2023 J14 Nationals - Waiuku Yacht Club

[Jollyboat Class Association]

Another year goes by and another fantastic Regatta - one of the best ever!

Thanks go to Gary, Alan, Mark and Jackson and the rest of the crew who made it all possible.

Let's also acknowledge the sponsor, Burnsco, who provided prizes for us.

Richard Lane has been running events for us for years now and knows our culture. With Alan's local knowledge, Richard (with Sue's help) laid on a very slick operation.

We all like to get races in and the committee boat team didn't disappoint; getting four races away on Sunday as the tide was going out and the sand banks we're coming up.

Thanks Richard, Sue and Alan you gave us exactly what we wanted - lots of races.

There was one casualty related to hidden sand banks, with Rob Neeley suffering a significant set back after clipping the bottom and taking a chunk out of his board.

As Sue observed, we've often had extremes in our weather, where we've been blown off the water one day, only to have no wind the next.

This year saw light patchy wind day one, a slight increase Saturday and a good breeze on the Sunday.

After the recent impacts of Covid it was gratifying to see 24 entries plus a bunch of new competitors including two very good youngsters in Dylan Forsyth and Angus Wright.

Both put in some very good performances with Dylan jumping in a J14 for the first time to take second - that's an exceptional performance in anyones books.

We also saw some other new faces like Louis Vierboom, Gary Morse and Will Denton giving it a go too - well done guys!

Also sad to see Fergus pushing the boundaries but pulling stiches - admire his commitment though.

Friday was a bit like "snakes and ladders" with luck playing a big part in sailors' success. A real test of skill but the experts shone through none the less.

A similar story Saturday - with Sunday providing better conditions for J14s to peel off some nice reaches.

THE RESULTS

Single Handed

1st and also first overall - Chris Main

2nd - Dylan Forsyth (18 years old and I think somone to watch in all forms of sailing)

3rd - David Giles

Double handed

1st - guess who - Rob and Mika Neeley (3rd Overall).

2nd - Nathan and Evie Pinch.

Handicap winner (decided by "Coach" Winters) for most improved - Dan Grimmer

The J14 Mug - for the back half best performance - Murray Peddie

Longest travelled - Paul Stringer with Grant Crawford coming over from the republic of Waiheke.

The Munted Mermaid (Best 3 boats from a club) - retained by Maraetai.

Chris Main really summed up why we do this - he enjoyed getting into a dinghy and mixing it with the guys. We like to compete on the water but also enjoy each others company off the water.

It's always nice to have some jovial stories - so thanks to Dave Blincoe in providing some comedy.

That's it for another year - but don't put your feet up - Chris said he's back next year and will be tough to beat - there's the incentive to maximise your time in a J14 over the next year.

Catch you all soon.

Jim