67th SHARPIE NATIONALS UPDATE!!

Blur wins 67th Sharpie Nationals! Mal Higgins, Sam Sanderson and Andrew Chisholm break the Hoodoo of the Derwent and, for the second consecutive year, take out the national championship title (SA893). Fellow South Australians Jason Heritage and Dave Higgins brought Bread Run (SA920) and All Scoobed Out (SA909) home in second and third, respectively. Final results here

NSW boys Todd and Brad Curry and Hayden Sellers have taken out the Country title in Mr Freeze (N885). Dean Souter, Mark Ablett and Michael Denny in Rocket Fuels (N812) were on equal points for the Junior title, but tipped out by Ellen Fisher's fantastic 5th placing in Race 6 in Pre-Mature (SA884) - beauty and brilliance really does conquer brawn and consistency - and old man emu Derek Milligan has the 50plus factor, with help from John Fisher and Andrew Breen on board Roger Ramjet (N747). A more detailed account will be available after the NSW team make their way back home.

Jane Austin's photos on Flicker

Mary Tulip 's video of the Invitation Races now uploaded in the Video Gallery

NSW Sharpie Team for the 67th Nationals
 
After a highly successful weekend at the Kembla Classic with a wonderful 20 knot nor east seabreeze on the Saturday and 15 to 18 knots nor west breeze on Sunday, the NSW team to complete at the Hobart nationals was selected.
 

66th SHARPIE NATIONALS 2008/09

South Australian sharpie Blur from Brighton & Seacliff YC, skippered by Mal Higgins with Sam Sanderson as sheethand and Andrew Chisholm forward hand dominated the 2008/09 Sharpie Nationals

Sudden squall during the last heat of the Nationals turned the third work into a two sail reach Photo: M. Tulip

Lake Illawarra provided the perfect setting for the 66th Australian Sharpie Championship. Port Kembla Sailing Club organized an excellent regatta based around a friendly family environment that was enjoyed and appreciated by all.

Mal Higgins, Sam Sanderson and Andrew Chisholm sailing “Blur” from South Australia with sensational boat tuning and handling were the catalyst for an impressive race record winning all bar one of the seven heats. Not since the days of John Cuneo, Sir James Hardy and John Bertrand was there such a dominant display.

Conditions at times were trying but the racing was always close and some of the “less dominant” states proved that a good balanced campaign can lead to some impressive results. All the trophy categories were well contested with most left until the last heat to decide.

Canberra boat “Smoke” sailed by Michael Forster, brother Andy and Ben Phillips, managed to place 2nd in the regatta, particularly impressive considering that in the blustery heat 1, Phillips decided to jump ship while well placed resulting in “Smoke” starting her campaign with a 7th place. From then on they showed good speed throughout the regatta, particularly in the lighter to moderate conditions.

Elke Hacker [Qld] skippering “Gingerbread Man” had shown good form throughout the year contesting preliminary races in both NSW and Qld. She had potential to win - sailing well. The challenging conditions and tough competition saw Elke finish a credible 3rd overall, and win the Women’s Championship Trophy.

The overall handicap ended in a trifecta for the ladies with Ellen Fisher winning overall in “Pre-Mature” from Elke Hacker with Heather Sutton from Cairns sailing “Pi to Infinity” into third place. The NSW team won the teams’ trophy for the first time since it’s inauguration in 1978.

The event socially was as good as the racing itself as sharpie champs always are and events were fiercely contested. The “State’s Night” resulted in the South Australians beating NSW in the men’s Chug-a-lug final. The leveler came witha the brilliant win by NSW women’s team.

Final Results:
1 “Blur” ( Mal Higgins SA )
2 “Smoke” ( Michael Forster NSW )
3 “Gingerbread Man” ( Elke Hacker QLD )
4 “Moe’s Tavern” ( David Snoad SA )
5 “Suicide Blonde” ( Derek Milligan NSW )
6 “Jess” ( Andrew Wells QLD )
7 “Chilli Factor” ( Kip Tanner NSW )
8 ”The Fox Hat” ( Peter Kirk SA )
9 “Pre-Mature” ( Ellen Fisher SA )
10 “Pi to Infinity ( Heather Sutton QLD )

It was anyone's guess for the minor placings going into the final race .....

More photos available through our Gallery pages

65th Sharpie Nationals 2007/08

Held on the Swan River in WA and hosted by the East Fremantle Yacht Club, Wade Henson, Sam Abbot and Alan Hopping took home the 65th Sharpie Nationals title with a great performance in Vicious. The Lizard came in second, skippered by Peter Chappel with Marc Lewis and Michael Duffield on board, and the South Australians Geoff McCloud, Sam Flint and Mark Beaumont brought Pigout home in third, albeit on the same points as Malcom Higgins in Blur....

Visit the Gallery for video footage of this gybe, filmed on the Swan River during Heat 1 of the Nationals. Some stills from the heats are available in the Photos section.

While WA and SA battled it out for the top positions, NSW/ACT (the only other state to attend) was respresented by Suicide Blonde and Mr Freeze. The Blonde, skippered by Derek Milligan with Kevin Rosenbaum on main and Paul Cohen up front came in 24th. Chris Ablett injured himself in a practice session on Mr Freeze before the series started and, on doctor's orders, had to retire and handed the tiller over to Mary Tulip. With Max Rosenbaum on main and Marc Ablett on the wire they found they were rather light at 190 kgs, but had a lot of fun and brought Mr Freeze home in 35th.

Results for the 65th NATIONALS- CLICK HERE