2023 NSW taipan state titles Lake Burley Griffin Act

The titles were held at Yarralumla Bay Lake Burley Griffin Act on the weekend of 21-22 oct 223

NSW cat rigged taipan state titles!

10 boats lined up for this event. Steve Slater joined us from Queensland with Aaron Pimm and John Demeo travelling from Victoria, Thanks guys for supporting this event!

Saturday saw us start in 5-12 knots with the wind gradually increasing all afternoon settling in around 10-15 knots for the last race. with 4 races.

Canberra put on some significant wind shifts with many leads disappearing in the blink of an eye if you made the wrong decision.

some great tussles right through the fleet were had and everyone (except mike) ended up on the wrong side of a shift.

Julian Evans, Rohan McAdams, Steve Slater, Craig Harden and Peter Goldie, all had their moments and the mix changed throughout each race.

Craig snapped a side stay in the last race of the day and had to be towed home.

Sundays forecast was for 20 + knots. fortunately the forecast was a little off with 12-20knts being more like what we had. unfortunately Aaron and John chose not to venture out. Sundays weather saw David Hillier come into his own, He found some fantastic speed and lead in both races.

Julian Also found some form and these two races were very hotly contested with both races seeing multiple leaders. The last race saw at least 6 lead changes between 4 different boats with the first 5 boats all being in contention right up till the end.

what a fantastic way to finish the series.

Special shout out to Steve Slater and Mark Sullivan who both pushed through tough conditions to finish both race days.

well obviously mike and myself also sailed and with mike racking up 5 wins and a second and myself 5 seconds and a first.

our results are really secondary to the fun and competion that occurred on and off the water, the one on one tussles at all levels of the fleet and the fun and comradeship that these events engender is what really matter, at the end of the day it is just a boat race. it is what we take away from the racing that counts.

frankly a very successful event for all involved.

NSW taipans sloop state titles.

4 teams entered.

Mark Sullivan sailed with borrowed crew, Kiaran Lomas sailed with Gwyn (daughter) Sam Breadon sailed with Saxon (son) and Brendon Case sailed with Olivia (Daughter).

The sloops only sailed the Saturday as the wind on Sunday was a little heavy for the less experienced crews. some great racing was had with Brendon and Olivia pushing hard to stay with Sam and Saxon.

the conditions were very challenging with 40 degree wind shifts the norm. Sam's experience allowed him and Saxon to take out all 4 races with Brendon and Olivia Second, Mark Sullivan came 3rd with newbie Kiaran and Gwyn learning heaps including the finer points of capsizing and the art of righting the boat.

it was fantastic to have a fleet this year and to see the next generation starting to enjoy what we take for granted. thanks to all involved for making the sloops happen. hopefully we can build on this next year.