I 14 – Flinders Skiff Weekend Racing Report Nov 2023

The annual Flinders i14 weekend seemed to come around fast this year. The Victorian i14 fleet has been visiting Flinders YC for over 40 years, located on the Mornington Peninsula at the gateway to Western Port Bay, Flinders offers a large swell and breezy conditions making it a great pre–Australian Championships warm up. The yacht club’s scenic location and on-site camping makes this regatta one of the busiest socially and a must on the i14 calendar.

Wang Wang was the first boat to arrive on Friday afternoon, driving down from Queensland; Dave and Trent made the most of the warm conditions and managed to get out for a quick sailing session that afternoon.

This year the 14s were joined by the Sharpie fleet and were treated with a warm 25-degree air temp and a light south easterly breeze on the Saturday. Two races were scheduled for the Saturday and three sprint races on the Sunday.

The first race got underway with a consistent 8 knot SE breeze with the tide favouring the left-hand side. Will and Hugh on Homie had a nice start and lead the fleet out to the left closely followed by Dave and Trent on Wang Wang. The tidal influence became quite dominant and these two boats rounded together with a handy lead from the rest of the fleet.

Mark and James on Sticky Fingers managed to find a clear lane down the run as the wind became quite streaky. Seaweed/kelp proved challenging snagging a few centreboards and rudders throughout the tricky conditions creating many passing opportunities. The next upwind and run remained light and the sound of ominous thunder could be heard getting ever close.  Sticky Fingers skipped ahead whilst a group of 6 boats had a close battle with each other with Homie finishing 2nd ahead of Chris and Matt on the Hedgehog.

As the last boats finished the breeze died completely and a large black storm cell loomed over the hills to the north and race 2 was wisely abandoned, as all competitors paddled back to the club the heavens opened up with heavy rain, lighting and thunder.

What better way to spend a long day on the water than with good friends, a few beers and delicious barbecued meats from the local restaurant. Sunday greeted the sailors with a somewhat wet, overcast South Westerly which threatened to build throughout the day.

Race one started in 15-18knots with a large rolling swell. Lindsay and Andrew on Ronstan/Irwin Sails and Mark and James on Sticky Fingers sailed around side by side with Sticky Fingers taking the first sprint for the day. The wind increased in Race 2 with gusts touching 20+ knots, the downhill rides were fast and lumpy, Wang Wang lead at the top mark and didn’t put a foot wrong in the blustery conditions to take a comfortable win in Race 2. Roger and Andrew on late Arrival finished second with a few capsizes affecting some of the other boats.

The breeze had built a little bit more for Race 3 and the strong conditions took a toll on some of the boats choosing to return to shore. Sticky Fingers had their second win for the day with The Hedgehog coming in second and Homie in third.

The weekend was a great success once again and a special thanks to Flinders Yacht Club for supporting us throughout the weekend.