Over the 23^rd and 24^th of March the Adelaide University Sailing Club sent a team over to Sandringham to compete in the Victorian J24 state championships. Our crew consisted of Commodore Sophie Davidson (helm), George Young (trim/tactician), Maia Hodge (strings/mast) and Doug Whalan (bow). We had previously gone over in January for a twilight race where we met with the J24 association to organise a boat for the event, with one of the SYC members lending us Sidetracked. We were one of 15 boats at the regatta. With no opportunity to train before race day, due to 25knt breezes and a very tired crew (it’s a long drive to Melbourne), we set sail early on Saturday morning to get the kite up and down before a long day of windward leeward racing. 

This was the first time the four of us had been on a J24 together in two years, having only practiced our symmetrical kite work on the Elliott 7 fleet at the CYCSA. There was a steep learning curve and a few mechanical challenges – exploding blocks and brackets – but once we ironed these out we enjoyed two days of competitive racing. The J24 fleet at Sandringham is a tight community that races twice weekly, and being alien to the conditions, we were up for a fight.  Variable wind directions at 16-18knts meant our first few races involved getting a feel for the course and polishing our crew work. Starts were competitive with a general recall at race 3. Once we were in the groove Sophie and George were able to get more aggressive on the start line with some really exciting manoeuvres during sequence. 

Our second day of racing was characterised by fluid crew work and busy top mark roundings now that we were keeping up with the fleet.  Winds started at 16knts so we set out with the jib, but by the end of the day wind had dropped to 6knts. With a feel for the course we started to gain places, sitting at 2^nd by race 6. Unfortunately, the final race of the championship was cancelled as the wind had dropped out. 

The AUSC were well received by everyone at the event. We were the only U22 crew on the water and were able to stay competitive over the weekend. While we would have benefitted from a third day of racing, a 4^th place on PHS and 11^thon OD for Sidetracked was an outcome we are proud of. We thank the CYCSA for the use of the Elliott 7 fleet and club facilities, without which we wouldn’t have had such a result.