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2020 Elliott 5.9 National Champions - Rough + Ready
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Hi everyone
Wow, what a great Nationals. A full regatta report follows but first up a bit of an urgent call out for some help with the next Traveller Series at Omaha. See below. If you can help out, let us know.
In this addition:
- Omaha Traveller Series
- National Champs Report
- For Sale etc
If you have any thing that you would like included in the newsletter such as for sale or an article from local events please let us know and we will do our best to get it included.
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Omaha Traveller Series: 10 - 11 October
Help Required
In need of help for Omaha regatta!
We need volunteers for mark laying and possibly some boat options.
If you think you can help or can suggest some options, please let Stu or Bart know.
Stu Clarke - (Slam Dunk) stu.clarke@xtra.co.nz 021890067
Richard Bearda -Bart (Rough and Reddy) bart@nzrigging.com 021544784
Accommodation
No major accommodations providers at Omaha so we suggest Airbnb or similar
Social
Full info still to come but make sure you have put the Saturday night aside.
Current standings
Tight at the top with SMAK holding the advantage over R+R. Head to the website for the full points table. Looks like it will be another interesting regatta that will go down to the wire. Can't ask for ore than that.
https://elliott59.weebly.com/events--results1.html
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A big thanks to our sponsors who have helped make everything happen.
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2020 Elliott 5.9 National Championships.
Sandspit proved to be a superb place for a regatta with awesome views from the local accommodation and marina before sailing down the channel onto the racetrack in Kawau Bay.
After a disrupted race calendar this year, the close racing made it worthwhile for all of the competitors, with feedback that this regatta provided some of the best conditions and tight racing for quite some time right across the fleet.
Top work again from Chris Marsh (Race Officer), ably assisted by Pete and Tyler Marsh on the course boat and Richard Moyle and Zib Campbell in the Docklines & Deliveries RIB. Not only did the team manage the course, they posted some great videos throughout the regatta.
And a big thanks to Jeremy Smith for providing his launch as the committee boat (he wouldn't take payment and asked that the committee make a contribution to the local youth yachting- good on ya fella).
To the racing.
Day 1 Races 1- 4
The strong S-SE forecast for the day moderated to provide four longer races before becoming variable and the RO Chris Marsh calling it.
The results at the end of day one showed four title contenders with the charter crew on Retro - Stu Bettany (helm), Tony Mutter (main), Tom Powrie (bow) - stating their intent with a bullet in race one and podium slots for the rest of the day.
The most improved in 2020, SMAK took the gun in race two after a bit of a shaky start, thinking they were OCS, before the 5 times reigning champion Rough+Reddy settled things down with two wins in races 3 and 4 to lead at the end of the day. Slam Dunk (ex -Snapdragon) sailed consistently to stay in touch with the top three.
Back at the dock the scuttlebutt was our Class President on Slam Dunk managed to get a little excited and nudged a few boats around the course on day one and rumour has it they also took a micro break on the sandbank on the way in…...very keen indeed!
Friday evening saw a relaxed evening around the BBQ with suitable social distancing and everyone just easing into their onshore routine.
Day 2 Races 5 - 9
The breeze moderated to a 10-12 SE with plenty of shifts to make for an interesting day picking lanes up the course. SMAK stepped up with a 1,2,2,2 in the first four races and Slam Dunk showed some great form with two bullets during races 6 & 7.
Then the breeze dropped and several boats made the change to their light jibs for a final race. In 6-8 knots and a shifty breeze at the top mark, some tough layline calls compressed the boats for the hoist.
SMAK showed some excellent speed in the light with Kevin Peet (helm), Brent Mullan (main) and Beno Costello (bow) stepping out to a convincing win to bookend a great day and take the overall lead by 4 points from Rough+Reddy with only a couple of points through to Slam Dunk in 4th.
Saturday evening saw the fleet at the Sandspit Yacht Club for an evening meal. A big shout out to Daniel at the restaurant for his team's hospitality and amazing dinner. They catered for the teams over several tables and time slots to stay covid friendly and everyone had a great time with some serious discussion on strategy and tactics carrying on into the night.
Day 3 Races 10 - 12
There was more breeze than forecast on the Sunday and it settled into a solid 16 to 20 knots from SW for the final three races in the regatta. It was on for any of the top four to take the title.
In the first race of the day, Slam Dunk and SMAK had a bow-to-bow battle meeting several times on the course, before a quick downwind run had Slam Dunk pushing in front by 2 metres with a nice gust right at the finish to place 2nd and 3rd respectively.
Meanwhile, Rough+Reddy (Craig Satterthwaite, Richard Bearda - Bart and Matt Mitchell) stepped up their hunt for the title by taking the gun and backing this up with another gun in race 11.
The final race was all on with Rough+Reddy one point behind SMAK. From one minute to the gun, Rough + Reddy played their hand and owned the start and then followed an epic head to head with at least 15 covering tacks up the last beat in gusts of 20 knots before a fast run to the finish with SMAK just behind.
Equal on points Rough+Reddy took the title on countback with SMAK 2nd and Slam Dunk (Stu Clarke ,Stu Malloy, Cam Horne) in 3rd.
There were several other tight competitions taking place within the fleet. Hobo the Butcher (Rob Ward, Roughy - Mike Valiant, Bruce Youvich), owned by Rob for more than 30 years, turned out to be the dark horse on the race course with a couple of 3rds keeping the fleet honest and regularly finding themselves on the heels of other boats, especially with their quick downwind speed.
There was some significant onshore banter between Hobo and Bloodline (Gavin Earle, Gareth Howard, Mike Fenwick) for bragging rights going into the last day with these boats just one point apart. In the end Hobo managed to sneak past Bloodline to claim 5th place.
A big shout out to Dave Plowman and his Shock Treatment crew (Troy Morgan, Gareth Newland) for joining their fellow Napier team for their first nationals. They by far took out the best support crew award with a great team of mates and partners joining them and we hope to see more of them in the Traveller Series.
And great to see Dirty Circus (Greer Houston, John Kensington, Bob Fisher) getting the boat on the racetrack again. After a minor mishap for Greer on the first day, they regularly showed good downwind speed and managed to nudge the front runners along a few times, finishing up 7th.
The rebuilt Tekno (Jack Carter, Tom Maidment, Pierre Harrison) showed some real form in the lighter races and will clearly become a force to be reckoned with as they develop their overall performance through the wind ranges.
With planning at the AGM held pre-regatta, there has already been some progress on the calendar for next year but for now grab a boat and join this awesome fleet.
The last of the Traveller Series for the 2020 season is to be held in Omaha in early October with some more great racing as SMAK currently holds a narrow points advantage in the series to date.
Thanks to Mully for getting all of the notes together for this report
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Awesome shot - R+R leading SMAK and Slam Dunk on the final day.
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Elliott 5.9 Website.
https://elliott59.weebly.com/
This is now the go to point to find information regarding dates for upcoming events, sailing instructions, entries etc
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You can't complain about the conditions. Just magic
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Close racing again
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If you are looking for a boat or have any questions please don’t hesitate to get in touch:
Stu Clarke - (Slam Dunk) stu.clarke@xtra.co.nz 021890067
Richard Bearda -Bart (Rough and Reddy) bart@nzrigging.com 021544784
Simon Manning (Blurr & Voodoo) boatworksnz@gmail.com 0212728967
Please follow our Facebook page for regular updates and look forward to seeing you at Omaha
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