|
|
Welcome
to
Flying Fifteen International - Australia Inc
A Flying Fifteen Is a 2 Person Racing Yacht
GBR Nationals at Parkstone Y C
|
With over 50 entries, a clutch of enthusiastic sponsors and all the top helms and crews signed up, this year’s Flying Fifteen national championship – a qualifier for next year’s worlds in Hyeres – was shaping up to be a good one long before the gun fired for the first start.
Add the superb sailing waters of Poole Bay, the organisational experience of Parkstone Yacht Club and the support of an active home fleet, and that only left the question of the wind to provide the perfect mix.
Thankfully the Weather Gods had been primed and, despite only providing only the odd glimmer of sun to brighten the first day’s racing, they dished up a brisk westerly that warmed up the hiking muscles and gave the fleet some lively planing on the reaching legs.
Principal Race Officer Bryan Drake set a sausage-triangle-sausage course for both races. Straight out of the blocks at the committee boat end for the first start were reigning world champions Graham Vials and Chris Turner who, like most of the fast money, chose the right-hand side of the beat to avoid the worst of the west-going tide. Those who went offshore lived to regret it.
Vials and Turner were never threatened, extending their lead to finish several hundred yards ahead of Greg Wells and Richard Rigg. Parkstone sailor and former Fireball world champion, Crispin Read-Wilson, crewed by Steve Brown, was a close third. As well as upsetting the established order at the sharp end of the fleet, Read-Wilson found his efforts doubly rewarded when, at the prize-giving for the day’s racing, he later became the proud owner of a solid wooden picnic table courtesy of the day’s sponsors, the Fencing Centre.
Race 2 saw an over-eager fleet forcing a general recall. By now the tide had eased, as had the wind by a few knots, and more of the top boats could be found at the pin end. The right still paid, however, and pin-end-starters Vials and Turner were in a double-figure position at the windward mark. In a breeze that dropped away mid-race before picking back up again, they pulled through into the lead by the end of the next beat and stayed in front to take their second bullet of the day. Those whose muscles were beginning to ache were relieved to find the race finished at the third windward mark, saving the final run and a correspondingly longer slog back into the harbour.
Improving on their fifth place from the first race were Richard Lovering and Matthew Alvarado, taking second just ahead of Alan Bax and Mark Darling. Chairman of the class association, Jeremy Davy, made it into fourth, with Ian Cadwallader fifth.
Prizes presented after racing in the Fifteens’ own marquee had applications for keelboat racing as well as al fresco dining, thanks to contributions from Harken (official hardware sponsors), Hyde, P&B and Gul, while memories of any tactical errors were drowned with the help of a barrel of beer provided by Ringwood.
With two races scheduled each day, the championship continues until Tuesday.
ffull Results to date |
|
Vale
It is with great sadness to advise that Dave Reynolds, long time Flying Fifteener from Geraldton, passed away yesterday (26 June 2014) following a heart attack. Many of you will know Dave, and his larger than life character was always a pleasure to encounter at F15 events.
Dave's contribution to the F15 community was immense, and he was honoured with life membership of FFIWA.
Our thoughts are with Dave's family at this very sad time.
The FFIA Constitution has been updated & is available here
David & Goliath on Botany Bay
The Flying Fifteens at Botany Bay have joined in with the mixed Saturday fleet at BBYC to get the last couple of races completed for their series.
And whilst they are scoring against themselves (scratch only) for their series, they are also scoring handicap results against the mixed fleet.
On Saturday AUS3022 – Miss Behavin sailed by Kelly Ryan scored a third on scratch and a first on handicap against a fleet comprising both keel boats and sports boats.
Photo shows Kelly tussling with a Eureka 36 sailed by Grant ‘Grunta’ Mackellar. (The Eureka was eventual scratch winner)
A lot of eyebrows were raised after this race – (plus quite a few comments about a $3000.00 boat whipping the fleet of 100K keelboats).
BBYC was also hosting the Dragon Class winter regatta this weekend and these skippers were somewhat amused!
FFIWA State Championship
Amended Results - Nick & Janet Jerwood declared winners.
When entering the results for Race 4 of the above event David Tucker and Matt Summers
had the time they crossed the finish line recorded in the results in error when in fact they were OCS in that race. The race sheets clearly identify that boat 3988 was OCS in Race 4.
As a consequence of becoming aware of this error the Race Committee have advised that the first three placings in the regatta change from those announced to now be
3986 “Ineffable” Nick And Janet Jerwood first; 3619 “Affrodisiac” Hamish Carnachan and Peter Mudford second; and 3988 “Nuff Said” David Tucker and Matt Summers third.
FFull Results
FFIWA State Championship
Quick unofficial report on Day 3
From a slightly hungover observers position on the presidential barge:
The newish start boat had a hydraulic leak, we partially rescued them with a 1 L bottle from our cellar, sorry, that should be spares locker.
The race was delayed waiting for the wind to fill in .
The presidential barge took the opportunity to fire up the barbecue and tantalise the competitors olfactory nerves.
When the wind settled at about 7 kn from the W the race got away after a general recall. Two boats were OCS, one of which returned to restart.
Lillo and Ed led around the first mark followed by Hamish and Muddi.
Lillo and Ed continued to open out a commanding lead which they took to the finish.
Jerwoods had had a crappy start, I understand Dave Tucker and Matt Summers may have "helped them" with this. The Jerwoods were working their way up through the fleet
until they came up to Dave and Matt again. they sat on Nick and Janet and held them down to 11th place which gave Dave and Matt the series.
Nick and Janet did protest that Dave and Matt had infringed them (I think coming out of a tack) but it was disallowed.
BTW, after the start the presidential barge relocated to the top of the course to ensure that any competitors who had missed the barbecue aroma at the start did not miss out.
FFIWA State Championship
Day 3 ‐ Sunday 20th April 2014
|
The breeze was light (so light it took 2 days for this report to reach the East) to start and the yachts made lovely reflections on the water as they drifted out to the race course. Drama! The start boat had broken a hydraulics hose and so had very little steering capacity.Nothing that duct tape and a litre of borrowed hydraulic fluid didn’t fix. RO Les parked the boat, fixed the leakand proceeded to run Race 3. With the influence of the cold front brushing the south coast, the winds for today were from 260 degrees starting at about 5 knots and strengthening to about 10‐12 by the end of the race. The sailors were keen to get the race done and again, keenness brought them undone ‐ a general recall.
Line up again and let’s have another go.
This was very fortunate for Hamish on AFFrodisiac as he had lost his pfd overboard. It was discreetly returnedand no‐one know otherwise. Others were very happy to have the general called as their positions along andover the line would have made this last race a non‐event. The second start was quite good with only Craig and Janet on Feet and Fingers tagged for being over the line. Dave and Matt on Nuff Said became dizzy evenbefore crossing the line, but it didn’t affect their run up the course, rounding the top mark with the top few.
Nick and Janet in Ineffable found themselves in the following pack due to the shifty nature of the breezes on that first leg. But again, their skills showed out and they finished well placed. We wait to hear the results of their protest.
Jen and Andrew on Yes, No, Maybe got up close and cosy with the top mark on the first rounding causing them to
stop and drift while still in contact. Someone called ‘starboard’ to which Jen yelled ‐ ‘Yeah, Yeah, just go round me’ ‐ something you don’t hear every day on the race course. She finally drifted free, did her turns and caught up and passed a few boats, much to her credit.
The first across the line today was Lillo and Ed on Escalator. Lillo just showed his previous win was no aberration. Escalator was so far out in front that they also won the race back to the cranes. Felicity was ecstatic and had to organise someone to take over her task of cooking the sausages for the after racing noshup to run over and give Graeme a congratulatory hug. OOOoooHhhh! How sweet!
Back to Mr Hassen on She Who Must Be Obeyed: he had a change of crew today. Doug was described as the ‘light weather racing model’ but was it because Gene liked swimming? With the regatta coming to an end, he
could start to relax and enjoy his sailing.
Regattas always have races within races: Swanny from Changing Lanes was heard to say they had managed to fight their way back to even beat the Chris and that ‘rascally Rupert’ on Storyteller. Others came off the water
commiserating or congratulating their rivals on their efforts. There are now so many stories to tell over a few drinks at the presentation dinner and, no doubt, in to the future.
|
Nick & Janet Jerwood - the 2014 FFIWA Champions - holding off David Swan &
Matt Elliott in the last race.
 2014 FFIWA Consistency Winners David Yu & Chris Nelson
|
FFIWA State Championship
Day 2 – Saturday 19 April 2014
|
The boats were launched in conditions more suitable to sailing than was the case yesterday. The breeze was a steady 12 knots from approx. 230 degrees. Go left young sailor, go left!
Esperance boat Catch Me If You Can, is having goose for dinner having broken its neck on the last run of the last race today. The boom was swinging free in quite a breeze. The topped off their day after starting with the crew had a fall in the boat crunching his brand new knee. But they breed them strong in Esperance and to Brad it was a mere trifle when considering the bigger picture.
Esperance skipper Swanny having just taken on the mantle of running the next states decided he had better go out and enjoy this, while he can. His super-crew Matt inhaled a bag of super crew food (red and green snakes) and that had the boat, Changing Lanes, changing lanes to scoot passed the opposition. They had a great day out especially the last race. On the last beat they picked off three A-graders to finish fourth.
The third race was a great spectacle with Lillo and Ed on Escalator (remember the pink and grey spinnaker?) ahead of pack with the Jerwoods somewhere in the pack. This must have been a very frightening place for Janet and Nick as they have not been there for many races. But it was the time to pull out all that experience and work the gaps to finish third. A great display of sailing ability.
El Toro took some stick - literally. Somehow the spinnaker pole launched itself through the leech of the jib. This proved to be quite slow so Adele and Dean decided that they had to mobilise their spares. It was another lesson on how to rig a jib in 18 knots on the water. Impressive! And this was after they had a great race 1 finishing third.
The Silver fleet has had some great competition with boats from Geraldton and SoPYC fighting it out for the coveted Silver Trophy. Eagle Eye with Karen and Russell aboard managed to make the running today, now being equal on points with Vengeance (Stewart and Narelle). Mark and Andy on Fire Fox were in the mix but the top mark roundings were not as smooth as planned.
There were a few notable gymnastic displays today, too. Chris on Tuffin Up, Gene on She Who Must Be Obeyed and Karl on Tsotsi all went swimming after tumbles that would gain Olympic points. To the credit of the other persons on board each boat, the swimmers were returned to carry on racing.
Muddy and Hamish on AFFrodisiac sailed their socks off, having a close fought spinnaker run in the last race with Lillo and Ed on Escalator and Brad and Jodie on Fast Lane. It was a great spectacle for the crew on the start boat. They went on to win the race in fine style. They were the fifth winner in six races. Close racing.
The drama for the day started in Race 1. The Jerwoods on Ineffable were keen to start the day - a little too keen and when they crossed the finish line ahead of all the others it was to a deafening silence. But at the end of the day, they are the only crew to have two wins. Their boat has been renamed by popular consent to Invetiable.
|
|
FFIWA State Championship
Day 1 - Friday 18 April 2014
|
The boats were launched in beautiful conditions for power boating - glassy waters and mid 20oC temperatures. The sailors were all very courteous at the cranes and while drifting out to the start area.
The AP was hoisted while the fleet drifted and chatted. A weak breeze from the southwest raised its head and racing started in about 5-6 knots. The first mark rounding saw Chris and Rupert on Storyteller
in the lead, but this wasn’t to last. The light breezes were more suited to Fast Lane and Ineffable.
There was keen competition right through the fleet with some mark roundings producing other than friendly remarks about rivals’ boat handling abilities and ancestors. With kites aflutter, the fleet
was spread out on the downward leg. For the spectators. it is hard to know who is in the lead as there is a plethora of blue spinnakers flying. But it was not a blue-spinnakered boat that won the first race. The honours went to Brad and Jodie on Fast LaneThe fleet was all across the finish line within a few minutes indicating that there is really not that much difference between the boats. According to Peter on No Bull, the only comment he could make was when he is in 11-18 position was “Where the hell is the clear air?” Another incident that didn’t help Peter and Kevin’s chances, is that Kevin now knows that it is not a good idea to lean without hobbles attached during a shy reach.
The wind started to fill in during race 1. Race 2 started well for most, but there was one boat that tried to sneak an early start, but it is not a good idea to do this right next to the Start Boat. The left paid - surprise, surprise! One tack to the top mark. The Jerwoods on Ineffable snuck ahead with Hamish and Muddy on AFFrodisiac trying really hard but could not overcome the good start by the Jerwoods and they also missed a shift on the last work. Dave and Matt on Nuff Said crept into second at this point. The Esperance guns, Swanny and Matt in Changing Lanes, changed too many lanes to keep up and finished just outside the top three. Geraldton sailor Mark on FireFox started a chain of events with a close encounter with the top mark causing a ripple effect through the remainder of the fleet, causing him to go from mid-fleet to last and was quite dizzy after this effort.
The third race included a wing mark in a course that was not quite square due to the shifty nature of the, now, 10-12 knot breeze. This allowed Dave and Matt on Nuff Said to show case some excellent sailing skills on the very shy reach. John and Andrew on FFast Lane 4 were trying their hardest to catch the leaders - we know it was John because he has the safety vest green spinnaker. The Jerwoods’ skills shone again with their efforts getting them passed FFast Lane 4 on the final sausage. The Old Fox, Graeme Lillingston ably assisted by Ed on Escalator fought their way to third. They are easy to identify as they have a pink and grey kite - probably the only one in existence. Chris and Brad on Catch Me If You Can sailed well to hold tenth position during the whole race. They would have been very pleased because they were in front of some notables.
Some sailors had problems with dropping spinnakers - may be the skipper didn’t yell soon enough to let the crew know that the kite was about to drop. But according to Trish on Glamour Buoys Girl, this is not the case. The recalcitrant retrieval live needs to be disciplined to NOT get around the bow. Some, as a consequence, went prawning or the crew has to go forward to retrieve the errant sail. The prawns were delicious when served at the Fish BBQ.
Aileen and Simon on FForeigner had to leave the race course after race 2 to find a suitable inn - hopefully with more than straw and a few stray animals to help comfort them. They will be out in full force tomorrow after driving from Albany today and then racing this afternoon. Question: were they over the line in race 2???The Geraldton contingent has increased over the last year or so and it is great to see 2 boats competing in this regatta. Wayne and Henri on 16 were a bit concerned about the size of the fleet as sailing amongst 37 boats as compared
to 6-7 boats is a little different. Their races today produced consistent results and included beating some of their arch rivals.Who is winning the Champagne Stakes? This is between Karl and Christine on Kerfuffle and Greg and Leanne on Enuff Rope. The racing was very close today and hopefully an indicator for the remaining races.
|
|
The 2015 FFIA Australian Championship will be held at Sandgate YC.
January 3 & 4 will be measurement/registration days, the Invitation Race will be on Monday 5th January. Heats 1 & 2 are scheduled for Tuesday 6th January with racing to finish on Saturday 10th January.
This will be a FFI Worlds qualifying event if FFI does not declare the Worlds at Hyères an open event.
The 2015 Flying Fifteen World Championship will be held in France.
The proposed host club is COYCH in Hyères, France. The schedule is Saturday, 30 May 2015 – first day of registration and measurement. Friday, 12 June 2015 – last day of sailing and presentation dinner.
Matt Owen and Andrew Reed win the 52nd Australian Championship at Lake Macquarie Yacht Club
2014 Australian Championships @ LMYC from Michael Clark on Vimeo.
Lake Macquarie used to be a hot spot for Flying Fifteens in the 1980’s being the home club of Glen Coulton the 1986 FF World Champion, so it was time to return to support the establishment of a new fleet of Flying Fifteens in NSW at Botany Bay Y C.
33 Flying Fifteens lined up for the start of the Invitation Race for the Uffa Fox Trophy which was sailed in light airs and won by David Yu and Chris Nelson in “Tuffan Up”.
The series for the Coweslip Trophy was sailed over 8 races , so dominant were Matt Owen and crew member Andrew Reed aboard AUS3684 "Defcon1" they did not need to start in the last race to win the title. The Canberra Yacht Club pair were right at home in the fresh 20-25 knot ENE breezes that prevailed throughout the regatta to record a perfect score of 6 from 6 scored races (they actually dropped a 2nd place). Their win was never in doubt!
"Idswapthisforabundy" Adam Hawkins and Ben Jones from Melbourne sailed a very solid regatta to finish second with a score of 11 points whist "Lapse In reality" Peter Milne and Phillip Dubbin, also from Melbourne won third place from Western Australian David Yu and Chris Nelson sailing "Tuffan Up" on a count back.
A very high percentage of the fleet were eligible for the "Masters" division while precious few contested the "Rising Star" trophy. These boats still have plenty to offer young sailors in terms of speed and boat handling challenges. ffull Results
FFI European Championship
Puerto Pollensia, Mallorca. this will be held between 14 - 19 September 2014. NOR Here
|
