2025 Allen Flying 11 National Championships at St George Sailing Club - Conclusion
by Jon Drummond, Flying 11 Association of Australia 20 Jan 11:23 UTC
14-19 January 2025
The 2025 Allen Flying 11 National Championships came to a close on Sunday 19th January at St George Sailing Club on Botany Bay.
The 40-boat fleet was getting edgy on Sunday morning having lost the previous 3 days to the strong Southerly winds of up to 50 kts that lashed the NSW coast. RO Steve Iles took the fleet out to the Southern side of Botany Bay in search of stable breeze and away from the nuances of the tidal flow close to the river mouth. The fleet was greeted with a 15-20 kt South Easterly breeze with a few passing showers. Defending national champions Ash Napper and Taj Bridge, sailing Brace 1338, went into the final day with a commanding lead of 10 points over their closest rival after the first 5 heats, keeping a watchful eye out on the competition as the 2 races planned for the day would bring a drop into play.
Heat 6 was a tightly contested affair with the first 8 boats finishing within 1 minute of the winning time. Manly's Harrison Thomas and Heidi Bates on Don't Worry 1384, managed to edge out Brace 1338 by 6 seconds to claim the win. Ondalay 1401, sailed by Jadon Morris and Elliot Fisher from the Belmont 16s, rounded out the top 3. Harry Yager and Will Dean sailing Gary 1392, from the Belmont 16s, sailed a great race to claim the handicap win. Like a Boss 1367, Meg Bates and Chloe Cotton from Manly 16s, took 2nd on handicap, while Little Ripper 1329, with Lane Cove 12s crew Max Nicholson and Oliver Brown onboard, claimed 3rd place on handicap.
For heat 7 the breeze held nicely with a few puffs in the low 20's causing some headaches on the top mark bear away and during the gybes at the wing mark. Some pin end bias with a right-hand favoured racetrack made for an interesting start, with a couple of brave boats starting at the pin and able to tack over onto port early and cross the fleet. The race quickly developed into a tight battle between Manly 16s teammates, Brace 1338 and Don't Worry 1384. After a tight battle right to the end Brace were the victors with Waverunner 1393, Sophie Drummond and Harriet Skelton from Belmont 16s, taking 3rd place across the line. Spencer Ward and Theordore Wilson from HKSC sailed a great race to take the handicap win on Hard Drive 1252. Lane Cove 12s sailors Emily Armistead and Theodore King Anders grabbed 2nd on handicap on Luff Me Knot 1339, while Gary 1392 came in 3rd on handicap.
A fantastic final day with a 2-1 scorecard saw Brace 1338 defend their previous Nationals win and top the podium for 2024/25. It was a great way for these amazing young sailors to finish their partnership in Flying 11s with Napper moving on to other classes for the 25/26 season. Harrison Thomas and Heidi Bates claimed 2nd overall with a solid final day carding a 1-2 score line. As a last-minute pairing due to injury, they sailed an incredible series also claiming 1st Senior Crew (combined age over 29) and 1st Mixed Crew. 3rd overall was Cookie Monster 1413, sailed by Manly 16s siblings Lachlan and Alana Jansen, another last-minute pairing, who showed great form throughout the regatta. Sophie Drummond and Harriet Skelton, on Waverunner 1393, claimed the All-Girl honours, whilst Hamish Skelton with Phoebe Pilgrim on Cheeky 1327 from Belmont 16s, claimed 1st Junior Skipper (under 13 years) and highest ranked 1st year skipper in Flying 11s.
Overall Handicap honours were a tightly contested affair with Middle Harbour 16s crew Ella Sangster and Holly Herbertston on Snowflake 1408 narrowly edging out Manly 16s pairing Harvey Windust and Rose Harris on Prancing Horse 1409. Hard Drive 1252 sailed by Spencer Ward and Theodore Wilson from HKSC claimed 3rd on Handicap.
The club honours went to Manly 16's with a good victory over Belmont 16's, continuing the rivalry over the past few years. Special thanks to all the volunteers who pitched in to make the regatta a success and to RO's Steve and Katherine Iles for running an amazing race team and program that ran like clockwork. St George Sailing Club provided an exceptional venue with 1st class facilities and great regatta support with a clear goal of increasing participation in junior sailing. Long-time Flying 11 major sponsor Allen provided exceptional support, along with contributions from MC Sails, CST Composites, Liros, and SailRacing. These amazing sponsors keep the Flying 11 class at the forefront of junior sailing.