Two more heats of the 57th Australian Flying Fifteen Championships were sailed today (January 2).  It was another excellent day for the WA sailors, with Sandgropers filling 7 out of the top 10 places in both races.  After four heats, WA boats fill the top three placings overall for the regatta.

Race 3

Race 3 started in winds of around 15 knots.  While wind direction was quite steady, the breeze lightened off to around 10 knots by the end of the race.  Better behaviour from the fleet today saw no OCS disqualifications, and the lighter winds meant that all 28 boats in the fleet finished.

Invitation race winners Leavo and Baddy (in Glamour Buoys) won the heat, with fellow RFBYC sailors Philippa Packer and Dean MacAullay (Firefly) only three seconds behind in second place.  David Yu and Chris Nelson (Tuffan Up) made it an RFBYC trifecta, finishing in third place, hotly pursued by former Australian and World Champion Nick Jerwood, with daughter Enfys on board (Ineffable) in third place representing SoPYC.  Karen and Russell Dawes (Second Breakfast) continued their consistently good results, crossing the line in 7th position.  9th, 10th and 11th positions were filled by WA boats Fflashpoint, She Who Must Be Obeyed and Ffast Lane 3 respectively. 

Four WA boats filled positions 14-17 - Fforeigner (from Albany), Yes No Maybe! (from SoPYC), FFast Lane (from SoPYC) and 16 (from Geraldton). 

The remaining West Aussies in the fleet included Nelson's Loose Cannon (21st) and Enuff Rope (23rd). A protest against Faffin subsequently led to them being disqualified post-race. 

Full results from Race Three can be found here.

Race 4

The fleet had itchy trigger fingers for this one, leading to the first general recall of the regatta.  However better behaviour at the second start led to no OCS disqualifications in Race 4.

Nick Jerwood is clearly starting to refind his mojo following a period out of the 15s and his partnership with new crew Enfys would appear to be gelling, as he came away with a clear win in Heat 4 - his first of the series.

2nd and 3rd places were filled, once again, by WA boats Tuffan Up (David Yu and Chris Nelson) and Firefly (Phillipa Packer and Dean MacAullay) respectively.

John Wilson in Ffast Lane 3 took out fifth spot and the Glamour Buoys, Leavo and Baddy 7th.  Rounding out the top 10 were Jen Simms and Adam Semple in Yes No Maybe! in 9th - her best result of the regatta to date - and Karen and Russell Dawes in Second Breakfast in 10th.

Rookie, Hassen and Groom in Fflashpoint, She Who Must Be Obeyed and Nelsons Loose Cannon finished in 13th, 14th and 15th positions respectively.  A brace of WA boats had their own little battle and filled positions 20 to 23 - Ffast Lane (Jeff and Greg Vance), Faffin (Carl and Kristine Petterson), 16 (Stephen Pidgeon and Stuart Adamson), and Enuff Rope (Greg and Leanne Howell).  Simon and Aileen Lucas (Fforeigner) from Albany were an unfortunate DNF with a broken spreader.

Full results from Race Four can be found here.

An additional report from Day 2 can be found on the FFIA website here.

Overall Standings

After four races, Nick and Enfys Jerwood in Ineffable are a clear leader with 9 points.  Equal on 15 points in second and third places are Tuffan Up (David Yu) and Firefly (Phillipa Packer) from RFBYC.  Surprize by Giver (Stephen Fries) from Sandringham Yacht Club is not far behind those two in fourth place with 19 points.  Lingering with intent, and with OCS's to discard are David Tabb from the UK in Ark and Leavo and Baddy in Glamour Buoys. 

The overall results for the regatta can be found here.

Tomorrow should be challenging for the fleet as the forecast is for it to be stinking hot (41 degrees Celsius) in Adelaide, with light offshore winds and a possible light sea breeze in the afternoon.