From one extreme to the other
by John Curnow, Sail-World.com AUS Editor 11 Jan 21:15 UTC
Busy at the mark © Beau Outteridge
We'd been in supermaxi, mini maxi, double hander and serious weather mode for what seemed like some time. Then, as is the case at this time of year, there are a plethora of Australian and Australasian Championships that get run, especially for OTB classes.
One of the latter is the 16-foot skiffs, who had congregated at the Belmont 16s on the delightful Lake Macquarie. Here too, the extremes were evident. Amongst the fleet were three sailors with ultimate bling, bling, bling, and the initial OAM after their name as a result of their accomplishments.
Never fear, elsewhere there were World Champions in many other classes, National Champions in this class and several others all in the same breath, winners of some of the most prestigious offshore events, ever, Match Racing specialists, and well, you get the picture. Talent far and wide. Some might be best known in the boat park, but their exploits speak volumes. Others might have been atop the dais with flashes blinding them, but it is sailing that gets the trowel of perspective out and levels things off.
Also on display, was who was down range in terms of age, and who was well, more up range, shall we say... In the end, one of the younger Skippers (and previous winner), Sarah Lee, with Keagan York and Kurtis Warner on Bosker Build got up for the Silverware. Congratulations. Woohoooooooo. No doubt their home club, St George, will be ecstatic.
Tom Burton (who is one of the three OAMs) reflected on a hard-fought event, "A bit disappointing to end a regatta with a breakage (Editor - and therefore a DNF). We have put in a lot of effort on and off water this season building up to the Nationals, and to be honest to have a chance to win going into the last day, well you can't ask more than that."
"We pushed Bosker Build the whole way, and felt we had the edge at times, then got caught out at other times. This is our first season together (TB, Scott Beeby and Joel Skelton), so we were still ironing out some things through the season. We really found a nice grove this week to show what we could do."
"Scott and Joel have been great. We have been training and preparing like it's an Olympic campaign. We will keep pushing the rest of this season for the club racing (Belmont), and also the next big races coming up being Sprints and Botany Bay," said 'TB' by way of showing their intent.
Also need to mention third on the podium, which was Manly's Buckingham Marine Services, comprising of Daniel Turner, Gus Williams, and Matt Stenta.
Now the second of the OAMs in the fleet is Malcolm Page, who was sailing with the third, Nathan Wilmot, and also Ricky Bridge. They brought Imagine Signage home in eighth place, which thankfully means they managed to ensure they kept their 24th in Race Seven as their drop. That's great news, because it meant I did not put the hex on them when I spoke with Mal just before Race Eight.
Of course, Page's day job is being the CEO of Australian Sailing, so on the one hand it might not be one extreme to the other as such, but it is a lot like going from the kitchen to being the maître d'.
Of the 74-boat fleet that had amassed for the title, Page stated, "The 16s are just going from strength to strength at the moment. It seems like it's the dinghy class that everyone wants to sort of get involved in, they might have their professional lives elsewhere, such as Chris Nicholson and Matt Stenta who are pro sailors and sail on big boats, but they were coming back to this class to have some fun, and have some competition with their mates."
"Elsewhere, and Joel Beashel (2025 Champion) is now 17 years of age and right in amongst it. Sarah Lee won it the year before and was the first female to do so. Other names like Jack Hildebrand, Harry Price, and then Trent Barnabas, Ricky Bridge, Peter Mackie, and Rob Napper have like six or eight 16-foot titles each.
"So to have them all going around is phenomenal, and racing out on Lake Macquarie, which is just a superb venue is wonderful. A range of conditions too, with Southerlies and Nor'easters has made it so much about being an all-round crew, so to have it go to the wire like this is terrific. On the two-race day, like Thursday, they certainly made sure we got our money's worth and made sure we had lots of laps. The soft massage ball and the roller got a workout after that!"
"Bosker Build did so well to have a seventh as their drop. They, and Shade to Order were certainly the standout boats. Then on the other side of the equation, you have Andrew Chapman with a U flag, but they clawed a fair bit back on the final day. A lot of people have been putting a lot of effort in through the off-season, with a lot of crew development and speed development. In short, the whole standard has risen. There are simply loads of stories all around the boat park, but effort is being rewarded, overall."
"Like all of us, the leaders might get a bad start or maybe get the first shift wrong, but they're able to fight through the fleet and do something a little bit more special than some of the other boats this week."
"I think there are these mini-battles going on everywhere. To have 74 boats in Australia, especially a three-person boat, means there's a lot of sailors on the foreshore before you launch. Also, there is the 13-foot fleet of 33 boats on the same track, but different marks. That's terrific too, because you have another generation out there that are probably only a few years away getting into the bigger class. Best of all, there would have to be close to 50% females on board the 13-footers."
"When you think that Australia's got a home Olympic Games only six and a half years away, in my day job I get to see all of these talents at work, and see if they can get into the Olympic programme."
"By way of example, Joel Beashel is such a talent, and what a pedigree he comes from. The guidance that his family and experience they've had can really, really help him."
"At the other end of the timeline, you have Andrew Stabback, who was a 16-foot Champion back in the day on board Asea I think it was. I remember him from when I was a kid. He got very close to making the Tokyo Games (64), BTW."
"At any rate, it's good fun banging heads with all these people, and the camaraderie when you get back ashore is great, too."
There might have been 18 female drivers listed in the 16s, but special mention has to be made of the Queens of Buckingham (one of three sponsored by Buckingham). Well done to Fiona Harris, Emily Fewster, and Tiera Jansen for slugging it out in a boat that 'needs a fair bit of grunt', as Page puts it.
Interestingly, the 16s might have been a bit of a New South Wales thing, with Manly, St George and Belmont leading lights, but Middle Harbour has a fleet of around 15 boats, and also Port Hunter, and Hornsby Ku-Ring-Gai, but Queensland is growing. Importantly, the Brisbane Sailing Squadron will play host in two Christmas' time, so that kind of underscores that point. Look out too in WA, for the rumour mill has Perth set to return to 16s after a healthy hiatus.
Remember too that once the Equipment List for 2032 is announced this November, then a real framework should become evident. Having the Quicks on the menu is good, as nothing does snakes and ladders quite like them. Always a delight to watch. The skill of the good sailors to find the ladders, even straight after a snake is marvellous. Obviously you have the multiplier effect downhill, but uphill they are vital, and then there is the point of finding a clear lane, as well. Not easy in large fleet, so having 100 vessels out on a track is good for training.
"It's great racing from that perspective. It's difficult, it's hard, there's a lot of curveballs being thrown at you, so you have to be right 'there', as it were," added Page. Incidentally, Imagine Signage's drop was a 24 that came about as a result of a minor incident from another vessel. All was cool, and it also highlights how far an apology can go...
Thanks for being a crucial part of Sail-World.com
John Curnow
Sail-World.com AUS Editor