The B14 NSW State Titles wrapped up on Sunday at Illawarra Yacht Club, the venue for the 2020 Nationals. The locals were very welcoming, despite the soggy weather. The rain made it very hard to take a transit at times, but the breeze was enjoyable, with 8 to 14 knots from the south / south – west across three races.
The Nude came into the event with a slight lead from the first leg at Woollahra in October, and consolidated with three wins to take out the title for the eighth time. But they didn’t have it all their way, with excellent performances from Glenn Cardwell and local crew legend Audrey in Glenn’s new boat, Bandito AUS793 (formally known as Bonus). Bandito was very quick, and had the advantage in the final race, only to come unstuck on the drop.
Returnee to the class, Dino Oliveri, was the big improver of the day, coming 2nd in the final race. Dino used to sail B14s in the 1980s, and is back with Apparent (AUS 779). Great to welcome him and crew Darren back to the fold.
And speaking of blasts from the past, Chris Bibby (who sold Richie his first B14 - AUS103 Swingshift - in 1992) jumped back into the fray, filling in for Sarah who was away, sailing Usain Boat with Nathan Reynolds. Nathan must have pushed him a bit too hard, as he only lasted two races! But that was enough to keep the boat in 3rd place.
Allen Graham sailed solidly in Toxic to end up in fourth place overall despite only competing in the Illawarra leg. Anthony House sailed with Col Graham in Yellowbone, while Dylan Cardwell teamed up with Jono to keep Blue Bandit in the game.
Another long-term B14 sailor, Martin Mok, who first sailed in Australia in a Hong Kong boat in 1994, has teamed up with Ken Lunty to buy Stan Bland’s second boat in the past fortnight, but didn’t have enough time to get on the water for this event. So the B14 pool keeps growing, which is great to see.
Illawarra was a top place to sail. Kim looked after us with great catering, there’s a nice grassy area to rig, and we were able to check out the area available for camping during the next Nats. It all augurs very well for the Nationals in January 2020!
Attached are the full results for the States.
 Results Overall | [ ] | 42 kB |