After a COVID enforced 3 year break the Australian Skate Association finally got back together for their 64th Nationals. The event was hosted by Ceduna Sailing Club and very generously sponsored by the Ceduna Foreshore Hotel with assistance provided by the District Council of Ceduna.

The conditions on Murat Bay, where Ceduna Sailing Club is located, were remarkable and ideally suited to the Skate. Steady breezes, flat water, bright sunshine and the wonderful hospitality of the club and town made for a memorable regatta.

The series was won on countback by Greg Paterson and Yianni Foufas on “What Now”.  Greg and Yianni of the St George Sailing Club sailed their immaculately prepared Skate  – “What Now” to the win. Greg was a previous National Skate Champion 32 years ago.

Seven former national champion skippers competed making for some quality racing.

In a barn burner of a finish What Now (#972 Greg Patterson/ Yianni Foufas) of St. George Sailing club got the chocolates from Plan B (#986 Brett & Cameron Fannon) of East Fremantle Yacht Club.

The boats could not be separated at the end under rule A8.1 so rule A8.2 was invoked with the highest placegetter of the last race being declared the winner. In the lighter conditions of the final race What Now romped away to win the last heat comfortably.

Early in the series it looked like Plan B would walk away with the title after 3 consecutive wins in the moderate to fresh conditions, but never giving up, the crew of What Now hung in there and took full advantage of the moderating conditions to come storming home with 3 consecutive wins to finish the series with the win.

The crew of Plan B would be rueing a costly capsize in heat 6 while leading.

The two boats were studies in how to sail a Skate in fresh breezes with Plan B absolutely smoking it upwind (crew weight at the heavy end of the scale) and What Now (crew weight at the lighter end) launching downwind. It had the spectators watching in awe.

In a honorable mention class stalwarts Dave Luck and Glenn Crichton on Any Which Way (#981) finished a highly credible 3rd.

Overall Results

Line Honours:

1st  – What Now

2nd  – Plan B

3rd  – Any Which Way

Handicap 

1st – Double Decker Dog

2nd – End of the road

3rd – Megasaurarse

Invitation Race Winner – Any Which Way

Veterans Trophy – ‘Any Which Way’

Outstanding Crew - Yianni Foufas – ‘What Now’

The 65th Skate National Championships will be hosted by the East Fremantle Yacht Club.

Race Reports

Spanner's Race Report for Heat 1:

9 boats started the race in 14 knots gusting to 19 knots by the end of the racing gusts were 25 knots.

Sailed on windward and return course it provided a number of capsizing boats at various stages allowing close racing throughout.

Lucky (Dave Luck) led from start to finish beating Brett Fannon by 3mins.

Dave and crew Glenn Crichton from NSW on 981 - Any Which Way, also won the Invitation Race.

Spanner's Race Report:

The race started at 12 noon in a southerly breeze on windward/return course with a gate at the leeward mark.

13 knots gusting to 18 knots saw most of the fleet head to shore with 986, 972 & 981 all prominent early. Brett was the 1st around the windward mark closely followed by Patto and then Lucky. Some top action on the 1st kite run saw Patto close the gap but Brett remained in front at the bottom mark.

Brett came straight to shore but Patto stayed out and when they crossed there was nothing in it. Lucky was still about 1min behind in 3rd. Huddy was in 4th with Ken & Silvio battling it out for 5th & 6th. Paul & Simmo were also having a great tussle in the cruising division.

The second lap was more of the same action up front for the first three places but we missed what happened to Huddy who went from 4th to 8th.

The 3rd lap was a repeat with no further places changing.

The final beat had the breeze increase to 16 knots with gusts to 21 knots. Patto had closed the lead to 20sec at the bottom mark, Brett chose to cover Patto all the way to the finish line and win by 54secs, Lucky was 3rs a further 2mins behind and Ken was 4th.

Great racing by all.

Spanner's Heat 3 Race Report:

Race 3 commenced in a 13knot southerly on another windward/leeward course.

Brett powered away at the start climbing out in front of Patto. Silvio got a good start whilst Lucky got caught up underneath everyone.

At the top mark it was: 986, 972, 937, 969, 981, 980, 978 then 945.

Really impressive kite work by the whole fleet saw some great action sailing. At the bottom mark Brett and Silvio went left of course whilst Patto came to shore.
When they crossed Brett was still in front, but Patto stayed out to sea.

The cruising division of Simmo, Paul & Huddy were also having a great race together.

At the top mark the 2nd time Brett had increased his lead slightly but Patto had lost out to Silvio, Lucky and Ken were in their own battle for 4th & 5th. Ray, Steve & Paul continued to swap places at the rear.

The downwind legs were just fantastic to watch, the speed everyone was achieving was amazing.

At the top mark the 3rd time Brett was about 1.3mins in front of Patto who regained 2nd place from Silvio, Lucky had also regained a spot from Ken.

The final work saw Brett once again provide a loose cover to Patto to take out the race, Lucky worked the shore better than Silvio to take 3rd place from him, Ken finished 5th with Simmo grabbing the cruising division glory from Paul then Steve.

The racing in the conditions has been fabulous to watch and congratulations to the sailors competing.

Special mention to the Ceduna Sailing club start and rescue boat crews for the wonderful job they are doing.

Spanner's Race Report

Race 4 commenced at 10.30am in a strong 16 knot breeze gusting to 22 knots on a windward/leeward course.

Patto had appeared to have missed the start & Lucky was left by himself at the leeward end. Simmo got a bolter at the start boat end with Brett and Silvio both underneath him. Ken and Paul were right in there as well as Huddy.Brett powered out from underneath and gained the ground required to get out in front.
At the top mark it was 986, 937, 981, 945, 972, 969, 980 followed by 978.

The downhill leg was once again great to watch with boat speed to burn. Silvio got the wobbles on the gybe and capsized. Huddy in 4th also hit the drink allowing Lucky, Patto and Ken through. Unfortunately for Huddy he continued to keep capsizing and decided to retire.

At the top mark the 2nd time it was 986, 972, 981, 969, 937, 978 & 980.

The downhill legs provided lots of action with the gybes providing the entertainment.

The bottom mark saw some boats gain ground, others losing out.

The 3rd time at the top mark saw Brett increase his lead from Silvio then Patto.

The 3rd downhill leg provided all the action with Silvio in 2nd at the time of hitting the drink.

Patto survived the gybe and Ken overtaking Lucky decided to join Silvio in the drink. This allowed the ever lurking unsuspecting Paul Shiner into 4th place, Simmo continued cruising around on 7th place.

The final result was Brett by 3mins then Patto and Lucky, Paul sailed great race to finish in 4th in front of Silvio then Ken and Simmo.

Spanner's Race Report:

It was another early start at 10am on a shifting south easterly course at 13 knots gusting to 17 knots at the start of the race.

Tactics played a different part today as the fleet had to determine whether to come to shore or stay out. Picking the lifts saw Brett get to the top mark 1st with Patto right behind him. Lucky in 3rd and Huddy 4th, Ken 5th, Silvio 6th, Simmo 7th and Paul in 8th.

Downhill Patto was sailing lower and faster than Brett gaining ground all the time. After the gybe Brett continued to try and find pressure whilst Patto managed to sail faster and lower to beat Brett to the bottom mark.

The windward beat was interesting to watch tactically because Patto appeared to let Brett go and not cover him which proved a bonus as Brett narrowly beat him to the top mark the 2nd time. Brett had an issue with his kite set which allowed Patto to power over the top of him.

Meanwhile the rest of the fleet were battling the shifting breeze to windward trying to find the lifts. Lucky and Ken were in a battle for the minors whilst Huddy and Silvio were doing the same. Simmo was sailing a conservative race with Paul bringing up the rear.

At the bottom mark the 2nd time Patto had a commanding lead by 1.5 mins, Brett kept looking for pressure but couldn't gain ground.

Lucky and Ken also continued to keep other honest whilst Steve & Silvio kept swapping positions. Simmo & Paul kept cruising towards the back.

Patto sailed a brilliant 3rd leg to increase his lead to 3.5 mins.

The final placings were 972 by 3.5mins, 986, 941, 969, 937, 945, 980 & 978.

Another great day sailing in slightly lighter but shifting breeze.

The next couple of races will prove interesting if Patto can snatch another victory or two.

The pressure is mounting for a thrilling ending to the series. Best of luck to all.

Spanner's Race 6 Report

Race 6 started in a 14 knot south easterly with 21 knot gusts. The usual suspects were out the gate quickly with most heading inshore.

The breeze looked like it was shifting around a fair bit but Patto managed to get to the top mark 1st with Huddy in 2nd and Brett in 3rd.

Silvio hit the piss after trying to tack onto starboard to avoid hitting Brett coming through on starboard up the work. Lucky was 4th, Ken 5th, Simmo 6th, Paul 7th & Silvio bringing up the rear.

Some exceptional kite work downhill saw Patto maintaining a commanding lead. Unfortunately for Huddy he had kite issues on the haul and was passed by Lucky & Ken.

Patto was 1st at the bottom mark, followed by Brett, Lucky, Ken, Huddy, Simmo, Paul & Silvio.

Lap2 was much the same with the places remaining the same except for Ken overtaking Lucky up the work. The bottom mark the 2nd time saw no change in placings.

The 3rd windward leg saw Lucky change places with Ken again.

The top mark rounding the last time is when the action started to hot up.

Patto in a commanding lead hit the drink on the kite set and struggled to get the boat righted. Brett came around the top mark and passed Patto whilst hauling kite up, but he had a wine glass and had to gybe away to clear it. Patto was trawling for prawns with kite in the water but managed to get it reset and was off again down the shore.

Brett stayed out wide and capsized on the gybe, while Patto got a bullet and ended way below the bottom mark. Meanwhile Lucky who played it safe down the rhumbline ended up back in front at the bottom mark.

Patto had to drop his kite early and shy back into 2nd place. Brett had managed to get back up but it must have also been a tight one back to the bottom mark where he rounded 3rd.

Meanwhile Ken who was clearly in 4th hit the piss on the gybe and had to recover to retain 4th, Huddy continued for 5th followed by Simmo, Paul & Silvio.
The last work was an intense battle between Lucky and Patto who seemed to have powered out above Lucky after the rounding mark. Both lifted then knocked and battle continued all the way inshore with Patto slightly higher and faster than Lucky.

Brett was back in action fighting for the minor place with Ken.

The end result was Patto 1st by 29secs from Lucky in 2nd, Brett 3rd another 1.25 mins behind and Ken in 4th another 55secs behind. Huddy sailed a very credible race in 5th, Simmo 6th, Silvio managed to get past Paul into 7th & 8th respectively.

It was another exceptional day of sailing which now sets up one of the closest finishes we have seen in ages for the titles.

Best of luck to both title contenders, may the best team win.

Spanner's Heat 7 Race Report:

Race 7 started in a light SSE breeze at 7 knots after a postponement for approx 15mins due to a large windshift forced the start crew to shift the course. Once the race started Patto was out of the blocks to windward of the fleet jostling each other for ascendancy. Paul had broken the start and lost a heap of ground by the time he returned to restart.

At the 1st mark it was Patto closely followed by Lucky with Brett 3rd, Huddy 4th, Silvio 5th, Ken 6th, Simmo 7th and Paul 8th.

On the downward leg Lucky sailed past Patto with heaps of boat speed only to gybe off and capsize allowing Patto to regain the lead. Around the bottom mark it was Patto, Brett, Sivio, Huddy, Ken, Simmo, Lucky & Paul.

On the next 2 laps Patto kept extending his lead whilst Brett remained 2nd & Huddy 3rd. Silvio & Ken were in a battle the whole way with Lucky playing catchup breathing down their necks.

On the last work to the finish Patto kept finding the breeze and lifts to cross the line 4 mins in front of Brett. Huddy finished 3rd and Lucky got both Silvio & Ken up the work to finish 4th, 5th & 6th respectively. Simmo continued into 7th with Paul finishing 8th.

Wow what a race! A countback was now required as both Brett and Patto finished with equal amount of both 1st and 2nd places and after dropping worst heats.
Racing Rules Appendix A8 was now applied to determine the overall winner.

Rule A8.1 indicates that worst heats can't be used so Rule A8.2 applies which states the best place in the last heat is to be used to determine the winner. Disappointingly for Brett, this determination meant that Patto finishing 1st in the last heat was judged the overall series winner.