Royal Yacht Club of Tasmania Showdown Regatta - Overall
by Jane Austin 1 Nov 2020 10:47 UTC
31 October - 1 November 2020
The Royal Yacht Club of Tasmania is indebted to the sailing gods for the delivery of magnificent sailing conditions for the two-day Showdown Regatta which concluded in Hobart on Sunday.
There were 14 one-design classes represented across the off-the-beach and keelboat fleets. Top sailors often start their careers in International Cadets and Optimists, so expect to read more about Luca Groves and Sam Hooper (SeaYa) who won the Cadet Class on seven points, Tom Fader (OptiHop) who won the Open Optimist Class on 18 points on a countback from Rory Spinaze Littlejohn (Bombora), and Sam Nicholas (Shark Fin) who won the Optimist Intermediate Class on 14 points.
Stewart Gray was on fire in the Sabre Class winning the event on 11 points sailing Steamboat Willie, while Daniel Maree (Boomer) took out the Laser 4.7s and Tony Tate (Dott Time) won the Laser Radial Class, both on eight points. Nick Mcelwee (Under the Radar) was one of the top performers of the regatta with eight wins from eight starts in the NS14 Class, while Eddie Reid and Jacob McConaghy (Toaster Oven) won seven from eight races to take the 29er skiff prize.
Former RYCT Vice-Commodore Stephen 'Rowdy' McCullum (Lowlife) enjoyed the perfect weather winning the International 2.4mR Class on 7 points while Oli Burnell, Josh Brown and Toby Burnell (Bonfires) showed their versatility on the water winning the Sharpie Class on 11 points.
Australian sailing legend Nick Rogers, with Will Keyes and Simon Burrows (Karabos), sailed a very consistent regatta winning the SB20 Class on 11 points from Stephen Catchpool, Andy Roberts and Lucas Upton (Rebellion) on 21 points.
Hugo Allison won the Moth Class, sailing his new one-design foiling dinghy WASZP and Nicholas Schoe (Hold the Bus) took out the Sabot Class.