2 March 2010
By Peter Campbell
International Etchells from the Sydney fleet, David Clark’s Fifteen and Iron Lotus, helmed by Tom King, have placed first and second in the New South Wales State championship.
David Clark and his Fifteen crew of Andrew Smith and Sean Leonard
2010 Etchells NSW State Champions Photo: Kylie Wilson
Conducted by the RSYS on the Manly offshore circle last weekend, the championship was sailed on the same course the Squadron will use when the Etchells World Championship is held in Sydney in 2012.
Etchells fleet on the run Photo: Kylie Wilson
Etchells from New Zealand, NSW, Victoria and Queensland contested the series to gain early experience of sailing in these open ocean waters.
The winning crew of Fifteen hiking hard on the upwind Photo: Kylie Wilson
Apart from a glitz (22nd in the 47 boat fleet) in race four, Clark sailed a most consistent series, finishing the eight race regatta with two firsts and a second and net points total off 18 points. Runner-up, Tom King, won the second last rac, but a couple mid-fleet places saw Iron Lotus’ net score 39 points.
Tom Slingsby, the former Laser dinghy world champion, finished third at the helm of the Pittwater fleet entry, Steampacket 7, winning the final race. Mid-fleet results in a couple of races saw him with a final score of 43 points, one point in front of Julian Plante, sailing North Star, also from Pittwater.
Of the other Sydney fleet entrant, the best results came from Roulette (Mark Johnson) in ninth place overall and Humpback (Peter Gardner) in 11th place.
Race winners were spread across the big fleet, Fifteen and Iron Lotus each winning two races, Steampacket V, Odyssey (Peter Merrington, Pittwater), and Roulette (Mark Johnson, Sydney) winning one race each.
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