It has been a busy month in Darwin with 3 regattas in as many weeks. The volunteers and club staff at the Darwin Sailing Club have done an amazing job of keeping things going over this time and delivering three successful events as a result. There are two more to go this season with the NT Womens Regatta on 7 & 8 August, and the Oceanic Laser Masters Championship fast approaching on the 21-26 August.

MINNOW NATIONALS

The 43rd Minnow Nationals were held from 2-8 July in what was the coldest Dry Season week for at least 10 years, so cold in fact that we even had to loan wetsuits to the Victorians! The cool weather provided some good breezes for the morning races, so much so that the Novice fleet only managed one morning of racing as most days were a bit too windy for them.

Whilst it was a smaller fleet than in the past there was an even turn out across the NT & Victoria as a container load of boats from Blairgowrie Yacht Club travelled to Darwin for the event, thanks to event sponsor Northline. There were a few hiccups along the way with 3 of their sailors’ suffering injuries prior to the Nationals and only 2 of them able to get onto the racecourse by the end of the week.

The heavy winds were dominated by the Victorian boats with the NT boats getting podium places in the lighter winds. As always, the event was a lot of fun with cracker night, bonfires, and good weather and new friends making it lots of fun for all involved. Will Hailes was a clear winner in the Open Fleet with Emily Hailes taking out the Junior Division.

Open Fleet

1st Will Hailes - BYS

2nd  Fred O’Brien - BYS

3rd Abbey Young – BYS

Minnow Nationals Open Winners

Junior Fleet

1st Emily Hailes - BYS

2nd  Hugh Backwell - BYS

3rd Tiger Batenburg - DSC

Novice Fleet

1st Harrison Duignan - DSC

2nd  Lucas Atkins - DSC

3rd Liam Hall - DSC

Open Fleet Results

Novice Fleet Results

Minnow Nationals NT Team

JUNIOR SAIL REGATTA

In its second year on the NT calendar the 2022 Junior Sail Regatta did not disappoint. The event sold out with 32 kids registering in both Minnows & Ozzi Optis. This event is aimed at Tackers 2 & 3 graduates as a taste of regatta sailing, and a bit of fun & games.  This year saw the kids racing six races, coupled with games, treasure hunts and even a dance competition on the water during a postponement! 

Instead of marks the kids raced around inflatable animals for a bit of on-water fun although at times they dragged providing a challenge for the rescue craft and race officials. The event was run with youth sailors as instructors and officials, providing great opportunity for younger sailors to learn about running regattas. Racing as always was close and a bit of a mixed bag mid fleet. Results are below.

Minnow Division

1st Tiger Batenburg

2nd  Leo Batenburg

3rd Harrison Duignan

Ozzi Opti Division

1st Sam McManus

2nd  Josef Ansell

3rd Sam Forrest

Kids enjoying their Junior Sail experience

NT CHAMPIONSHIPS

The NT Championships was run over the Show Day long weekend. As has be become a common theme covid played a bit of havoc forcing some late withdrawals from both racing and volunteering. After getting over that disruption the wind that we have seen all Dry season decided to take a holiday leaving us with lights and shifty conditions, much to the frustrations of sailors and officials alike. The Race Officer Ed Vincent did a commendable job and the event carried on, just managing to get six races in.

A good Laser fleet with 21 boats on the water provided some great action on the start line as they jostled for places. This must have inspired the younger Minnow sailors as they also managed a few OCS during the event as their starts were also hotly contested. 

For something different in 2022, and a result of Junior Sail Regatta there was also a fleet of Ozzi Optis in addition to the Minnows, Tasar & A-Class. The Ozzi Optis only competed in the afternoons and we hope to see the new kids out on the water for the rest of the season.

A-Class

1st Graeme Pigot

2nd  Ben Doran

3rd Frank Peacocke

Tasar

1st Phil & Sarah Brownscombe

2nd  Fiona McManus & 

3rd Libby Ewens & Camille Woodhouse

Laser Standard

1st Phil Toonson

2nd  Chris Batenburg

3rd Gary Martin

Laser Radial

1st Aden McGrath

2nd  James McGrath

3rd Bruce Abbott

Minnow

1st Tiger Batenburg

2nd  Harrison Duignan

3rd Fynn Goat

Ozzi Opti

1st Sam McManus

2nd  Josef Ansell

3rd Tyler Duignan

Overall results