R Class Skiff Racing 1998/1999

1999 R-Class Leander Trophy Results and trophy's

The Season So Far

The Ruddiman or THE TASMAN BAY SAGA: Road Trip to Nelson

Day One: The day dawned overcast and cool, serving to slightly dampen nervous tensions a little. There was a long and arduous journey ahead. A journey from which not everyone would return (namely Bevan Hussey on Yahoo Seriously). Not being ones to travel in formation, a location was set in the Nelson area to drop anchor and raft up for the refreshment and reprovisioning of tired crews. Some quickly became over provisioned and failed to return from hunting trips until early the next morning (what they were hunting I'm not sure, but most were unsuccessful).

Day Two: All too soon, the day dawned clear and breathless. Many crews were still disorientated from the previous evenings hunting. Interestingly, it was soon discovered that many local merchants had run out of Panadol?!? However, there were three races to get through and none of the 24 sailors were giving any quarter. (Incidentally, windless starts in a Tasman bay slop aren't that much fun.) Defending champions Chappie and Nellie MoreFM took race one, but unfortunately had to retire early in the second after snapping their prod attempting to mate with Virtual Reality. This left the path clear for Dan Leech and Jason Griffin (Acid Rock) to take the remaining races. Buster Bloodvessel (Bevan Lang & Daniel Wise) got up for an exceptional second in this race, but were deemed to be over the line at the start (damn those prods...). After some extremely good performances throughout the day, Witchdoctor (David Pairman & Tim Allen) got up for second overall, with Stealth (David Leech & Jason Griffen) third. Top Wellington boat was Stagecoach (Steve Hogg & Neill Wood), finishing fourth. Exhausted after a long day on the water, the crews retreated to India, where hot food and disorientating card games amused many long into the night.

Day Three:

Another clear, breathless Tasman Bay morning dawned. Although tired, there were four races to sail that morning and Wellington boats to be beaten. That done (I didn't see much of the race, being nearer the back most of the time...), we packed up our trusty vessels and made for home (a little worse for wear), another Ruddiman Trophy successfully defended. And to the Wellington boys, well lets just say better luck next time.

Final Placing's:

CYA Sprint Series

Well, what can one say about this event (probably the less said the better). I think that it can be summed up by one word - CARNAGE.

Mental note: Sailing R-Class Skiffs on the Christchurch estuary in a 1.9 metre tide, in twenty-plus knots is generally not recommended.

Nine boats were on the line for the first start, only two finished all the races. A first each and a tie meant it was down to the last race for the decider between Force and Tony on Dirty Dancing and Paul and Carl in Virtual Reality. Dirty Dancing won the last race and the event, with Virtual Reality putting in a valiant effort. However "what did you break?!" quickly became the catch phrase of the day. Bevan Hussey managed to rip the bottom out of Yahoo Seriously after hitting the bar. He quickly came to the conclusion that this would be a good time to build a new hull, and we should see Bevan and Paul again at the Leander Trophy. Chappie and Nellie managed to snap their prod early on, so that was the last we saw of them. Another five or so boats quickly dropped out after some close calls with the bottom, trying to avoid damage themselves. All in all, this was a great event for the few spectators, and it promises to be even bigger next year. How about a bigger tide next year boys??!!

The Dolphin Café and Bar Sprint Series

The 19^th of December saw the inauguration of this excellent event. Held in Akaroa, Canterbury's own French Riveria, a great time was had by all. An informal start time meant that there was time for a quick beer before the race, and the near windless conditions ensured that any racing formalities were quickly done away with. Eventual winners of this event were the boys in Acid Rock and second were the Gryphon. However, all racing and no drinking makes for a boring trip, so once the boats were away, the latter was taken up like it was going out of fashion. This event saw the second appearance of the Squadron's mascots. After being supposedly deflated in Sean's wardrobe since the boat show in October (we know the truth...), Percy Plastic and Roberta Rubber (the squadron's own sex dolls) quickly made friends everywhere they went. An excellent night was had by all. It was well worth the headaches in the morning. Hopefully, this will become an annual event.

Thanks to the Dolphin Café (Akaroa) for supporting this fantastic sprint series. The Dolphin Café was recently named runner-up to best cafe in Canterbury in the 1998 New Zealand Best Cafe Awards

Canterbury Championships

As always, the 1998/99 season Canterbury Champs was an extremely competitive and hard fought affair. The event was sailed over two weekends, with two races back-to-back each Saturday. Races one and two proved to be extremely challenging. Twenty five knots of north-easterly, coupled with a huge swell and steep chop proved to be more than a match for some boats. Rick "Chappie" Chapman and Grant "Nellie" Nelson on MoreFM managed to break their mast and rip most of their sails in the first race, effectively ending their event before it had really begun. Sean "The Boy" Milner and Steve Mac managed to break their brand new toy Chemical Weapon in the first race after snapping the rudder. The "Foetuses" Dan Leech and Jason Griffen in Acid Rock got up for a excellent first in this race, followed by Pete and Tony in Dirty Dancing. An excellent performance form David May and John Leech in Stealth gave them third place. Race two saw pretty much the same conditions, minus a few starters this time round. Again, the conditions took their toll, with capsizes a-plenty. Pete and Tony eventually took out this race, followed by Virtual Reality sailed by Paul Roe and stand-in crew Stephen Fortune. Stealth once again came in for an excellent third.

Races three and four on the 30^th of January saw an easing of conditions and extremely close racing in the fleet of nine boats. After breakages the week before, both Chemical Weapon and MoreFM were back on the water and looking strong. However, the bad luck continued for Sean and Steve, breaking their prod in the first race, as did Virtual Reality. However, Chappie and Nellie kept it together for the whole race achieving a credible second, only beaten by Dirty Dancing, who just seems to getting faster and faster. The boys in Acid Rock came in for third, maintaining their run of good form. Race four saw the reappearance of a prodless Chemical Weapon in devastating form. Even without a spinnaker, Sean and Steve still managed a second in the twenty knot breeze. This was probably the closest race of the series. The top five boats all finished within a few minutes of each other, with Buster Bloodvessel close behind in sixth. MoreFM improved their standing in this race, winning it from the 'Weapon. Once again the boys in Stealth were third.

FINAL RESULTS - 1998/99 Canterbury Championships (high points system)

Leander 1999

(28 Go Nad in Wellington)

Well, Leander 1999. What can one say. The racing was hot, the weather was, well, not. Racing on two days out of a possible four saw the crews of the 28 entered boats with a lot of time on their hands. This aside, the event was hailed as a great succuss.

Thursday saw the holding of the invitation race in the morning. This was our first taste of things to come - highly competitive racing at all levels. It was soon apparent that the new Woof hulls were going to be the ones to beat, taking out the top three places. Auckland boat C-Tech took this race out, with the 'Weapon boys (Sean and Steve) in third. Next Canterbury boat was Dirty Dancing in fifth.

Race one of the Virtual Marina Leander Trophy was no disappointment, Sean and Steve winning it in fine style. Up for an excellent third were new boys Dan Leech and Jason Griffen in Acid Rock. Defending champion Design Source got up for second in this race, keeping their defence hopes alive.

Race two - more wind, more good results. Top Canterbury boat this time was Acid Rock, with the 'Weapon back in fourth. However, this was enough for the boys to retain the yellow jersey (kindly provided by the Wellington R-Class Squadron) after day one.

As glorious as the day's racing was, the event was marred from the outset by the kidnapping of Canterbury supporter Roberta Rubber. Fingerprint analysis is currently in progress on her discarded underwear and Sean is currently in counselling. There is a fiend on the loose somewhere in Wellington. You know who you are, so please bring Roberta home.

The day dawned cloudy with a light northerly and (for most) relatively hangover-less. Concentration was as high as the stakes. Could the'Weapon boys hold on to their lead? Or would Design Source come through to defend its title. Only time and high stress racing would tell.

The start of race three was as usual a hotly contended affair. You try manoeuvring on a start line with 25 odd other boats and a two-meter long prod. The top part of the fleet got away to a blinder in the patchy and shifty conditions. Stress was high in the top ten, with placing's changing constantly. This race was all about picking the shifts and making the most of every puff, something that Alex Vallings and Andrew Meikeljohn (C-Tech) were able to do well, taking out their second consecutive race for the regatta. Second was Design Source and third StageCoach. In a huge effort, the Buster Boys (Bevan Lang and Daniel Wise) were just beaten out of tenth spot by a rampaging Witch Doctor, a tow away on the line not enough to keep fellow Cantabrians Dave Pairman and Tim Allen out.

Race four, sailed in a building breeze was an all North Island affair, Auckland's hold on the top four only broken by StageCoach in third. Top Canterbury boat was More FM in fifth. Once again, the racing was hot in the building, shifting breeze. The afternoon's racing was going to be interesting.

Race five saw the breeze building further, with some of the boats not even making it to the start line. The start was hell, with most boats capsizing at some stage. The remaining boats were able to send it to the max. in the 25 plus knots providing some challenging racing. The Guru (Tim Bartlet) eventually took this race out, a feat in it self considering some didn't even make it to the start line in the challenging conditions. Auckland oats managed to fill the top four places, with More FM and the 'Weapon in fifth and sixth respectively.

The evening saw a night on the town for the boys. A dinner was held at Chafers Marina to kick it all off, with some having a better time than others (if you know what I mean). This was a great night, only hampered by a distinct lack of spoons??!!. Apparently those that made it into town that night had a great time. Others were in bed by 10:30. Pikers (we know who you are).

Well, what can one say about Saturday. Awaking all too early with not enough sleep, the day dawns windy and wet. After breakfast, we journey down to the yacht club to suss out the days' happenings. Finally, the RO decides to call the days' racing off. Thank god for race five yesterday.

However, a few hardy souls decided to brave the conditions for the Stable Handcrafts Supercup series. Six exciting short course races were held, eventually won in fine form by the Mac brothers (Paul and Steve) on Design Source, with Seven Hogg on StageCoach in second. After that excitement, the Buster, Stealth and Acid Rock boys decided enough was enough and decided to Go-Kart and Send It (as the twelve-foot boys would put it). Racing was close and competitive, with the barrier tyres taking a hammering. No winner could be decided however, and our attention turned to other things... What a night (for some). Probably the less said the better (the memory fades...)

Sunday dawned, and it was @#&*ing blowing it's *%$s off to put it mildly. The event was over. An Aucklander had won once again. And only 12 hours or so to wait around for the flight home. Not ones to waste the day, Laser Strike was the call of the day for the boys. Skippers vs crews to let off some of that on the water tension in a controlled environment. Of course the crews kicked butt, once and for all putting the skippers in their rightful place.

The afternoon saw the prizegiving. Thanks to all the sponsors for the bountiful stash that was bestowed upon us (especially to a certain company for the wonderful bags (we know you love it Sean)). And thanks to Kenny Fyfe for the new jib!! So the waiting began for the flight home. Dreams and schemes began to look towards Leander 2000 in Lyttelton. Roll on February 2000!!

Thanks to for their support in transporting our boats to Wellington.