Cranbrook Sailing Excels at Nationals
The 1st and 2nd VI went into the week in South Australia fresh from finishing 1st and 2nd overall at the NSW Championships in March, this was a historic achievement and there was enthusiasm and confidence as we boarded the plane to Adelaide.
The regatta format consists of 3 days of qualifying in a ‘swiss league’ format which sees the top ranked teams repeatedly racing each other for a place in the top 8 which progress to finals. The races themselves are fast paced and about 10 minutes long with teams of 3 boats each racing around a short track with multiple turning marks, the goal is to block your opponents and create opportunities for team mates to come through so that your teams has the best combined position across the finish. The pressure is high and slight tactical, boat handling, or boat speed errors can be very costly, which makes the format prone to big upsets – but over the three days Cranbrook shone with the 1st VI qualifying through in top position and our 2nd VI qualifying in third amongst the 21 teams from around Australia. After several days of qualifying the finals commence and are concluded over 2 hours, it’s high pressure and requires nerves of steel. The team knew the perils of the finals format well having come aching close in the semis and grand final over previous years.
This year however, it was Cranbrook’s moment, dispatching 4th placed Brighton Grammar from Melbourne in the 1st race before lining up against the defending Champions Scots in the semi-final. This has a faltering start with Scots taking advantage of a major wind shift to win the first race in the best of 3 playoff. With their back against the wall the boys rallied to win the next two races cleanly and send their Scots rivals packing. This set up a final against The Hutchins School from Tasmania, the team that had been running a clear second throughout qualifying. In another best of 3 series Cranbrook opened with a win and lead race 2 before some brilliant positioning from Hutchins overturned the order right at the finish. Sudden death then with 1 short race to decide the title, Cranbrook’s captain Spencer McKay and crew Will Harris took a slender lead over the fleet which they held by a matter of inches around the track whilst teammates pushed another Hutchins sailor back into 6th place. Defending an attack back from the other Hutchins boats into the finish they managed to edge out a slender victory and secure the trophy for only the second time in Cranbrook sailings history.
Our 2nd VI had a tougher time of it in the finals series losing their initial race to Hutchins and then their second to Scots to narrowly miss the semi-finals. With the oldest sailor in the squad in year 10, they will all have a shot at redemption next season and have a clear goal set. The result also qualifies Cranbrook to represent Australia in the Interdominion Championships in October, which pitches the best 3 Australian schools against the best 3 New Zealand schools. Aus and NZ are the two best sailing countries in the world and rivalry runs deep, it’s sure to be a thrilling contest. A big thanks to Mr Tom Brewer the Head of Sailing, Mrs Jaime Garth head coach, as well as Mr Uncles and Mrs Tziortzis who accompanied the team for the trip.
Tom Brewer
Head of Sailing
