Held: Melbourne Victoria, at Sorrento Sailing Couta Boat Club 12-14 March 2021

9 crews made the trip to Sorrento on the Mornington Peninsula in Melbourne Victoria for the running of the 2020/2021 Australian Championships. The Titles had been cancelled in 2020 due to the 2019/2020 bushfire impacts in the region of the regatta site and couldn’t be rescheduled during 2020 due the Covid outbreak.  The 2020/2021 regatta was also postponed from February to March due to Covid.

The titles were held over 3 days at the Sorrento Sailing Couta Boat Club in Sorrento.

The racing was at times very close and the scoreboard saw 6 different crews win heats, which is an indication of the closeness of the racing but also some tricky conditions.

Day one saw flat water and light winds from the N/E at 6 to 8 knots with some shifts and light patchy conditions to deal with.

Race one was shortened after one Triangle to due breeze dropping out and the crew of AUS 33 crossed the line in first place just ahead of AUS 9 which had led the race with sound lead until a navigation error let Aus 33 through on the leg to the shortened course finish to win the first heat with Aus 001 finishing in third place.

Race two was held in similar conditions to Race one, with the 2 laps being completed. Aus 001 and Aus 9 led the fleet around the course and on the final run to leeward for the short reach to finish. Aus 001 had also suffered a navigational issue and had to unwind herself from the finish to complete the course and finished third behind Aus33.

Race three repeated the pattern of light breeze and flat water with Aus 001 winning the heat with Aus 9 and Aus 33 in second and third.

End of day one leader board was very close with Aus 9 leading followed by Aus 33 and Aus 001.

Day two greeted the fleet with southerly wind conditions with stronger winds at 10-12knots. Racing up and down the fleet was closer than day one and saw lead and place changes through-out the day. The places weren’t settled until the finish line in all of the heats.

Race four saw Aus001 get to out to a slight lead on the final leg and won the heat with a smooth and consistent performance from a close pack of 4 boats, Aus 9 won a tight finish for second from Aus37 in third and Aus 33 in fourth and Aus21 in Fifth.

Race five saw the fourth crew Aus 37 to win a heat from Aus 001 in second and Aus 9 in third in close company from Aus 32 and Aus 21.

Race six saw close racing again with win for Aus 001 and Aus 33 in second and a great sail from Aus081 for third in close company from Aus 9.

End of day 2 saw a cramped leader board of Aus 001, Aus 9 and Aus 33.

Day three greeted the fleet with stronger S/W wind conditions 15-18knots. The Breeze was very shifty for all heats with lead changes and ‘snakes and ladders’ outcomes for boats. Aus 21 won the day with two wins and a third, they were fifth crew to win a heat in the regatta.

Race seven saw Aus21 get to out to a solid lead they won the heat with a fast performance from Aus 33 who was to have a very consistent day.  Aus 001 finished third and was now close to the title.

Race eight saw the sixth crew to win a heat with a stella performance from Aus 081 with Aus 33 in second and Aus 21 on the podium for the second time on the day.

Race nine was probably the shiftiest race of the day and Aus 21 prevailed for the second time on day three. Aus 001 finishing second was assured of the overall Title and the consistent (3 time World champs) Aus 33 finished in third.

After the three days; Freight Train Aus 001 Matt Draper and Andrew McGowan won the Title with Lupercus 60 Aus 33 Ian McCrossin and James Cook second and Chill IT Aus 9 Matthew Moore and Michael Wood third.

The Albert Cup, winner of the first heat of the Nationals was won by Lupercus 60 Aus 33 Ian McCrossin and James Cook. This trophy has been awarded at Nationals since the early 1960s.

A special mention to KA 105, Case Varkevisser and Ric Bugg for getting a special FD back on the water and competing at a Nationals in 2021. The black hull and black masted Storm Vogel FD is one of three (rigged in the same way) built in 1967 by Binks Boats in South Australia. Back in 1968 the boat contested the Australian Olympic Trails.