11:05 PM Mon 16 Feb 2009 GMT
 | | 'Closeup at the leward mark for the leaders of the series race 6 - 1824T NSW Flying Eleven State Championships 2008-2009'
David Price
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Saturday 14th and Sunday 15th February 2009 - Belmont 16'SC - Round 2 of the 1824T NSW Flying Eleven State Championships 2008-2009.
With 85 entries for the regatta, the fleet of Flying Elevens endured the wintry conditions of heavy rain and strong southerlies over the weekend of the 14/15 February to conclude the final round 2 of the 1824T NSW Flying Eleven State Championships 2008-2009 hosted by Belmont 16'SC on Lake Macquarie.
 | Big Smiles for Crunchie Girls Olivia Price & Maddie Clancy The New 2009 NSW F11 Champions - 1824T NSW Flying Eleven State Championships 2008-2009 - David Price Click Here to view large photo |
Flying Eleven history was now being written with 1368 Cotton On Scott Cotton & Max Vos ASC and 1363 Crunchie Olivia Price & Maddie Clancy M16'SSC in what was about to unfold over the final weekend of racing. Skipper Scott Cotton had ended last year's 2007-2008 NSW Championships scoring equal points with skipper Olivia Price, Scott and Max becoming the 2007-2008 NSW State Champions on countback from Olivia and her crew Kasha Wojcik.
By the end of this seasons round 1 of the NSW Championships sailed earlier in December 2008, it was equal points once again between these two, but the lead switching on countback to Olivia Price with her new crew Maddie Clancy.
At the conclusion of the first day of round 2, the leaders' position was bizarrely equal still between the same two skippers of 1368 Cotton On and 1363 Crunchie on nine points each, with Scott Cotton having the advantage this time on countback - story book stuff!
And only five points away were 1362 Guccii Alex McFadyen & Bradley Leicester M16'SSC last year's national champion.
Day 2 was yet to be played out with two races 6 and 7 planned back to back contesting who would become the 2008-2009 NSW Flying Eleven Champions in one of the most closely fought contest in Flying Eleven memory.
It would also make Flying Eleven history if an 'all girl crew' were actually to succeed in winning a NSW F11 State Championship event, something unclaimed to date.
Race 6 - The forecast of 40kts was nowhere to be found but fortunately by the starting signal, the breeze had built ahead of a substantial rain squall to15 kts. Anxious, nervous faces were a plenty as they lined up for battle with a good deal of seriousness descending upon the fleet.
An almost clean start with only one boat over and the fleet were off working both sides of the course once again, grabbing any shift that came their way, with 1336 Hydromattic Matt Stenta & Sam Holmes M16'SSC doing a bolter up the first work to lead around the top mark ahead of 1368 Cotton On, 1363 Crunchie on their stern with 1362 Guccii snapping a last minute tack from port side at the mark to round with 1338 Intergalactic Cookie Monster Natalie Greentree & Chloe White M16'SSC doing the cowboy.
Not much action during the first two reaches with the breeze again softening a little, but both series leaders had moved up on 1336 Hydromattic who was now back in third spot as they rounded the leeward mark, with 1362 Guccii, 1338 Intergalactic Cookie Monster and 1355 Eugene Tim Forbes-Smith & Wil Dargaville ASC making up the top five positions to commence the second beat, each heading off in different directions.
All 1368 Cotton On had to do was cover 1363 Crunchie in order to break the series score deadlock, which they did to precision leaving no opportunity for their plan to be compromised with the breeze remaining very soft for the entire work.
This left the opportunity for 1362 Guccii to gain on the front two boats battling it out together over in the middle of the course. 1368 Cotton On still led around the top mark for the second time, with 1362 Guccii now second and 1363 Crunchie not giving the chase away just yet a boat length behind.
As expected, 1362 Guccii had managed to sail her own race while 1368 Cotton On applied the blow torch to 1363 Crunchie once again up the third work, 1332 Guccii now leading 1368 Cotton On and 1363 Crunchie away from the top mark for the last time, only a boat length separating the three crews all the way to the bottom mark.
1368 Cotton On and 1363 Crunchie were left to play it out to the finish. 1363 Crunchie were now beginning to direct the traffic from behind after spotting an encroaching heavy rain squall on the horizon and speared hard left in order to meet the associated pressure front before her competitor.
It became a drag race to the far left before meeting the heavy rain squall and some good gains were savoured by the all girl crew by the time it became necessary to tack back to the finish line on port.
Line honours went to 1362 Guccii with 1338 Intergalactic Cookie Monster next arriving from the right. It appeared 1363 Crunchie had claimed back all the ground necessary to do a final tack over the line, with both crews applying all their skills to split the balance in their favour.
On the line, 1368 Cotton On had crossed 6 inches ahead of 1363 Crunchie so they now cherished a one point advantage leading into the final race 7.
Race 7 - All crews retired to the bottom of the course to eat their lunch on water and await the start boat to re-position the course and setup for the final race of the series. There was little to no wind now, however the forecast was for another set of squalls to reach the course some time in the early pm.
The crews had just finished lunch by the time a vicious squall arrived, activating a renewed enthusiasm amongst the crews now assemble for the start just after 1:30pm. With one boat ocs, the fleet sped off in the south-east 15kts with the rain now pouring its heart out, making it near impossible to see 20m ahead at times.
The spectator craft at the top mark had no idea who would be arriving first, and the anticipation was electric. Faint shapes were emerging out of the rain haze but no one could see any detail, the leaders sailing in from the right side of the course.
1363 Crunchie had chosen well and led the fleet of 'ghost ships' around 25secs ahead of new comers 1229 Not Quite Angels Murray Jones & Aaron Moretti B16'SC, 1347 Miss Elevation Lisa Leicester & Pia Doyle M16'SSC, 1359 Frantic Keats Thompson & Timothy Narborough CSC and 1334 Ace Penny Kendall & Lucy Murray ASC. What ever happened in the fog remains a mystery as 1362 Guccii rounded sixteenth a minute behind with 1338 Cotton On 15secs astern in 20th spot.
As with the weather during the entire weekend, nothing was going to be a certainty and the possibility of a complete drop out in breeze was seriously on the cards. Sure enough, the breeze dropped considerably to 8-10kts for the remainder of the race.
At each mark, 1363 Crunchie had increased her lead on the fleet and by 1:50:51pm crossed the line over a minute ahead of 1338 Intergalactic Cookie Monster in second place with 1334 Ace 33secs behind them in third place. 1362 Guccii and 1368 Cotton On placed seventh and fourteenth respectively.
Regatta Wrap - The competition during this regatta series was as tight as it could possibly be, level scores for the leaders throughout the regatta coming in to the last day, the pendulum swinging both ways with plenty of luck going to and from all crews, but of course there could only be one winner.
Neither crews from 1368 Cotton On who finished second overall or 1362 Guccii who claimed the bronze gave anything away and their level of commitment and focus was outstanding, not to mention their skill and tenacity.
The regatta had many stories of triumph for the individuals and clubs. It was Hornsby's first season in F11s and the crew of in race 5 sailed most of the race in the top ten, finishing eventually in fourteenth place. They also won the biggest trophy of the competition for. Three clubs shared the wins, four bullets to Manly 16'SSC, three to Avalon SC and one to Cronulla SC with three wins to the girl skippers and four to the boys.
Our Junior NSW State Champions this year were 1306 Fatty & Skinny Sam Ellis & Caitlyn McIntosh from Belmont 16'SC. 1338 Intergalactic Cookie Monster Natalie Greentree & Chloe White M16'SSC won the Handicap Trophy and the All Girl Crew Trophy went to 1363 Crunchie Olivia Price & Maddie Clancy M16'SSC. The Fastest Veteran Boat Trophy went to newcomers 1234 Gemini Lachlan Alexander-Dawson & Kurt Walker from Hornsby PCYC.
The last race was a bit of a milestone for the F11 class as it was the first time the class had a complete podium finish of 'all girl crews' for a state championship race as far as memory serves us.
Three more girl skippers made the top ten finishers of the race clearly demonstrating there are just no boundaries for either sex in F11 class competition. As a father of a boy crew quoted, 'where else can both sexes compete with each other on such a level playing field and across such a wide age range'? Sailing is such a physically demanding sport yet our boys and girls literally 'level peg' throughout the season.
The win to 1363 Crunchie in race 7 not only earned the girls the title of 2008-2009 NSW State Champions, it also created Flying Eleven history with Oliva Price and Maddie Clancy becoming the first ever 'all girl crew' to have won a major F11 Association regatta.
These girls won every Flying Eleven Association regatta during this season, excepting the F11 Nationals finishing second to team mates Josh McKnight and Ira Dubrey. They also represented the F11 class at the Yachting NSW Youth Championships and won the Class and Intermediate Double Handed Dinghy Divisions.
This event concludes the F11 Association Sailing regatta programme for the season. This season, the class has enjoyed a monumental influx of new crews, boats, and boasts an average of 75 boats at all major regattas. The F11 Winter Sail Training and Instructor Accreditation Programmes commence in March and run through to the start of the new season in September.
All information will be posted via our website www.flying11.yachting.org.au/
Results - 1824T NSW Flying Eleven State Championships 2008-2009
1. 1363 Crunchie Olivia Price & Maddie Clancy M16'SSC
2. 1368 Cotton On Scott Cotton & Max Vos ASC
3. 1362 Guccii Alex McFadyen & Bradley Leicester M16'SSC
4. 1369 Tom Tom Tom Koerner & Joshua Ponton ASC
5. 1366 Protagonist Declan Reilly & James Lawira-Fernandez M16'SSC
6. Xlr8 James Vandervoort & Mitchell Webb B16'SC
7. 1364 A Little Psycho Angela Bates & Simon Boardman CSC
8. 1361 Do Geese See God Robert & Kasha Wojcik M16'SSC
9. 1355 Eugene Tim Forbes-Smith & Wil Dargaville ASC
10. 1334 Ace Penny Kendall & Lucy Murray ASC
by David Price
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