The Worlds are coming Downunder.  In January 2015 FD's will be flying in from all over the world to sail on Sydney Harbour.

Obviously more information will be added here and the FD Worlds Facebook page (www.facebook.com/pages/Flying-Dutchman-Worlds-2015/178274932242140 )

 

 

What is the fastest 18 footer in the world?

Sydney Flying Squadron has completed the “Great Race” to find the fastest sailing skiff in the world on Saturday 24 September 2011.

In the tradition of the 18 footers the race was on Saturday and did start at 2.30pm.

On the start line was Historic 18 footers, a revolutionary 1962 replica Ben Lexcen designed “Taipan”  Bandit, 18 footer, unrestricted 18 foot skiffs, a Flying Dutchman, Foiling Moths, F18 catamarans and “A” Class catamarans.

The weather was not kind but nothing could dampen the enthusiasm of the sailors. The Squaddy’s new spectator ferry “Emerald Star” was “packed to the rafters” and a great time was had by all.

The drizzly, rainy conditions and light wind did not really suit any boat but with the generous sponsorship from Carlton United Breweries on the table and bragging rights the motivation was there.

From the start in a 8-10 knot east to sou’easter it was obvious the Foiling Moth of Josh McKnight had the wood on the others. The “A Class catamaran of newly crowned world champion Steve Brewin was also quick, having won the start at the right end of the line was straight onto the first shift.

Well known cat sailor Rod Waterhouse, whose son Jason just won the F18 Nationals in Magnetic Island Race Week, was hot on there heals. 

Not much divided the whole fleet except for the historic skiffs being left behind on the first few legs.

The moth and “A” Class were first to the top mark and by the end of the first downwind leg the moth was still in the lead, although only just from the F18 with the help of his spinnaker had decreased the lead of the moth.

The uphill speed of the moth and “A” Class saw them gliding effortlessly to regain the lead at the next top mark.

Horror of all horrors, a rain squall and then the wind dropped out!

The Foiling Moth could not retain enough speed to stay on its foil and without a spinnaker the “A” Class fell into the same hole. The F18 of Rod Waterhouse still hot on there heals caught up quickly with his spinnaker.

The fat lady had not yet sung and old fashioned horsepower took over.

Who was it that said, “Big sails win Big races?”

With its big rig and comparatively huge spinnaker the unrestricted 18 footer of Cameron McDonald, Hyde Sails, came flying home to win the race.

The 1952 designed “Flying Dutchman” of Mathew Mitchell stormed home to grab a place on yardstick as did the Bandit.

The luckless Foiling Moth of Josh McKnight managed to scratch out a 3^rd place in his division. Rod Waterhouse and Steve Brewin also managed to take home some booty.

The Historic 18 Footer division was well won by Jeremy Sharp in Alruth, 3 seconds away Australia, Chris Haskard and Britannia, Ian Smith.

The overall winner on the day was the unrestricted 18 foot skiff, Hyde Sails skippered by Cameron McDonald. Congratulations to Cameron on a race well sailed.

The interesting outcome of the race and in seeing the boats head to head is that the Moth is undoubtedly the fastest boat potentially, as are the various catamarans on their day.

If you bet on them you would have lost.

The well sailed 18 foot skiff with its big sails still won the fastest skiff the world race on that day.

Everyone concerned was thrilled with the concept of the race and look forward to coming back next year to have another crack at it.

Boats came from NSW, VIC and SA, with crews flying in from Adelaide, Perth and Mt Isa as well to compete in a highly competitive fleet.

The first day's racing saw medium breezes, with enormous shifts, keeping everyone on their toes, in the end Rob Douglas / Doug Rawson-Harris taking out the traditional Albert Cup first race of the series. Mark Thorpe / Roddy Johnson made the best of the shifts in the second race to win that heat.

Day two saw the wind pump up around 20 knots by the third race of the day. The results were all covered by Ian McCrossin / James Cook with three firsts, putting them easily into first overall, and the breeze tiring out most of the crews very effectively.

Day three was another contrast with light winds, and a raging tide making the race a real challenge to work out how best to find wind, and avoid tide. Peter Higgins looked to have sailed a fantastic race, only to discover he was OCS, giving the race to Ed Cox / Peter Bevis. AP was then hoisted in the heat, and eventually the second race of the day was blown off at 4pm.

Day four also started under AP, having sat under the postponement flag for most of the morning, no one was very hopeful of completing the wo races scheduled for the day, let alone getting the final one completed on Sunday, with hot windless weather being the general forecast.

Once there was evidence of wind, everyone headed off for what was assumed to be a drifter like Race 6. Again Sorrento put on a great breeze, which ended up with a number of, gusts over 25 knots….perfect weather for an FD.

Having elected a new President of the class over night, Matthew Mitchell instantly stamped his authority on the class by dragging a decent starboard bias into the start line, by towing the mark around his rudder. Once that had been fixed it was again Ian McCrossin / James Cook who shot off the line, showing everyone how to make an FD literally fly upwind. He was closely pursued (as throughout the series) by Ed Cox / Peter Bevis, the younger ex-skiffies showing off to the FD class how to fly a kite on a tight reach in a good blow, when very few others attempted it, or swam when they did. All to no avail – the older, wiser team took the race, and so nearly had the series wrapped up with two to go.

The second race was a very tight affair at most marks across the fleet, but again the front tw broke away for a fight amongst themselves, with Cox / Bevis taking first with some awesome off-wind speed, and a quick last beat edging out McCrossin / Cook. McCrossin / Cook had already done enough for them to take the series, and they gladly headed for the beach when the Race Officer suggested a third race could be run to finish the regatta early, with the full complement of nine races.

Again the racing across the whole fleet was intense and close, with little between most of the boats, except of course by the end Cox / Bevis had managed to stretch away to finish with another first, leaving them only 2.8 pts behind McCrossin / Cook for the series. Robert Douglass / Douglas Rawson-Harris finished third on a count back from Peter Bartels / Charles Hawes. Mark Thorpe / Roddy Johnson were then only a further 3 points behind in 5th – a closely fought top group.

The Winners: Ian McCrossin and James Cook (Matthew Mitchell in the background)

And in Second Place:  Ed Cox & Peter Bevis

3rd Place - Rob Douglass & Doug Rawson-Harris

Thanks go to the club for organising the sailing and to the travellers who made their way down to Victoria for a great fun regatta – the social scene was nearly as good as the racing, thanks to Il Presidente's ability to find excellent regatta accommodation that can host fantastic parties for the whole class. 

And this is what happens to you when the pressure of racing is over, and you have won.......

 

 

9 Boats fought it out over 2 weekends on Sydney Harbour for the 2009 NSW State Titles, run by the Sydney Flying Squadron.

Overall it was consistency (and turning up for both rounds) which saw Mark Thorpe winning convincingly.  Ed and Fred put in a tough challenge, but the shifty Westerlies and resultant interesting courses made sure that everyone had an equal chance of going the wrong way at the right time.  With each of the top 4 boats geting a first, it was a well contested regatta, getting the NSW crews ready for the Nationals in the New Year

For results - see the Results section of the Racing page