With the last Marblehead State Championship held in WA in 1998, the 2020 State Championship clearly marked a resurgence in the class.
Twenty two years ago Glenn Dawson claimed the title however, due to illness was unable to participate in the event. None the less, a small fleet of sailors most with boats less than a few months old contested the 2020 event on Sunday 1st November at Champion Lakes.
With forecast light winds, cool temperatures and 15-35mm of rain it was definitely going to be an interesting day given just two days prior Perth had felt the heat of summer with temperatures reaching 37C. The forecast was spot on and there was enough wind for sailing to commence at the scheduled start time and while the wind shifted frequently from NNW/NNE throughout the day it remained strong enough to provide some very close racing.
Champion Lakes member, Sean Wallis sailing his Grunge showed why he is the current Australian Champion in the class and took control of the event with a string of nine successive wins from race 2 to race 10 leaving the rest in his wake to fight for the remaining podium positions. Cliff Davis who launched his brand new F6 only the day prior showed a significant improvement in his performance and was a strong contender to gain a podium finish winning a couple of races but some radio issues put pay to his chances as the day progressed.
Roger Paul sailing a borrowed Indie and Barry Donaher sailing his F6 remained close on points all day with Barry taking the upper hand and sailing a little more consistent than Roger to claim second overall on 35points just four points ahead of Roger finishing third on 39pts.
Champion Lakes was represented by a number of sailors and filled four of the top five positions overall.
It is fantastic for WA and the sport of radio sailing to see the class going through growth in this state and this is consistent with the growth of the class nationally with new boats hitting the water regularly. WA will also host the 2021 Marblehead Class Australian Championship which is expected later in the year once some flexibility with scheduling can occur as Australia's pathway through COVID-19 becomes clearer.
Pictured: Cliff's New Red Ant F6
Pos | Name/Club | Sail No. /Design | Nett | Total |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Sean Wallis CHAMPION LAKES | AUS 71 GRUNGE | 14.0 | 21.0 |
2 | Barry Donaher CHAMPION LAKES | AUS 27 F6 | 35.0 | 44.0 |
3 | Roger Paul PERTH RADIO SAILING CLUB | AUS 67 INDIE | 39.0 | 48.0 |
4 | Cliff Davis CLRS | AUS 07 F6 | 40.0 | 51.0 |
5 | Simon Ellis CHAMPION LAKES | AUS 89 F6 | 56.0 | 68.0 |
6 | Ross Bennett HARRINGTON WATERS RADIO SAILORS | AUS 39 GRUNGE | 91.0 | 107.0 |
7 | Denton Roberts PERTH RADIO SAILING CLUB | AUS 65 INDIE | 102.0 | 118.0 |