Entrees were down to just 9 boats, Hariet Woodrow from Big River Sailing Club, Troy Lewis (defending champion) and Richard Dodd from Taree Aquatic Club, Jamie Simpson, Ian Bishop, Peter Press and Chris Giaquinto from Kogarah Bay Sailing Club and Don Puttick and Geoff Comfort from Canberra Yacht Club. They could all be classed as reliably handy sailors, so the competition was on!
Saturday’s racing was abandoned due to strong NW 20 – 35 knot winds all day. All the competitors looking wistfully out the windows hoping for an abatement that didn’t eventuate.
Quite the opposite on Sunday with the light wind forecast being true to form. The race committee got the 1st race away just after 11.30am in a gentle 5-7 knots N/NW (with many holes). The pin end was favoured at the gun, with Geoff well in control with Hariet and Troy (defending champion) in pursuit. Geoff took the left side and took the lead at the first mark with Hariet and Troy close behind. These 3 rode a strong gust downwind that took them well ahead of the rest of the fleet. Geoff lost the lead to Hariet on the second lap and maintained that for the remainder of the race. Geoff took 2nd with Troy 3rd. The most intense action racing was with the rest of the fleet who came through in a bunch that really test the finishing recorders with Ian just ahead of Jamie! Chris was settling in with his new boat and finished 7th.
The 2nd race breeze was 8-10 kts with some tricky shifts near the top mark and a few gusty squirts to liven up the ride downwind. These were the best racing conditions of the day. The finishing order was Troy 1st, Geoff 2nd and Hariet beating off the mid order to take 3rd with Ian and Richard in hot pursuit.
We were sent in for a lunch break while the club got its fleet regatta underway. There was much discussion on shore about whether we would get another one or two races in the afternoon session and how the series leaders were placed on points. As it turns out Hariet, Troy and Geoff were all on 4 points, followed by Ian on 9 and Jamie on 12.
Sailing for the Sabres resumed about 2.45pm and conditions were getting flukey again. Could this be the S/SW change coming in a bit earlier that forecast? The pressure came in waves from 3-4 knots then up to 10 or so, and back down again. The trend was generally down and on the final triangle, shifted south, making a patchy work to the wing mark. Geoff had established a 100m lead over Troy for the final reach to the finish. For those going low to finish at the boat end of the line the wind dropped completely 100 m from the finish line as those above picked up the incoming southerly and gained on Geoff and Troy. Fortunately, Geoff had established enough lead to hold on for 1st. Richard Dodds was a dark horse slipping into 2nd across the line, later retiring for omitting a penalty after hitting a mark. Hariet went high and passed Troy who had gone low, and Ian got a little puff to creep up on Hariet to tie for 2nd. The mid fleet was jumbled as the pressure and direction played havoc. Peter (also in a new boat) and Don had their best finishes of the series with a 5th and 6th respectively. The race committee called it a day as we ran out of time to start another race.
Geoff took out the championship (his 4th in 9 years of sailing Sabres, Hariet was 2nd with Troy 3rd. Ian was 1st on handicap followed by Peter and Don.
| Place | Skipper | Boat No | Heat 1 | Heat 2 | Heat 3 | Final Points |
| 1st | Geoff Comfort | 2060 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 5 |
| 2nd | Hariet Woodrow | 2041 | 1 | 3 | 2.5 | 6.5 |
| 3rd | Troy Lewis | 2033 | 3 | 1 | 4 | 8 |
| 4th | Ian Bishop | 1962 | 4 | 5 | 2.5 | 11.5 |
| 5th | Peter Press | 2128 | 6 | 6 | 5 | 17 |
| 6th | Jamie Simpson | 1992 | 5 | 7 | 7 | 19 |
| 7th | Richard Dodds | 1685 | 8 | 4 | Ret’d 9 | 21 |
| 8th | Don Puttick | 1739 | 9 | 8 | 6 | 23 |
| 9th | Chris Giaquinto | 1965 | 7 | 9 | 8 | 24 |
Despite the conditions, the Teralba race committee had managed give us a 3 race series in fickle conditions which resulted in a valid NSW State Championships.
Many thanks to Michael and his crew at Teralba for hosting us on the water and keeping us fed and watered on the shore. It was a great weekend!
The SSANSW State Championships for 2026/27 will be held in conjunction with the ACT Dinghy Championships in Canberra in mid to late November, 2026. More details as they come to hand.
