2025 2.4mR Australian Championship Paynesville - Peter Russell turns back the clock

Gippsland Lakes provided wonderful racing for the 2.4mR fleet with Peter Russell enjoying the "lake-like" challenge for a perfect score of 8 wins. In 2002 Michael Leydon and in 2004 Lachlan Gilbert dropped one second place, and in 2019 Matt Bugg dropped one third place to achieve a perfect score. John Collingwood pushed Peter in every race helping him to turn back the clock and win his fourth Australian Championship.

25 boats!! A brilliant achievement for the class.

Five sailors were awarded life membership of the Australian 2.4mR Association for their contribution to the class - Matt Bugg, Peter Coleman, Peter Thompson, Peter Russell and Neil Patterson.

Thank you to Race Officer Louise Hutton, all the volunteers, and local heroes Lyn Wallace and Brian Carroll for making this a wonderful event (Peter Russell will always treasure the perfect score).

Our next Australian Championship is at Royal Freshwater Bay Yacht Club, Perth on 3-5 April 2026 with many sailors registering their interest in the journey to WA at our AGM. The 2.4mR class in Australia will celebrate our 30th Australian Championship in 2027 at Royal Brighton Yacht Club, Melbourne.

Close racing on Gippsland Lakes on Day One of the 2025 2.4mR Australian Championship - photo © Christie Arras

Gippsland Lakes Yacht Club just completed hosting the 28th International 2.4 metre Yacht Australian Championship 2024/2025 which was held on Australia Day weekend. Twenty-six competitors and those accompanying them travelled from Melbourne, Canberra, Hobart, Perth and Paynesville towing their little but impressively beautiful 2.4mR yachts (which are actually 4.18 metres long).

These yachts look very much like all the classic metre boats, streamlined, deep keeled, with a main sail and a jib which, if the mast is raked somewhat forward, can almost function like a spinnaker.

Gippsland Lakes Yacht Club was honoured to have Louise Hutton, an Australian National Race Officer, probably the youngest and only woman to attain those credentials, to oversee the racing. Her expertise and her relaxed approach to the sailors and volunteers set the tone for this great championship experience.

Peter Coleman AUS 1053 leading at the top mark in Race 8 - photo © Christie Arras

Their first day of competition was on Saturday, the 25th, and the little boats bobbed around out on Lake Victoria for almost an hour waiting for the wind to settle. When the course of windward and returns could be set at 1400 hrs, the wind chose to settle and stay allowing all three races to be completed without a course change. It was also a lively wind and the sailors were delighted.

The racecourse consisted of windward and leeward returns with a bottom gate, the windward mark, a rounding mark, and windward of the top mark, a sounding buoy was placed should the several vision impaired sailors have difficulty seeing the top mark. They just needed to press a button in their yacht and the buoy would sound.

On the second day, Australia Day, once again the wind was steady and lively, and the three races proceeded successfully. One little addition was that while the 2.4mR boats bobbed around after their first race finished, Lou, the Race Officer, started GLYC's Australian Day Trophy Race with Mosquito cats, trailer sailors, a trimaran and a little Sunfish, who sailed up to the windward mark and sped off for their passage race elsewhere.

Gary Davidson of the Royal Yacht Club. of Tasmania - photo © Christie Arras

At this point in the racing, one sailor stood out, Peter Russell, from the YMCA of Canberra SC, on Morna 7, who won first in every race. Close behind, was John Collingwood from Royal Brighton YC sailing Super Joey, earning second place. Peter Coleman also from RBYC sailing Australia lI IV was working on third.

The final day arrived out of breath, so a postponement flag was hoisted while the start boat with the RO went out to check out the racetrack in Lake Victoria. The wind obliged and the fleet sailed out for the last two races to complete the series. And once again, Peter Russell snagged the last two wins given him a perfect 8 first places and this year's National Champion for 2024/2025.

Racing home on Gippsland Lakes for the 2025 2.4mR Australian Championship - photo © Christie Arras

Once most of the boats were pulled out and prepared for their journeys home, the Presentations were held. Winning second place was John Collingwood from RBYC, and Peter Coleman also from RBYC won third place.

The first-place trophy was a tall impressive wooden trophy, but was quite unusual as it sported an old beat-up unopened can on the top. The story goes that the can was part of the provisions on Kay Cottee's yacht, "Blackmore's First Lady", which she sailed single-handed around the world in1988 earning her the first Australian woman sailor to complete the voyage successfully. Kay didn't like asparagus and auctioned off her stash for charity at $1000 a can and this particular can was one of them.

Everyone was a winner but having fun on the podium was Peter Russell first (Centre), John Collingwood second (Left) and Peter Coleman third (Right) - photo © Christie Arras

2025 2.4mR Australian Championship Overall Results (drops = 1)