The sun finally shone at Esperance for Day 3 of the 2019 Flying Fifteen WA State Championships, sponsored by Gemmill Homes, and the fleet was rewarded with gentle to moderate offshore breezes of 8 to 12 knots for the final three races of the championships.

Race Officer John Taylor, as he had promised the night before, kept the variety coming, with three different courses set for each of the races.

Race 4 started in a light North Westerly, and on lap 1, those that went right up the first beat seemed to make good gains on those that went left.  On the second beat, however, the wind dropped out to almost nothing, before filling in from the West to South West, giving a huge gain to those that went left.  There were some riches to rags tales to be told (as well as vice versa) as some boats went from the front of the fleet to mid-fleet, and others leapfrogged them into the top 10.  Some of those who are normally at the front of the fleet had their worst race of the series on this race, including  Philippa Packer and Dean McAullay in Firefly (RFBYC), David Swan and Matt Elliot in Phar Lap (EBYC) - showing that local knowledge counted for nothing, at least on this occasion, and John Wilson and Matt Summers in Ffast Lane 4 (SoPYC) who finished with only two boats behind them.  On the other hand, locals Chris Wells and Brad Elliot in Winx sailed a blinder, finishing fourth, as did Willie Packer and Rob Nash in Catch Me Iff You Can (RFBYC) , who finished third.  Race 4 was won by David Yu and Chris Nelson in Tuffan Up (RFBYC), with Hamish Carnachan and Peter Mudford in Neffarious (RFBYC) in second place - making it an RFBYC trifecta.  Series leaders after Day 1, Nick Jerwood and Brad Sheridan in Ineffable (SoPYC), had to settle for a sixth place.

The wind had settled down a bit for Race 5, mostly from the South West, but with some decent windshifts to reward those that were able to pick them.  Unlike Race 4, where the fleet got quite strung out in the lighter winds, the racing in Race 5 was close and competitive, with large groups rounding marks in very close proximity.  David Yu and Chris Nelson in Tuffan Up followed up their first place in Race 4 with a second in Race 5.  Race 5 was won by Philippa Packer and Dean McAullay in Firefly, and local EBYC sailors Gregor McQueen and Peter Fox in Lightning were consolidating their excellent regatta so far with a 3rd placing. Nick Jerwood and Brad Sheridan in Ineffable, trying to sail conservatively, managed to get buried in the pack, and finished 14th in this race, meaning that Tuffan Up was now leading the championship after 5 races (with one drop) by 2 points from Ineffable, with the Glamour Buoys Greg Leaversuch and Peter Barblett (RFBYC) and Firefly not far behind. 

So the Championship all came down to the last race, Race 6.  Nick Jerwood and Brad Sheridan in Ineffable took the lead at the end of the first lap, and were never headed, going on to win the race.  To win the championship, David Yu and Chris Nelson in Tuffan Up needed to finish second, but could only manage 7th.  Second in Race 6 were Greg Leaversuch and Peter Barblett in Glamour Buoys, and Hamish Carnachan and Peter Mudford in Neffarious took third.

Overall, therefore, Nick Jerwood and Brad Sheridan in Ineffable won the 2019 Flying Fifteen WA State Championship by 4 points. David Yu and Chris Nelson in Tuffan Up and Greg Leaversuch and Peter Barblett in Glamour Buoys were tied on points after 6 races, with Tuffan Up being awarded second overall on a countback.

Eagle Eye, skippered by Terry Newby and crewed by Leanne Fallows (SoPYC), being the only Silver boat in the fleet, won the Silver Championship, and also won the Consistency prize narrowly from Hamish Carnachan and Peter Mudford in Neffarious, with Andy and Ann Knowles in A Squared (SoPYC) finishing third on Consistency.

Final overall results can be viewed via this link: http://www.sportspage.com.au/yacht_clubs/ebyc/f15states/Flying_Fifteen_Open_Championship.htm, while the Consistency results can be viewed at http://www.sportspage.com.au/yacht_clubs/ebyc/f15states/Flying_Fifteen_Consistency.htm

Special thanks are due to Esperance Bay Yacht Club Regatta Chairman and Vice Commodore, David Swan and his team for putting on another memorable event.  As usual, the social program was outstanding, and the regatta itself went off like clockwork (weather permitting!).  Thanks also to Race Officer John Taylor and his start and mark-laying team who made sure that we stayed safe, enjoyed a variety of courses, and that we managed to fit 6 high quality races into the only two days available after Day 1 was blown out.