YSA Tri Series

BY HARRY FISHER

YOUTH sailors from the Brighton and Seacliff Yacht Club did enough to clinch the overall championship for the best performing club in the South Australian Youth Tri Series after brilliant performances by many sailors at each of the three rounds.

There were many excellent individual performances by sailors from all clubs throughout the three events however Brighton and Seacliff was the champion club at the end of it, defeating Adelaide Sailing Club by 504 points.

Sailors from Brighton and Seacliff Yacht Club held up the Tri Series trophy. Photograph: Down Under Sail

After the first two events at Port Lincoln and Largs Bay, Brighton and Seacliff only held a slight lead over Adelaide, but a strong performance at their home club helped clinch an emphatic victory.

The Largs Bay Sailing Club finished third ahead of Goolwa Aquatic Club in fourth and Port Lincoln Yacht Club in fifth.

Christies Sailing Club, Coffin Bay Yacht Club and the Port Vincent Sailing Club were also represented at some stage throughout the three-round regatta.

There were three lasers sailing at the Brighton and Seacliff event however they did not sail at enough tri series events to constitute a full series.

Optimist

In the optimist class Ben Hinks in Zig Zag finished as the overall champion after a strong outing at the final round last weekend.

He set the tone in Port Lincoln where he won every race and although he was tested at Largs Bay where he finished second behind Alexi Wigglesworth in Optimist, he managed to clinch the win at the third round at Brighton and Seacliff and also the overall title.

Jonas Barrett in Sharky sailed consistently at all three events to finish second overall while Alexi finished third.

Ben and Jonas were first and second respectively in the third round of the tri series while Quinn Auricht in Bring It On sailed well to finish third in the round and also fourth overall in the combined series.

The optimist state team was also recognised after the tri series with team uniforms presented to those traveling to Sydney for the nationals at the Georges River Sailing Club over the summer.

Ben Hinks in Zig Zag was the overall tri series champion in the optimist open fleet.

Optimist green fleet

The green fleet racing on display was some of the closest of all classes in the tri series with many sailors having great performances and showing a lot of improvement across all rounds.

Oscar Chambers in Wild Porridge finished as the overall winner after three consistent performances only a small margin ahead of Murphy Cowen in Gem who was second.

Murphy dominated the final round of the tri series at Brighton and Seacliff however did not do enough to beat his rival Oscar in the overall series.

Amy Short missed out on sailing at the first round in Port Lincoln however sailed well at Largs Bay and Brighton and Seacliff to finish third overall.

Many of the green fleet sailors are also heading to the national championships at Georges River.

Oscar Chambers in Wild Porridge was the overall winner in the optimist green fleet.

International cadet

Elise Franson and Rachel Huczko in Cheeky Monkeys were the standouts in the international cadet fleet at each of the three rounds and clinched the overall win in a comfortable fashion.

After finishing second overall to Port Lincoln-based sailors Alyssa and Mitchell Kelsey inTacktical in the first round, Elise and Rachel stepped it up a level at the next two rounds to finish as the overall winner.

Brooke Gaffney and Darcy Conry in Red Rocket also had a consistent series to finish in second overall while Issy Royle and Emily Ward in Vela had a strong outing at the third round at Brighton and Seacliff to slot in to third overall.

The cadet racing at all three rounds was extremely close with a wide spread of boats winning one or more races.

Many South Australians will be heading to the national titles at the Middle Harbour Yacht Club in Sydney over the summer.

Elise Franson and Rachel Huczko in Cheeky Monkeys were the overall winners in the international cadet class.

420

The 420 racing had some mixed performances but at the end of the three rounds it was the consistent performance of Angus Higgins and Josh Tonkin in Double Trouble that ultimately won the title.

The pair sailed well at all three rounds to take out the overall championship ahead of Josh Hinks and Alex Newman in The Beast in second and Matt Meaney and Sam Magarey in Rampage in third.

The pair in Rampage as well as Alex Higgins and Joal Mackenzie in Binks Marine sailed well at Largs Bay and Brighton and Seacliff however their absence in Port Lincoln ultimately cost them the chance at the overall championship.

The same goes for Port Lincoln-based team Marty and Hannah Hood in Cutting Edge who sailed well at the first round on home waters however missed out on a chance at placing due to their absence at the metropolitan-based events.

The national championships will be held at the Woollahra Sailing Club in Sydney in early January.

Angus Higgins and Josh Tonkin in Double Trouble were the overall winners in the 420 class.

O’Pen Bic

The Bics only sailed at the final two rounds of the tri series with the overall victory going to Hugo Spees in Hydrophbic.

Hugo was the dominant performer during the series winning both of the rounds and comfortably holding off Nicholas Ebourne in Chewy Biccy in second and Harry Mitton inBig Bic in third.

Hugo Spees in Hydrophbic celebrated his win in the O’Pen Bic class.

Upcoming events

The youth sailors are now looking forward to their respective national championships over the Christmas break before the South Australian Youth States in March next year.

For full results head to the Yachting South Australia website and for any enquiries aboutDown Under Sail contact Harry Fisher via email at [email protected]

BY HARRY FISHER

WINNERS for the South Australian Youth Tri Series, sponsored by The Sailing Shop, will be decided this weekend when sailors take to the water for the third and final leg of the regatta at the Brighton and Seacliff Yacht Club.

The event has been a huge success so far with the first two regattas at the Port Lincoln and Largs Bay clubs providing favourable conditions and quality racing.

Angus Higgins and Josh Tonkin in Double Trouble at Largs Bay. Photos: Down Under Sail.

The tri series event gives young sailors around South Australia an opportunity to race against the best sailors from all clubs in preparation for their national championship regattas at the end of the year.

At Brighton this weekend we will see tri series champions crowned in the 420, international cadet, optimist open and green fleet and O’Pen Bic classes as well as a champion club announced.

The weather is expected to be hot with light winds, which will not be favourable however should still make for an exciting finish.

In the 420 class, Alex Higgins and Joal Mackenzie in Binks Marine and Matt Meaney and Sam Magarey in Rampage were neck and neck at Largs Bay with Alex and Joal narrowly claiming victory.

The pair however were both absent at the Port Lincoln series, which puts Angus Higgins and Josh Tonkin in Double Trouble and Josh Hinks and Alex Newman in The Beast in the box seat for the championship heading in to the final races.

In the international cadet class, Elise Franson and Rachel Huczko in Cheeky Monkeys look well positioned to take out the championship, however will have to sail well to hold off a fast finishing Brooke Gaffney and Darcy Conry in Red Rocket.

In the optimist fleet, Ben Hinks in Zig Zag set the benchmark in Port Lincoln, however was pipped by Alexi Wigglesworth in Optimist at Largs Bay.

Ben Hinks sailing Zig Zag in Port Lincoln.

Throw in the likes of Jonas Barrett, Quinn Auricht, Finn Sanderson and Chelsea and Harry Higgins and those in attendance should expect the opti racing to be as fierce as ever.

The green fleet continues to show new sailors at each tri series event with all of them showing great improvement each week.

Oscar Chambers in Wild Porridge was the winner of the green fleet at Largs Bay and will take his form in to this weekend.

In the O’Pen Bic class Hugo Spees came away as the winner at Largs Bay and with the Bics absent in Port Lincoln, he has set himself up well to take out the overall honours.

Racing is scheduled to start at Brighton at 10am Saturday morning with further racing scheduled for Saturday afternoon as well as in the morning and afternoon on Sunday.

For more information about Down Under Sail contact Harry via email at[email protected]

Overall club results:
1st: Brighton and Seacliff Yacht Club – 1176 points
2nd: Adelaide Sailing Club – 1150 points
3rd: Largs Bay Sailing Club – 907 points
4th: Goolwa Aquatics Club – 671 points
5th: Port Lincoln Yacht Club – 415 points
6th: Coffin Bay Yacht Club – 99 points
7th: Christies Sailing Club – 94 points

For full results head to the Yachting South Australia website.