130 Sabres assembed at Blairgowrie Yacht Squadron in Victoria over the Christmas New Year period for the class’s 34th national championship sponsored by Club Marine .These numbers put the regatta in the top handful of class championships in Australia this year, and was easily the biggest in the history of the class. The event coincided with a delightful week of weather and lighter to moderate conditions which allowed all 10 scheduled races to be completed. Blairgowrie’s facilities coped well with the big influx of sailors, aided well by its extensive lawn and beach areas and substantial patrol boat fleet. A focus on afternoon racing allowed competitors and their families to enjoy a sleep in or to explore the delightful Southern Mornington Peninsula.
Entries were drawn from around the country, including the classes newest state of WA where a 20 boat fleet has been created in recent years. A strong SA contingent of 12 were well placed to take on the big Victorian fleet.
The event was won by last year’s winner – Black Rock sailor Chris Dance; with Adelaide sailors Mark Soulsby and Craig McPhee in 2nd and 3rd; and Blairgowrie’s Wayne Bates and Peter Hackett in 4th and 5th. Chris Dance’s 3 first places gave him a comfortable win in the series with 19 points between him and 2nd placed Mark Soulsby. It was without doubt the most competitive Sabre fleet ever assembled, with many sailors having highly impressive national and international sailing credentials. The regatta also saw the largest number of youth entries yet seen in the class with 17 entries; with Blairgowrie’s Liam Edleston winning the trophy in his first year in the class.
The racing was exciting, and provided close boat-to-boat experiences that will be long remembered by all who took part. The starts and mark roundings in particular saw concentrations of boats that could only be described as awesome – and provided fantastic racing at all parts of the fleet. Good start lines and an experienced start team meant that the fleet got away without excessive levels of recalls. Important given that social events were scheduled for 5 of the 7 evenings during the regatta ! Highlights of the social program were a party night courtesy of long-time Sabre builder Brett Young of YMS and a presentation dinner with 250 in what might be the final such event at Blairgowrie before their clubhouse re-build later in the year.