The last day of the 21st Lexus Flying Fifteen World Championship turned out to be a real cliff hanger writes Jonny Fullerton. To finish on a high, Napier delivered on the weather with a warm sunny day and 9 - 11 knots of breeze. The National Yacht Club's Charles Apthorp and Alan Green continued their climb up the leaderboard to finish fourth overall, narrowly missing the podium, only three points behind third place after seven races.

The final race was delayed for about an hour as the NE/E breeze kept shifting from side to side causing two general recalls. On the third attempt the PRO got racing started with a 1.1nm beat into a sloppy chop in Hawke’s Bay.

The two title contenders were at each other from the 5 minute gun with the Brits, Steve Goacher & Tim Harper playing cat and mouse with Nick & Janet Jerwood (AUS) never losing sight of each other.

After a clean start under U flag, the fleet were split across the course with a slight bias to the middle left hand side upwind. The first rounding was really crowded with a whole raft of New Zealand boats leading the field. Locals Hayden Percy & Scott Pedersen led from Murray Gilbert & Jonathan Burgess from Royal Akarana YC in Auckland. Third round was a female skipper, Susan Thompson sailing with crew Cameron Taylor (AUS) from Daveys Bay in Victoria.

The following run turned dramatic, Goacher & Harper turned the spreader mark right on the stern of Nick & Janet Jerwood, both crews down in about 20th place. A collision from a luffing incident on the downwind leg ended up with a red flag on each of the lead boats along with a small hole in the Jerwood’s boat. The Jerwood’s rounded the gate in the top 10 but Goacher & Harper had dropped places to the mid 20’s, having done turns.

Jeremy Davy & Martin Huett (GBR) from Draycote Water SC took the lead at the gate, followed by David Yu & Chris Nelson (AUS) from Royal Freshwater Bay YC in Perth. The kiwi chase pack rounded in a huddle led by Murray Gilbert & Jonathan Burgess.

The second lap was more of the same, 9-11 knots with the breeze flicking regularly left and right. Davy & Huett begun to extend their lead from a charging Greg Wells & Richard Rigg (GBR).
There were a number of crucial place changes in the final leg to the finish but Davy & Huett held firm to take their first gun of the regatta, fellow Brits Wells & Riggs crossing second and Yu & Nelson recovering to 3rd.

The Jerwood’s crossed in 4th and Goacher & Harper in 21st but sadly the final result of the championship would have to be decided in the protest room.
After a lengthy hearing Nick & Janet Jerwood were disqualified from the final race handing the title to the British team.

Steve Goacher was a very happy man winning his 4th world title nearly 20 years after his last win in 1999. However he was even more pleased for Tim his crew of the last two years as it was Tim’s first world title. He claimed it was one of the tougher championships he had raced in 25 years or more of Flying Fifteen sailing.

By finishing the last race in 6th, the kiwis Gilbert & Burgess rose to 3rd on the overall podium overtaking Percy & Pedersen as first kiwis. Aaron Goodmanson & crew Alister Rowlands made up the third kiwi boat in the top ten.

Hayden Percy & Scott Pedersen however have the honour of being first Silver boat with an impressive 6th place overall in the Open rankings. First Classic division boat was Nicholas Heath & Philippa Noon from the UK.

Results (Top 10 of 57 entries, after 7 races with 1 discard)

1 GBR 4021 Steve Goacher / Tim Harper - 19,8,1,1,2,1,(20) = 32pts
2 AUS 3986 Nick Jerwood / Janet Jerwood - 5,2,8,(20),1,2,DSQ/58 = 38pts
3 NZL 3840 Murray Gilbert / Jonathan Burgess - (32),9,6,13,5,6,5 = 44pts
4 GBR 4004 Charles Apthorp / Alan Green - 6,(53),14,2,15,3,7 = 47pts
5 AUS 3684 Matthew Owen / Andrew Reed - 2,4,7,9,12,(24),13 = 47pts
6 NZL 3091 Hayden Percy / Scott Pedersen - 1,6,22,5,(25),5,9 = 48pts
7 GBR 3760 Jeremy Davy / Martin Huett - 9,5,10,7,(16),DSQ/58,1,= 48pts
8 GBR 4030 Greg Wells / Richard Rigg - 4,14,15,(24),11,4,2 = 50pts
9 HKG 3972 Ashley Smith / Adam Kingston - 14,(35),4,6,4,16,11 = 55pts
10 NZL 3739 Aaron Goodmanson / Alister Rowlands - (18),3,13,17,7,1,6 = 57pts

The penultimate race of the Flying Fifteen World Championship in Napier has set up to be a mouth watering finale with the title hanging in the balance writes Johnny Fullerton. The National Yacht Club's Charles Apthorp and Alan Green took a third in the penulitmate race, moving them up to seventh overall and a single point off a top five finish.

Another warm sunny day on Hawke’s Bay with a hint of a stronger breeze earlier on, which toyed with the PRO and ended up proving a real challenge. Twice race management were in start sequence when the radio call came in from the top mark that the breeze was swinging from 70 - 100 degrees and back again.

On the third attempt race 6 got underway around 1400hrs in another light and shifty 7-10 knot NE/E breeze with a bit of chop thrown in for good measure. The start was clean but with an almost constantly oscillating breeze it proved a real test to find the best way to tackle the first upwind leg.

Both the championship leaders Steve Goacher & Tim Harper (GBR) and Nick & Janet Jerwood started mid line and sniffed out the best track to round with a few boat lengths lead over a large pack including Charles Apthorp & Alan Green (GBR/IRE), fellow Brits Greg Wells & Richard Rigg and Hayden Percy & Scott Pedersen, the first of a bunch of kiwis.

The run proved a bit pedestrian as the breeze softened and the chase pack had to fight for room at the gate, sometimes rounding up to five boats abreast. Once ahead the Goacher machine went into cover mode never letting the Jerwood’s off their radar scanner. Apthorp & Green also managed to hold their position but the fight for the remaining top 10 places remained tight all the way round the triangle.

As Goacher & Harper rounded the gate to head up to the finish, the sea breeze came in with a final flourish sucking the lead group in to make the final work leg interesting. Everything the Jerwoods did to get away from the clutches of the Goach, it was to no avail, the British team crossing for the third bullet of the championship with 1 race to go.

Apthorp & Green finished 3rd ahead of a big cluster of boats. The young kiwis, Percy & Pedersen were back in form in their 28 year old Silver fleet boat grabbing a useful 4th and Brits David Mckee & Mal Hartland a solid 5th.

So the world title hangs in the balance with one ore race to go. Steve Goacher & Tim Harper stand 5 points ahead of Nick & Janet Jerwood but neither crew can afford any mishaps carrying double digit discards.

Canberra sailors Matthew Owen & Andrew Reed had a day to forget finishing 25th, their discard, but remain in 3rd overall, ahead of a log jam of crews on 39 & 40 points. It looks like a classic finale between the British and Australian pairs but neither can afford a slip up in the final race with only one discard.

Race 7 is scheduled for a an earlier start time of 1000 hrs (local) with no racing starting after1300hrs (local).

Provisional Results (Top 10 of 57 entries, after 6 races with 1 discard)

1 GBR 4021 Steve Goacher / Tim Harper - (19),8,1,1,2,1 = 13pts
2 AUS 3986 Nick Jerwood / Janet Jerwood - 5,2,8,(20),1,2 = 18pts
3 AUS 3684 Matthew Owen / Andrew Reed - 2,4,7,9,12,(24) = 34pts
4 NZL 3091 Hayden Percy / Scott Pedersen - 1,6,22,5,(25),5 = 39pts
5 GBR 4005 David McKee / Mal Hartland - 7,10,2,10,(23),10 = 39pts
6 NZL 3840 Murray Gilbert / Jonathan Burgess - (32), 9,6,13,5,6 = 39pts
7 GBR 4004 Charles Apthorp / Alan Green - 6,(53),14,2,15,3 = 40pts
8 HKG 3972 Ashley Smith / Adam Kingston - 14,(35),4,6,4,16 = 44pts
9 GBR 3760 Jeremy Davy / Martin Huett - 9,5,10,7,(16),DSQ/58 = 47pts
10 GBR 4030 Greg Wells / Richard Rigg - 4,14,15,(24),11,4 = 48pts

What a difference a day makes, the sun came out for day four of the 21st Lexus Flying Fifteen World Championship in Napier writes Johnny Fullerton. Race 5 was sailed in a light NE breeze shifting from 40 - 50 degrees, but with a short chop rather than the rolling swell of the last few days. As they say in these parts, the lambs were just about to leap out of the paddock, allowing the bigger crews to get out on the side decks and even do a bit of hiking! Ireland's sole interest represented by National Yacht Club pairing Charles Apthorp and Alan Green are back in the top ten overall after five races sailed. 

57 Fifteens were spread across the start line in a far more conventional start but with new choices over upwind tactics. Whilst the majority of the fleet decided to work the left, a late shift favoured the boats that had really banged the right corner hard!

Of these kiwis, Brian & Bridget Kent from Royal Akarana YC in Auckland, sailed a blinder to round the top mark in the lead from the Flying Flamingos, Lewis Davies & John Radnell from Daveys Bay YC in Australia. (These guys are easily recognisable with their pink, hats, kite and accessories!. Another kiwi boat in the Silver fleet, Wade & Lyle Tresadern from Bucklands Beach in Auckland, rounded in 3rd.

Most of the usual suspects were a bit deep in the pile with work to do but It only took the first run to see some of the downwind specialists starting to make their move. Steve Goacher rounded in the top 15 but scythed down the middle of the course to put pressure on the leaders at the gate. Nick & Janet Jerwood (AUS) were also working their way into the mix after a late change of gate choice at the gate got them on the right side of the race course for the beat.

Back upwind the pressure stayed a bit more reliable but a new leader was emerging in David Williamson & Craig Morton (AUS) from Mordialloc SC in Victoria. The Aussie crew had the two previous world champions chasing them down both legs of the triangle. Behind them there was a lot of shuffling in the lead pack, places could be won or lost on the boat handling at the gybe mark. But the real test was the final working leg to the finish. This is where the real champions work their magic and there was little surprise when the smiling faces of Nick & Janet Jerwood from South of Perth YC, were seen tacking up to the line with a reasonable lead. They crossed to take their first gun of the championship and leap back into contention for the tile with two days to go.

“We had two very difficult legs, we got to the top mark in the low teens and managed to get the bottom of the run wrong and lost a lot of spots there, I am guessing we were about 20th there. Things stated to get a bit better from there, we made a late decision to change gates at the bottom and it was a really good decision, put us on the right side of the course and we were able to pick a few good shifts which put us back into the top 10 and we took a few more as we progressed up to the beat to 4th so that was the best leg of the regatta for us so far from 20th to 4th.”

“Two days to go but we still have to sail the best race you can, the wind is way too localised, you can be 4 or 5 boat lengths away from somebody and be in totally different conditions so you just have to sail the best you can with what you have at that point in time. It is just going to be a case of how fast you can get round that race course. We actually used toe straps for the first time in the regatta today and it was great so I am looking forward to more of that in the final two days.” Nick Jerwood

Second to finish was Steve Goacher & Tim Harper (GBR) who is now able to drop his 19th place to take the overall lead in the regatta by 4 points. With the discard coming into play, the overall leaderboard sees a few changes with previous leaders Matthew Owen & Andrew Reed (AUS) from Canberra, slipping to 3rd overall, and Ashley Smith & Adam Kingston from Queensland (sailing under the Hong Kong flag), dropping their 35th to jump up to 4th in the overall classification.

With two days to go the pressure is rising and so is the barometer. There is a promise of more warm weather and a bit more breeze which might just suit some of the bigger crews who enjoy a bit of planing activity for which the Flying Fifteen is famous for.

Race 6 is scheduled for a 1300hrs (local) start time.

Results (Top 10 of 57 entries, after 5 races with 1 discard)

1 GBR 4021 Steve Goacher / Tim Harper - (19),8,1,1,2 = 12pts
2 AUS 3986 Nick Jerwood / Janet Jerwood - 5,2,8,(20),1 = 16pts
3 AUS 3684 Matthew Owen / Andrew Reed - 2,4,7,9,(12) = 22pts
4 HKG 3972 Ashley Smith / Adam Kingston - (35), 46,4 = 28pts
5 GBR 4005 David McKee / Mal Hartland - 7,10,2,10,(23) = 29pts
6 GBR 3760 Jeremy Davy / Martin Huett - 9,5,10,7,(16) = 31pts
7 NZL 3840 Murray Gilbert / Jonathan Burgess - (32), 9,6,13,5 = 33pts
8 NZL 3091 Hayden Percy / Scott Pedersen - 1,6,22,5,(25) = 34pts
9 GBR 4004 Charles Apthorp / Alan Green - 6,(53),14,2,15 = 37pts
10 AUS 3859 David Yu / Chris Nelson - 3,1,9,26,27 = 39pts

Day 3 of the 21st Lexus Flying Fifteen World Championship in Napier, New Zealand and another semi - overcast day with light winds on Hawke’s Bay. For a while it looked like an on schedule start for the fleet of 57 boats but after two general recalls the PRO was frustrated by the persistent shifts in direction from 60 - 100 degrees and had to signal a wait for the breeze to settle.

National Yacht Club pair Charles Apthorp and Alan Green are back up to 17th with a second in race four after four races sailed. Download the results below. 

Race 4 got started mid afternoon in 6 - 10 knots with a flicking breeze which just remained with enough pressure to sail a two lap course of one windward/leeward lap followed by a triangle and beat to the finish.

At the third attempt the fleet got away to a clean start under the U flag with quite a split in choice of upwind strategy. Whilst the middle right upwind had been the best bet all week, finally the breeze shifted far enough into the E/NE sector to tempt enough competitors into trying mid left as an alternative.

A new leader appeared at the top mark in the shape of Peter Milne & Trevor Williams from Black Rock YC/Gippsland Lakes in Victoria, Australia. Local kiwi crew, Hayden Percy & Scott Pedersen from Napier SC were back in the front pack but lurking close behind was yesterday’s winner and former world champion, Steve Goacher sailing with Tim Harper from the UK.

Downwind to the gate the vast majority of the fleet searched for the pressure on the offshore side of the race track. Again Goacher and crew Harper used all his expertise to shrink the lead of the lead boat to a boat length by the bottom gate. Places from 3 - 6 continued to shuffle with Charles Apthorp & Alan Green (GBR/IRE) making good gains along with Brits Greg Wells & Richard Rigg.

Upwind again and another split in tactics, this time the cunning Goacher / Harper combination rounding in the lead to lead the pack on the triangle. The chase pack was close, the Aussies, Milne & Williams holding off Apthorp & Green but early pace setters, Percy & Pedersen dropping off the pace.

Today the breeze held in pressure but the British team of Goacher & Harper could not be slowed, covering their opponents all the way to chalk up a second bullet of the championship. Apthorp & Green squeezed in at the boat end of the line to snatch second in the final boat lengths to the finish line from Milne and Williams (AUS). FFI Commodore Peter Rooke sailing with Martin Arrowsmith (AUS) sailed an excellent final work leg to cross in 4th with the persistent local kiwi crew, Percy & Pedersen picking up 5th in their 20 year old (Silver) category Flying Fifteen.

However with four races sailed, the overall leaders are Matthew Owen & Andrew Reed from Canberra, Australia who are the only crew to have recorded single digit results by continuing to dig themselves out of difficult positions when buried in the pack. They lead the regatta by 7 points from Goacher & Harper who are chasing their 4th world championship win.

Matthew Owen describes his tactics: 
“We actually ended up with three really good starts today if you include the two general recalls, so we were pretty good off the line. We got a great start, turned over and about 50 boats down at the pin end crossed us so we were pretty much back of the fleet 30 seconds in, so we had to chip away quite hard to get back into it. We got a couple of nice shifts at the top but we were on the back foot from the start.”

“At the top mark we just did a few different things to the rest of the pack because it is just such a competitive, similar speed fleet and if you do something different to the rest of the pack the gains can be quite massive, but our whole motto is just chip chip chip. All through this regatta we have not had a good first work so we have had to come from behind.”

Race 5 is scheduled for a 1300hrs (local) start with similar light breezes forecast.

Provisional Results (Top 10 of 57 entries, after 4 races)

1 AUS 3684 Matthew Owen / Andrew Reed - 2,4,7,9 = 22pts
2 GBR 4021 Steve Goacher / Tim Harper - 19,8,1,1 = 29pts
3 GBR 4005 David McKee / Mal Hartland - 7,10,2,10 = 29pts
4 GBR 3760 Jeremy Davy / Martin Huett - 9,5,10,7 = 31pts
5 NZL 3091 Hayden Percy / Scott Pedersen - 1,6,22,5 = 34pts
6 AUS 3986 Nick Jerwood / Janet Jerwood - 5,2,8,20 - 35pts
7 AUS 3859 David Yu / Chris Nelson - 3,1,9,26 = 39pts
8 NZL 3739 Aaron Goodmanson / Alister Rowlands - 18,3,13,17 = 51pts
9 GBR 4030 Greg Wells / Richard Rigg - 4,14,15,24 = 57pts
10 AUS 3855 Peter Rooke / Martin Arrowsmith - 31,12,11,4 = 58

Another semi-overcast afternoon in Napier for the second day of the Lexus Flying Fifteen World Championship in Napier, New Zealand. Just one race was held in light Easterly breezes between 5–8 knots. National Yacht Club pair Charles Apthorp and Alan Green are 26th overall after three races sailed. Download the results below. 

After one general recall the PRO Gerry Martin, started race 3 of the champi-onship under the U flag with all 57 competitors spread across the length of the start line. The first upwind leg was well spread but sailors who got off the line cleanly and into clear air, were keen to get to the middle right of the course, to take advantage of the breeze flicking right in Hawkes Bay.

At the top mark, David Mckee & Mal Hartland (GBR) from Dovestone SC, led closely followed by class stalwart Steve Goacher & Tim Harper from Royal Windermere/Southport SC. Local sailors David Zorn & Graeme Robinson from Napier SC, sailed an excellent first work to round in 3rd. Also in the mix were two boats from Western Australia, Philippa Packer, crewed by former world champion, Dean McAullay from Royal Freshwater Bay YC and champi-onship leader David Yu & Chris Nelson, also from (RFBYC).

The lead three broke clear to head down the run back to the gate as the breeze softened even more. Slowly the (3 time) former world champion, Ste-ve Goacher soaked down inside McKee & Hartland, to round a boat length in the lead at the gate. Kiwis Zorn & Robinson floated round in 3rd as places changed behind them when the fleet converged under collapsing spinnakers.

The second work became a bit of a soldiers course, although picking the way through the shifts and keeping the boat moving in the light airs required a lot of concentration.

The order was the same at the top mark second time around but on the trian-gle leg via the wing mark the two lead British boats extended in their own pri-vate battle, whilst Zorn & Robinson had to work really hard to hold their third place. Other places in the top ten became much more intense as the breeze dropped below 5 knots. New Zealanders, Murray Gilbert & Jonathan Burgess from Royal Akarana YC in Auckland and the Queenslanders, Ashley Smith & Adam Kingston representing Hong Kong, made good gains.

Rounding the bottom gate, the leaders had an agonising 1nm leg back to the finish line. Goacher & Harper extended for a bit more breathing space, cross-ing the line to win their first race of the 21st Flying Fifteen Worlds. Mckee & Hartland settled for 2nd but the biggest celebration waited for 3rd place as lo-cals Zorn & Robinson punched the air taking an excellent 3rd.

“We got a good clean fast start and sailed a short distance to clear the guys to weather of us and flicked on to port and hit the right hand side and were sitting pretty nicely.”

“It was really tense on the last lap especially with Murray and Johno, they are fast downwind, they were right on our tail at the bottom mark last time. But we knew where we wanted to go and knew the line we wanted to take and just stuck with it.”
David Zorn.

Smith & Kingston (HKG) had a much better day crossing in 4th and Rob Ward & Bruce Yovich (NZL) from Onerahi YC a very respectable 5th. Overall scores after 3 races leaves David Yu & Chris Nelson (AUS) and Matthew Owen & Andrew Reed tied on 13pts with the ever consistent West Australian former world champions, Nick & Janet Jerwood (SoPYC) in 3rd.

Steve Goacher explains his race;
“We had not such a bad start and a good clean first beat, we rounded the windward mark in second and managed to pass the leader downwind on the first run. I don’t mind the light conditions, they are enjoyable when you are in the front! I grew up sailing on Lake Windermere and we get a lot of light and fluky sailing conditions there.”

And on sailing in Napier for the first time;
“I have been sailing 15’s since 1991 and won three world championships on the trot, 1995, 1997 & 1999 but I have never sailed in Napier. It has been very testing conditions, last week we had quite big seas and not a massive amount of wind.”

Race 4 of the championship is scheduled for a start time of 1300hrs (local time) with a similar forecast of light winds.

Provisional Results (Top 10 of 57 entries, after 3 races)

1 AUS 3859 David Yu / Chris Nelson - 3,1,9 = 13pts
2 AUS 3684 Matthew Owen / Andrew Reed - 2,4,7 = 13pts
3 AUS 3986 Nick Jerwood / Janet Jerwood - 5,2,8 - 15pts
4 GBR 4005 David McKee / Mal Hartland - 7,10,2 = 19pts
5 GBR 3760 Jeremy Davy / Martin Huett - 9,5,10 = 24pts
6 GBR 4021 Steve Goacher / Tim Harper - 19,8,1 = 28pts
7 NZL 3091 Hayden Percy / Scott Pedersen - 1,6,22 = 29pts
8 GBR 4030 Greg Wells / Richard Rigg - 4,14,15 = 33pts
9 NZL 3739 Aaron Goodmanson / Alister Rowlands - 18,3,13 = 34pts
10 NZL 3542 Rob Ward / Bruce Yovich - 11,29,5 = 45pts

The 21st Flying Fifteen World Championship has attracted 57 competitors from New Zealand, Australia, Canada, Great Britain and Hong Kong for six days of racing in Hawkes Bay on the East coast of the North Island of New Zealand. While it is disappointing that there are no Irish boats, Ireland is represented by the National Yacht Club's Alan Green who is crewing for GBR4004 Charles Apthorp, also an NYC member, and the pair sit in sixth place overall after two races sailed. Download results after day one below.

Day 1 of the championship started with very light airs and humid overcast skies, so the fleet were held ashore for a couple of hours in the hope that conditions would improve. By early afternoon a light Easterly breeze built to allow the PRO to bang off two races back to back.

Race 1 started with a general recall with a heavy presence at the committee boat end. The restart under U flag caught out a couple of competitors but it was the kiwis that emerged at the top mark in a huddle.

Local sailors Hayden Percy & Scott Pedersen from Napier SC, sailing their older (Silver) boat, took an early lead and hugged the right hand side of the course downwind whilst Craig Coulam & Adrienne Rekke from Royal Akarana YC in Auckland and Rob Ward & Bruce Yovich from Onerahi YC chose the left lane.

At the gate, the locals from Napier held their lead but on the next upwind were being pursued hard by David Yu & Chris Nelson from Royal Freshwater Bay YC in Perth and the British pair Greg Wells & Richard Rigg, representing Hayling Island SC & Royal Windermere YC.

As the wind continued to swing, the reach to the wing mark was lengthened and became broader, leaving a tighter reach to the downwind gate. Percy & Pedersen held their nerve to lead at the final gate rounding but the pressure was on for the final beat.

There was a loud cheer as the locals took the first gun of the championship from Matthew Owen & Andrew Reed from Canberra YC, who had themselves worked their way through the fleet to finish second. Yu & Nelson (AUS) overtook the Brits, Wells & Rigg for third and Nick & Janet Jerwood from South of Perth YC finished a solid 5th.

As the grey clouds gathered and skies darkened, race two commenced in similar conditions. This time David Yu & Chris Nelson got a great start, tucked in close to the committee boat and sailed in clear air up the middle right, whilst Steve Goacher & Tim Harper (Royal Windermere YC/Southport SC worked the left.

The Australians led down the run as the fleet split gybes with quite big separation. At the gate the breeze started to fade and become quite unstable but the Perth crew managed to keep a loose cover on their opponents. The second lap, a triangle, became quite a slog as the breeze struggled late in the afternoon. Aaron Goodmanson & Alister Rowlands (NZL) rom Charteris Bay YC moved up to second ahead of Jeremy Davy & Martin Huett (GBR) from Draycote Water SC.

The last beat was an agonising crawl to the finish line but Yu & Nelson managed to hold on to take the gun and the overall lead in the regatta. Nick & Janet Jerwood (AUS) worked their way through the fleet to finish 2nd and the kiwis Goodmanson & Rowlands 3rd. Owen & Reed (AUS) sailed a great final beat to finish 4th and Davy & Huett (GBR) 5th.

“Both races were hard work, especially the first one where we had to work our way out of a bit of trouble on the start line but we managed to make the right decisions and have a good day. We learnt a lot of lessons from the NZ Nationals where we were extremely inconsistent and made a few bad decisions.”

“The last work in the last race when we were leading, we had a few anxious moments because the breeze started going back left and we were on the right hand side of the leading group, but we were fairly confident it would come back because it had been doing that all day, so it was a big relief when that right hand shift finally came.” explained David Yu

The Lexus Flying Fifteen World Championship has 7 races scheduled, running from Sunday 26 February to Friday 3 March.

Day 2 of racing has just one race planned with a start time of 1300hrs (local time).

Provisional Results (Top 5 of 57 entries, after 2 races)

1 AUS 3859 David Yu / Chris Nelson - 3,1 - 4pts
2 AUS 3684 Matthew Owen / Andrew Reed - 2,4 = 6pts
3 NZL 3091 Hayden Percy / Scott Pedersen - 1,6 = 7pts
4 AUS 3986 Nick Jerwood / Janet Jerwood - 5,2 - 7pts
5 GBR 3760 Jeremy Davy / Martin Huett - 9,5 = 14pts
 

Alan Green and Charles Apthorp of the National Yacht Club head for the Flying Fifteen World Championships in New Zealand on Thursday - Summer racing in the South Pacific. Alan and Charles team up for many events and Charles whose regular sailing is from Hayling Island is an overseas member of the NYC and frequent visitor to Dublin Bay.

The proven pair have previously placed second overall at a World Championships.

The world championships will take place on the North Island hosted by Napier Sailing Club, some of whose fleet competed in the worlds in 2003 hosted in Dun Laoghaire.

Napier is a coastal town situated about mid point on New Zealand’s North Island East Coast. Set amid the renowned wine-producing region of Hawke’s Bay and rebuilt after an earthquake in 1931. Napier is known as the Art Deco capital with period architecture.

A tree lined waterfront promenade with statue of “Pania of the Reef” the Maori maiden symbol of the town (New Zealand’s Granuaile) and fronts onto a natural bay with no commercial traffic so a great championship racing venue, a bit like a bigger Killiney Bay without the mountains.

Napier Sailing Club founded in 1891 has a large dry sailing area outside fronting onto a municipal marina and fishing quay. The Flying Fifteen racing is well established at Napier and illustrated on a mural of Flying Fifteens racing on a wall on the seafront.

With 59 flying fifteens entered there will be a strong representation from their Australian neighbours. 

The Irish Flying Fifteen class has announced its 2017 racing programme with two freshwater events on its national calendar for the first time. The 30–boat fleet will head to Craigavon for its Northern Championships at Lough Neagh on June 17th and a season finale will also be held on freshwater when the fleet makes its annual return to Lough Derg Yacht Club on October 21st. Full fixtures below:

Flying Fifteen 2017 Programme

May 27th / 28th: East Coast Championship - DMYC, Dun Laoghaire, Dublin
June 17th / 18th: Northern Championship - Lough Neagh Sailing Club, Craigavon
August 19th / 20th: South Coast Championship - WHSC, Dunmore East
September 8th - 10th: Championship of Ireland - CAYC, Whitehead 
October 21st – 22nd: Western Championship & LDYC Keel Boat Regatta - LDYC, Dromineer

Five Flying Fifteen couples danced the salsa, jive and cha cha cha for the Flying Fifteen Glitter Ball Trophy last night at the National Yacht Club in Dun Laoghaire.

Six weeks in training with a professional dance coach produced some expert displays for over 100 attending the special night.

Four judges voted Dun Laoghaire sailors Niall Meagher and Bernie Mulvin the winners but only after a dance– off.

This weekend's Flying Ffifteen Western Championships was hosted by Lough Derg Yacht Club in varied shifty conditions. Racing could not have been much closer as after six races one point separated the first three boats with Brian McKee & Ian Smyth (SLYC) winning on countback from David Gorman & Chris Doorly (NYC) with Bryan Willis & John McPeake (CAYC) one point behind in third and Sean Craig & Alan Green (NYC) fourth.

Fifteen Flying Fifteens travelled and they were not disappointed with the welcome, the quality of racing from John Leech and his team and of course the local entertainment. On Saturday the wind was from the E-NE but shifted constantly to make it a difficult day. There were four different race winners, Willis, Craig, Gorman and McKee but it was McKee who led overnight with the more consistant results.

On Sunday the forecasted strong winds did not materialise but it was stronger from the East. As usual it was snakes and ladders up the beat but Craig led the way in the first race to win from Gorman in second, Willis third and McKee fourth. Going into the last race it was all to play for and a number of winners were possible. The Meaghers led the way up the first beat in impressive style closely followed by Gorman who soon took the lead. If he kept this lead he would win, just as he rounded the gate and went right the wind shifted left and Willis and Rory Martin went into first and second for the last beat. The wind had picked up so the racing was extremely close but this is how it finished and McKee was the winner on countback. All the positions were hotly contested and those who didn’t travel missed out on great racing in what was the last event of the season.

It was a great seasons sailing with great numbers in some of the best locations in the country. Thanks to FFAI President Keith Poole and his hard working committee in for all their work behind the scenes in making it happen. The fleet ranking concluded with this event and consolation for Gorman & Doorly was that they finished the season at the head of the ranking table.