2021-22 Red Pumps 16ft Skiff Australian Championships in Belmont Bay

2021-22 Red Pumps 16ft Skiff Australian Championships in Belmont Bay - Day 3

by Mark Rothfield 4 Jan 2022 06:12 PST 1-8 January 2022

Sou'east breezes that fluctuate markedly in strength and direction, while whipping up a chop, have been known to separate the men from the boys on Lake Macquarie, and that's pretty much the case at the halfway turning mark of the 21-22 Red Pumps 16ft Skiff Australian Championships.

Today, at least, it separated the seasoned campaigners from their younger challengers following Races 4 and 5. The yellow jerseys have been handed to Nathan Wilmot, Brett Davis and Malcolm Page on the borrowed skiff Ronstan, while the venerable Lee Knapton, piloting Bryden's Lawyers, sits handily in second place.

Brydens on day 3 of the Red Pumps 16ft Skiff Australian Championships 2021-22 - photo © Mark Rothfield

Clean starts are critical in a fleet of this calibre, with the first beat largely setting the script for the race, which is where wise heads usually prevail. Ronstan is yet to win a race but is consistently in the top four. Bryden's has also largely flown under the radar, dropping a 12th placing in Race 3 to sit three points adrift.

Lurking in 3rd overall is the Olympic/SailGP crew on Fluid, and overnight leader Domino's dropped back to 4th.

In Race 4 it was Ronstan first at the top mark from Lancelin and IMEI, with SKE Electrical and Fluid in the mix. Belmont boats NFPG and Insight then seized a right-hand shift to be first and second at the next mark. With Ronstan breathing down their neck as well, NFPG capsized just a few boat lengths from the finish.

It was painful to watch, let alone be part of, and it opened the door for a narrow win by Insight.

"Heartbreaking really," said NFPG skipper Ben Bruniges. "We just had to stay in front on the run to the finish but we didn't pull off the last gybe because I fell over and that was the end of it.

"Still, we have a layday tomorrow and we'll come back refreshed for the rest of the series."

Race 5 saw a two-boat battle between IMEI and Brydens at the front, while Belmont's East Coast Marine flew home for third.

Australian Sailing team member David Gilmour is helming IMEI with the highly experienced Trent Barnabas and Rob Napper. Gilmour knows Belmont Bay well from his 49er training days but is still coming to grips with the 16ft skiff.

"It was pretty fun racing today," he said. "There were around 10 boats that were pushing for the front of the fleet. I'm not totally comfortable in the boat yet so there's a few mistakes on my end, but I'm enjoying it a lot."

IMEI on day 3 of the Red Pumps 16ft Skiff Australian Championships 2021-22 - photo © Mark Rothfield

Wilmot says the key for the Ronstan crew is keeping everything simple and consistent.

"This was only our sixth race sailing together as a team so whatever happens, happens. I think we're also winning the Masters, so that's always a good thing for us old blokes," he joked.

"It's great having the team back together too. My cousin gave us his boat for the regatta and it has worked out well. Malcolm knows when to tell me to shut up and Brett is just as solid as a rock.

"There's a lot that can happen yet, with big breezes to come, but I love sailing these boats in those conditions."

Ronstan on day 3 of the Red Pumps 16ft Skiff Australian Championships 2021-22 - photo © Mark Rothfield

Knapton is remaining cagey about his chances of securing another national title in a class he's competed in since 1997.

"It's early days but we're just laying low and hopefully can come in at the end and give it a good shot," he said. "The boat's good, it's just us old fellas trying to get it around.

"We're trying to stay top 10 but it's hard to do that consistently in this regatta. We're just going out to have fun - if we get a result, it's a bonus."

In the award for female skippers, Bethany Sherry on Konami is tied with Georgia Steenson aboard Bella Group, just ahead of Jessica Iles on Capital Brewing. The 13ft Skiff Cheeky, sailed by Max Downey and Thomas Mountstephens, is yet to be beaten in the national titles, while Angus Stewart and Hugo Kemp aboard #9, were again runners-up in both races.

Racing resumes on Thursday, January 7.

Results after Day 3:

Pos	Boat Name	Skipper	Crew	Crew	Club	R1	R2	R3	R4	R5	Pts
1	Ronstan	Nathan Wilmot	Brett Davis	Malcolm Page	Man	2	[4]	4	2	4	12
2	Brydens Lawyers	Lee Knapton	Peter Mackie	Ricky Bridge	StG	7	2	[12]	4	2	15
3	Fluid Building	Nathan Outteridge	Tom Slingsby	Iain Jenson	Man	5	[11]	1	7	5	18
4	Domino's	Michael Quirk	Dallas Dawson	Thomas Stenson	Bel	6	1	2	10	[15]	19
5	Moonen Yachts	Daniel Turner	Angus Williams	Matt Stenta	Man	1	5	6	8	[11]	20
6	IMEI	David Gilmour	Trent Barnabas	Rob Napper	Man	[12]	3	11	6	1	21
7	Insight Building Ser	Rod Carter	Adam Gilson	Andrew Stone	Bel	4	[16]	3	1	14	22
8	SKE Electrical	Scott Babbage	Scott Beeby	Joel Skelton	Bel	3	12	8	3	[18]	26
9	East Coast Marine &	Tom Dawson	Jamie Woods	Joel Castle	Bel	[16]	8	5	14	3	30
10	Contender Sailcloth	Will Howard	Richard Howard	Corey Hamilton	Bel	10	6	[14]	9	6	31
11	Sail Racing	Felix Grech	Paul Darmanin	Tom Potter	Man	11	9	7	[15]	9	36
12	Newcastle Financial	Ben Bruniges	Justin Sharrock	Dave Hickey	Bel	8	7	18	5	[47O]	38
13	Lancelin	Brendan Crisp	Fynn Sprott	Tom Cunich	Man	[29]	10	13	11	8	42
14	Money Links	Adam Piper	Troy Dobinson	Mark Willis	Bel	[23]	13	15	13	7	48
15	Red Pumps Red	Gerard Smith	Keagan York	Kirk Mitchell	Man	14	17	10	[19]	17	58
16	Toogara	Josh Tasker	Sam Monkhouse	Finn Rodowicz	StG	[18]	14	17	18	10	59
17	Sutech Building Cons	Michael Koerner	Josh Ponton	James Lawira‑Fernand	Man	20	19	9	[28]	12	60
18	Eric's Storage	Harry Lawson	Nathan Edwards	Alex Leslie	MH	19	[47F]	16	12	13	60
19	Jamesco	Ben Bradley	James Turner	Alex Marinelli	StG	17	15	[23]	16	16	64
20	Knighton Group	Jake Liddell	Max Paul	Simon Hoffman	Bel	13	24	[25]	21	19	77
21	Red Pumps	Bruce Savage	Greg Windust	Jay Harris	Man	15	18	19	25	[28]	77
22	Pepsi Max	Ross Stutchbury	Ben Pilley	Shane Burke	Bel	[26]	20	20	17	26	83
23	Tooheys Extra Dry	Matthew Meaney	Hugo Hamilton	Felix Prince	Bel	22	21	24	20	[29]	87
24	NHS Building Supplie	Matt Crockett	Robert Flanagan	Glen Dawson	Bel	21	25	27	[47F]	20	93
25	Vaikobi	Felix Daverio	Michael Childs	James Slee	Man	27	[28]	21	22	23	93
26	CMG Property Mainten	Michael Vincent	Cameron Walker	Taylor Hodgkinson	MH	31	22	[33]	23	24	100
27	Bella Group	Georgia Steenson	Michael Hochguertel	Rory Murtagh	Bel	24	27	[32]	27	25	103
28	Konami	Bethany Sherry	Jason Thompson	Shane Slattery	Bel	[47F]	23	30	30	22	105
29	ADCO Constructions	Lachlan Steel	Ben Kirkby	Jerome Watts	StG	[33]	29	29	29	21	108
30	Capital Brewing Co	Jessica Iles	Andrew Iles	Riley Pike	Man	28	26	22	[47F]	35	111
31	Edenda	Will Beck	Andrew Stephenson	Peter McLeod	Drum	30	[32]	31	24	27	112
32	XXXX Gold	Neale Jones	Luke Dunne	Mike Ovenstone	Bel	32	[33]	28	26	33	119
33	Schweppes	Bailey James	Jamie Dobinson	Rob James	Bel	25	30	[39]	31	34	120
34	Shead	Marilyn Sorensen	Steve Stenta	Michael Jenkins	MH	[47F]	31	26	35	32	124
35	Aristocrat	Kimberly Baker	Jackson Baker	Jon Searles	Bel	37	34	35	33	[47F]	139
36	PT	Hayden Hansen	Nathan Guliksen	Mark Murray	Gos	[47F]	38	38	34	31	141
37	Fireball	James Downey	James Pinnington	Sam Skeen	Man	34	[39]	37	32	38	141
38	One Too Many	Stephen Chapman	Paul Harrison	Greg Steenson	Bel	[47F]	36	40	36	30	142
39	Employment Hero	Andrew Divola	Alastair Hunter	George Thompson	Man	35	[37]	34	37	36	142
40	Cunninghams	Nick Connor	Zac Barnabas	Daniel Nugent	Man	9	[47C]	47C	47C	47C	150
41	Kammakazie	Richard Williams	Phil Jenkins	Ian Wood	MH	36	35	36	[47F]	47C	154
42	White Tiger	Michael Carter	Craig Doran	David Russel	Man	38	40	[41]	39	39	156
43	Weathertex	Jess Rivers	Will Rivers	Ryan Watt	Gos	[47F]	41	47O	40	37	165
44	Inspectrite Australi	David Taylor	Josh Henshaw	William Horin	Bel	[47F]	47F	42	38	40	167
45	Iron Jack	Griffin Suters	Geoff Akhurst	Sophia Ugarte	Bel	[47S]	47F	47C	47F	47F	188
45	Brian Hilton Motor G	Brent Connor	Sam Grik	Lincoln Senior	Gos	[47C]	47C	47C	47C	47C	188