Individual Race Results

Invitation | Heat 1 | Heat 2 | Heat 3 | Heat 4 | Heat 5 | Heat 6 | Heat 7 | Heat 8 | Heat 9 | Heat 10 | Overall

Regatta Photos

• Photos are available here.

Video Clips NEW
(Camera work and comments by Rodney Ray)

1. Heat 3 - Chris Dey has a super start, but a few others above him are over the line in light air conditions (2.6Mb).
2. Heat 4 - Chris Dey starts on port while Rohan Veal gets a good start at the pin (1.4Mb).
3. Heat 4 - Brett Burvill screaming downwind after rounding the top mark and passing numerous non-foiler boats in about 12 knots of breeze (1.6Mb).
4. Heat 7 - With the wind shifting left just before the start in the light air, it is a battle to get over the line on port. Scott Babbage is OCS, Chris Dey and Andrew McDougall get good starts while Rohan Veal gets forced into the mark and does his penalty turn (1.5Mb).
5. Heat 7 - After Rohan's horror start, he catches up to Garth Ilett approaching the leeward mark on lap 1, but after rounding, Rohan shoots away from him with good boat speed (1Mb).
6. Heat 8 - Rohan Veal gets a good start at the pin end in a fresh 18 knot sea breeze, followed by Chris Dey and Garth Ilett (3.2Mb).
7. Heat 8 - Les Thorpe, Chris Dey and Rohan Veal approach the outer wing mark together in fresh conditions on the first lap (1.1Mb).

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Race Reports

Steve Donovan's championship report - Serenity in the Salinity

Invitation Race
After an hour postponement the Invitation Race was sailed in a gusting 10-15 knot south-westerly sea breeze. 23 boats started the race with Bret Burvill's experimental new boat failing to make the line and requiring some late night modifications after a pre-start failure. James Mackenzie was over early after a good port-hand start. Les and Rohan took the early lead to the right, with Andrew McDougall taking the left. McDougal did well out of a late left shift to close the gap on the leaders. Ben Crocker sailed well to round 4th in Full Frontal. After a slow first work, Garth Illet moved through the fleet quickly on the first downwind, rounding the bottom mark in 4th behind Les, McDougal and Rohan. Rohan passed McDougall on the last work, with Steve Donovan moving into a comfortable 4th. A few good shifts allowed Scott Babbage to slip through into 6th, seconds behind Garth who was having trouble foiling in the moderate conditions. More competitors are arriving overnight, with Chris Dey expected to make the afternoon race on the 5th.

Race Day 1
The first race started after several general recalls and numerous incidents which resulted in a broken wing bar for Les Thorpe. After finally starting on the boat biased start line, Rohan Veal & Andrew McDougall pulled away to a comfortable lead. Veal was subsequently disqualified for the pre-race infringement with Thorpe, however Veal appealed against the decision and won his points back. Several boats fought for the minor placings with Scott Babbage leading Steve Ray and Garth Illet home.

A prompt start for the second race of the day resulted in several boats missing the start. After a poor start for McDougall & Veal, a good shift allowed them to lead around the top mark followed by Thorpe. Veal then led the fleet to the wrong gybe mark loosing a lot of ground and falling back to tenth, with McDougall taking the lead followed by Thorpe and a close bunch. McDougall led Thorpe for the next two laps, with Thorpe gaining the lead as McDougall raced to the finish a lap early. Thorpe extended his lead to finish a comfortable first, followed by McDougall, Illet & Veal. Michael Boode finished close in front of Babbage, with the consistent Steve Ray finishing 7th in his new boat. The hydrofoil boats have yet to make their mark on the fleet, with Illet opting to remove the foils for the second race, and Brett Burvill having to lift his foils after hitting bottom several times.

Race Day 2
The first light air race of the series saw a change in the place getters, with Yumiko Shige reveling in the conditions to score a win over Garth Illet and Steve Ray. Les Thorpe & Chris Dey had trouble making ground after being on the wrong side of the early shifts, with Andrew McDougall being consistently inside the top few.

A light sea-breeze arrived for the long-course afternoon race. The leading bunch of Thorpe, Veal, Illet, McDougall, Dey & Ray were close throughout the first two laps, with Veal extending away to a comfortable lead on the final lap as the breeze increased. The minor placings changed constantly, with Dey squeezing ahead of Illet, then Thorpe, Ray & Babbage. Brett Burvill's boat finally showed its speed in the moderate conditions making fantastic time against the competition in the final stages of the race. However an OCS for Burvill & McDougall will not help their series scores.

Race Day 3
22-26 knots greeted the fleet for their return to racing following Tuesday's reserve day. Several boats opted to stay onshore, however those that started the race made the most of the fresh conditions. The race was abandoned shortly after the start with the club's rescue facilities being required to assist in what appears to be a hoax mayday call. The schedule has been altered to accommodate three races a day over the remaining two days.

Race Day 4
In stark contrast to yesterday's conditions, Thursday brought with it cloudy morning and a very light land breeze. The fleet started in light and variable conditions after a short postponement. After drifting for several minutes a lead group of boats broke away from the fleet. The lead changed several times with Les Thorpe rounding the final top mark in first. Les held the lead over another frustrating downwind, only to finish 3 seconds outside the 90 minute time limit, hence Race 7 was abandoned.

The afternoon sea breeze filled in as predicted for Race 8 and Race 5. Race 8 saw Thorpe hold the lead from start to finish, being pushed constantly by Chris Dey. The moderate conditions saw plenty of capsizes, however the lead group of Thorpe, Dey, Veal, McDougall & Donovan kept themselves out of any trouble. Veal stamped his authority on Race 5 early, being one of the few boats to tack away from the lifting starboard tack in favour of the right hand side of the course. Veal continued to lead for the remainder of the race, closely followed by Thorpe & Dey. With a capsize on the final run, McDougall swapped places with Donovan. South Australian Greg Wise continued his strong form in the testing breeze, scoring two comfortable top ten finishes. Similar conditions are expected for the final day of racing and with less than a point separating the leaders, things are sure to be interesting.

Race Day 5
Rohan Veal took the early lead in the first light air race of the day. After a good pin end start Veal extended his lead by taking the left side of the course on the first work. Les Thorpe rounded the top mark second behind Veal with Chris Dey third in a rapidly fading breeze. The leaders rounded the bottom mark in virtually no wind, with Veal working hard to consolidate his lead against Thorpe. The placings stood on the next upwind despite the variable wind. Veal managed to sail the last downwind legs fast enough to finish a minute and a half inside the time limit and five and half minutes in front of Thorpe. Andrew McDougall passed Dey on the downwind with Steve Ray finishing only a second behind.

The second race of the day started at 3 pm, and with a hard 4pm start time limitation on the last day making it difficult to sail two races. Fortunately the sea breeze cooperated delivering consistent 12-15 knot winds. Dey started well to gain the early lead followed by Thorpe and Veal. Thorpe tacked inside the starboard layline on the second work in an attempt to pass Dey, however the gamble backfired with Veal rounding ahead and defending strongly on the downwind. A luffing match between Veal and Thorpe allowed Garth Illet to slip through into second. A capsize by Andrew McDougall on the final downwind allowed Scott Babbage to move into a close fifth. The fleet milled around the start/finish line awaiting the next start, with Sam Neeft crossing in 25th at 15:49:41.

The fleet split on the first windward of the last race. Dey led Illet and the majority of the fleet left, with Thorpe, Veal, McDougall & others heading right. Thorpe, Veal & Dey rounded close with Thorpe extending away on the downwind. Veal sailed well to finish a close second and secure the series. With a third place Dey moved ahead of Illet overall, however a fourth place from McDougall allowed him to finish in third overall just over a point ahead of Dey.

Milang Regatta Club, South Australia

The 2002/2003 Australian Moth Championships have been invited by the Milang Regatta Club to be held on the shores of Lake Alexandrina (Australia's largest freshwater lake).

Venue
Lake Alexandrina is about 75km south of Adelaide and in the heart of the Langhorne Creek wine district. The lake is open and gets fresh sea breezes straight over the Coorong off the Southern Ocean with sailing conditions similar to Lake Munmorah and Lake Macquarie. It's the last stretch of the Murray River before it desperately tries to empty itself into the sea at Goolwa (and quiet close to the famed Hindmarsh Island bridge "secret women's business" if anyone is interested!). There is a caravan park next door to the club with a large area of grass which has been reserved for Mothies at the closest end to the club / rigging area.

Race Program
Ten races, with two drops.

Accommodation
Costs for camping will be as follows:

• Unpowered site: $5.00 per person per night
• Ensuite cabins: 2 @ $49.00 per night, covers 2 adults, extras $5 per night - 1 BOOKED for Mothies, 1 N/A until 5th Jan contains 1 double bed & triple bunk
• Non Ensuite cabin: 1 @ $40.00 per night, covers 2 adults, extras $5 per night - N/A until 5th Jan contains 1 double bed & triple bunk
• Caravans: 2 @ $35.00 per night, covers 2 adults, extras $5 per night - get in quick to avoid cicada piss 1 @ $32.00 per night, covers 2 adults, extras $5 per night - get in quick to avoid cicada piss

Contact Greg Wise for accommodation - greg@moth.asn.au

Local Information
There's a pub and general store 250m away in the main town. Apart from that though, there is very little else, certainly no RSL clubs or anything that flash for quite some distance! People coming will need to be fairly self sufficient in terms of boat-stuff
etc (nearest chandleries are 35 & 50km away).

Milang Regatta Club

Rigging up area number 1

Rigging up area number 2

Local area map