the Australian Sailing team in the 470 class.

9 boats are from the Central Coast of NSW, 3 from Drummoyne, one from Lake Macquarie, one from Coffs Harbour and one from Jervis Bay.

The courses to be sailed are Olympic style triangles, with 3 laps then a beat upwind to the finish.

Racing proper began on Friday the 29^th December with Race 1 of the regatta starting at 2pm.

The prevailing winds at this time of year are generally from the coast, therefore south and north easterlies are common.

So far 4 races have been held.

Race 1 was held in about 5-10kts of variable east / north east breeze.

The race winner was Paul and Natalie Pritchard on V- Sinister. Benni was 2^nd [Bill Mudge] with Uncle Bob [Eric Partland and Gary Wills] third.

A feature of the current wind pattern at Saratoga appears to be lines of gusts that come from varying wind directions which results in shifty wind patterns which keeps the sailors guessing about which direction they should take when sailing upwind.

Maybe broke their jib halyard before the start and returned to sure. Tranquil has been unable to compete due to crew illness.

On Saturday 30^th December Race 2 and 3 were held.

Race 2 started at 12 noon in a 5-15kt easterly breeze.

Winner was Sophie McIntosh and Nigel Short sailing Maybe. V Sinister was second and Vinca [Paul Foster and Russell Johnston] third.

Race 3 was due to begin at 3.00pm but 2 General Recalls meant a delayed start. The wind increasing slightly to 10-15 kts.

Maybe and her crew won again, with Vinca second and V- Sinister third.

The completion of 3 races has allowed the handicap results to be worked out. 

Race 4 was completed on Sunday 31st December. 

Due to light winds, the race was delayed until a 2pm start. 

There was a longer start line this time and no recalls. The first leg saw a the fleet split into 2-3 directions all tyring to get to the top mark for the first time in as quick as they could. By the completion of the first triangle, the fleet had split into 2 separate groups - a split that persistd throughout the race. In the front group, the lead and other places changed several times, However V-Sinister seemed to pick the wind shiffs more consisitently and took a comforatable win. Uncle Bob was second and Maybe third. 

Race 5 was held on Tuesday 2nd Jan. The race was held in approx 15-17kt NE wind over the expected 3 lap course. Vinca lead from the start and extended his lead on most legs. Vinca was first, Extremely Sinister[David and Benji Johnston] was second and V Sinister 3rd.

Race 6 saw a general recall and an increase in wind strength to approx 18- 20 kts. This race was a closer contest for places but first place went to Vinca again with V Sinsiter 2nd and Extremely Sinister third. 

The 7th and final race of the AUstralian Championship was held toady the 3rd January. The race start was delayed an hour to allow the breeze to stablise from the North East. The race started at 1pm in about 10-12 kts NE. The results to date meant that up to 4 boats could have filled the top 3 final Outright places.

It was a fairly even start with mosts boats tending to go to the north side of the course. Eventaully one of the top 3 contendors retired after the first lap with water problems and another retired on the last lap because of a damaged jib attachment. This helped Maybe to take the win. Matrix sailed their best race to cross the line in 2nd and then Extremely Sinister in third. 

The Championship presentation was held earlier tonight with the following awards and trophies going to 

- First Outright - V Sinister - Paul and Natalie Pritchard 

- Second Outright - Maybe - Sophie McIntosh and Nigel Short

- Third Outright - Vinca - Paul Foster and Russell Johnston

- First handicap - Raven - Andy Crane and Neil Bennett.

- Second handicap - JJ - Jeff and Josh Barker 

- Thrid handicap - Jabiru - Robin Mann and Lily Callee

- Qantas trophy - Best 1st time participant on Outright - JJ 

- Best family Boat - Freudian Slip - Glenn and Debbie Nolan

- Host State Trophy - V Sinister 

Wind strengths have not been recorded and are estimate.

I should add that there was no Inviataion race this year and so no results are mentioned for it. 

Complete final results have been added to the files available to view.

The race sheets have been posted on Facebook.

The races have been recorded by drone imagery, through "Hippodrone" . Short videos of the races can be viewed on the Saratoga SC webiste in the Gallery section -https://www.sarasail.org.au/the-club/gallery. It is wonderful footage and well worth a look.

Regards

Glenn Nolan