Hartley TS16 Association of Australia
News
59th Hartley TS16 Australian Championships 2024-25
Published Sat 28 Dec 2024
Day 1 -The 59th Hartley TS16 Australian Championship regatta started today, the 28th December 2024, at the Gippsland Lakes SC.
20 boats have entered from 3 states, with a very competitive field comprising several former Australian Champions.
The results for the Invitation race are shown below.
The course itself comprised of a triangle, windward return and then a upwind leg to the finish line.
Todays race was held in a 10-15 kt Easterly breeze, which seemed to build throughout the race.
The series is scheduled to have 9 races, starting on the 29th December, with 2 races scheduled per day.
Many thanks to the GLYC for hosting the event. It seems to be a great venue for a regatta.
Day 2 saw Race 1 and 2 of the Championship proper sailed.
Race 1 was held in a 17kt southerly with gusts over 20 kts. Despite the testing conditions there was close racing throughout the fleet, however the crew of Tru Blue [M.Horvath and A.Berger] took the win. There was a close battle for the minor placing with 7 other boats finishing in the next 2 minutes.
Race 2 was due to be held immediately after Race 1 but a 90 shift in the wind direction as the last boat finished required the course to be reset, thus delaying the start. The change of direction also brought with it a reduction of wind strength down to about 10-13 kt.
The crew of Very Sinister [M.Simms and P.Papparella] reached the finish line first with the next 4 boats finishing within the next minute.
Day 3 - Race 3 and 4 were held today in a south easterly wind which was consistently in the 15-20kt range. This caused a fairly choppy sea state that made the upwind legs difficult but the off wind legs very exciting.
The top 3 places were the same for both races with Michael Horvath on Tru Blue winning with Totally Sinister [Andrew Doyle and G.Hughes] second and Phantom [Robbie Lovig and L.Gibson] third.
Day 4- Race 5 and 6 were completed today.
The wind was 10-15 kt in strength and a SE direction, allowing a easier days sailing for competitors. The upwind legs provided the main challenge for the crews with the varying regularly during the races allowing for a lot of position changes between the bottom and top marks.
It didn't seem to affect the crew of Tru Blu who lead throughout both races by a decent margin to take 2 wins for the day. This extends their lead in the overall series. Totally SInister obtained a 2nd and a 8th [dropped] to stay in 2nd overall. Overall 3rd place is becoming a tight battle between Phantom, V SInister and Sinister [Peter and Gillian Wilson].
Day 5- Race 7 and 8 were held today in a 10-15 Kt SouthEasterly breeze. The wind was reasonably consistent, but there were regular small changes in strength and direction. This again made the upwind legs very important, often requiring several tacks to play the shifts. The lake seemed a bit calmer today with less wind chop.
Race 7 saw 3 boats swapping the lead with Michael Horvath on Tru Blu sailing a good final upwind leg to take the win ahead of V Sinister and Sinister.
Race 8 saw Sinister take their first win of the series after leading for the second half of the race. Totally Sinister was second and Tru Blu third.
Day 6 - The 9th and final race of the Australian Championships was held today in 10-15 breeze coming out of the South east. It seemed to be a repeat of yesterdays conditions and presented fair arcing for the reduced fleet. Only 15 of the original 20 boats to to the water following injuries to crew and damage to boats during the previous few days.
While first place overall had been decided, the next 2 places were to be confirmed.
Peter Wilson and substitute crew, Glenn Nolan sailing Sinister, lead the race from start to finish to win by a minute.
Andrew Doyle on Totally Sinister was second ahead of Michael Simms on V Sinister.
All boats were built by Neil Bilsborough [ hence the common names] and his reputation as a boat builder was further cemented with this series.
The final results were
Outright
1st - Tru Blu [M.Horvath and A.Berger]
2nd - Totally Sinister [A.Doyle and G.Hughes]
3rd - Sinister [P.Wilson and G.WIlson]
Handicap results were announced at tonight's presentation dinner. Placings were
1st - Fire Truck [M.Griffiths and B.Johnston
2nd - Rapscallion [C.Main and S.Chaplin]
3rd - Raven [A.Crane and A.Penfold]
Host State cup -Tru Blu
Best finish for first time in a Australian Championships - Phantom- Robbie Lovig and L.Gibson
Best Family Boat - Kurdi 11- Geoff Potts and Christine Haydon
The Australian and Victorian association would like to thank the members of Gippsland Lakes YC for doing a wonderful job hosting the regatta and for being so welcoming to all the visiting competitors. It is a great venue for this type of regatta.
Next years Championships are scheduled for Largs Bay SC in South Australia. The dates are to be confirmed.
The results are attached below, but a clearer image may be found on the Gippsland Lakes YC website of 'Sailglyc.com" under the Major Events heading and following the Hartley TS16 2024-25 thread. This will show the outright results. Handicap results are available by using the Result tab and then "Personal Handicap'
With the Handicap results, when shown, please remember that a boat cannot have a Outright and a Handicap award, so the top 3 outright boats will be excluded from the Handicap results.
Regards
Glenn Nolan
Freudain Slip 1543