2009 Paper Tiger Catamaran Australian Championships

[Dave]

The 2009 Paper Tiger Catamaran Australian Championships were held at Mt Martha Yacht Club on Port Phillip Bay in Victoria. There were 39 boats competing, representing four states (Vic, NSW, Tas & SA). The host club did a great job of running the series, setting excellent courses and start lines.

There was quite a variety in wind and wave conditions throughout the event. The series started with moderate winds, strengthening towards the middle of the series, and then dropping to around five knots for the last three races. Sea conditions were testing at times, getting up near two metres during the strongest winds. In the third race, the defending champion, Greg Williams, succumbed to the conditions when his brand new home-built boat fell awkwardly off a wave and opened up the panel around his centre-case. Fortunately, he was able to borrow another boat and he put his own rig on this to finish the series.

The series was won by Bryan Anderson (Vic), who has now achieved an amazing five victories, a record in the class. Anderson's impressive consistency across all wind strengths was a key component of his success, as was his superb boat handling. The runner-up was Ian Marcovitch (NSW), who struggled a bit in the stronger breezes, but was outstanding in the lighter conditions. He was hampered in one race when a screw fell out of the vernier adjuster on an upper stay, preventing him from finishing the race.

This series was an impressive result for Redhead Sails (made by Ian Marcovitch), placing 1st, 2nd, 4th and 5th. It is interesting to note that six of the top ten boats were home-built plywood boats, with the other four being professionally built foam sandwich boats.

The top ten boats from this Nationals will form the Australian Team, to compete against New Zealand at the 2009 Paper Tiger Catamaran International Championships, to be held at Koonawarra Bay Sailing Club on Lake Illawarra, NSW, over the Easter long weekend. The next 20 boats will also be invited to compete in the event. You can find out more about the Internationals on the event website http://internationals2009.papertigercatamaran.org/

OVERALL RESULTS (Top Ten)

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1. "Fly'n Bry'n", Bryan Anderson (Vic)

2. "Mojo", Ian Marcovitch (NSW)

3. "White Lightning", Bruce Rose (Tas)

4. "Broken Wind", Kim Marcovitch (NSW)

5. "Shadow Boxing", Greg Williams (Vic)

6. "Firestorm", Mark Wiggins (Vic)

7. "Second Wind", Wayne Eager (NSW)

8. "Unknown Zone", Jason Dunsmore (Vic)

9. "Boy at Heart", Mike Wold (Vic)

10. "Speed Demon", Luke Stout (Vic)

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Full list of placings available at www.vicpapertiger.org.au

Dave Stumbles

Publicity Officer

Australian Paper Tiger Catamaran Assoc.

[tom]

Thanks for the update Dave!

Well done to Bryan, top effort, i know he has maintained it well, but Fly'n Bry'n has got to be around 13 years old.. and still winning.

It's also great to see a big mix of age between the top skippers, gives me hope that i will still be sailing PT's for many years.

[tonyquoll]

Hi,

Thanks VPTCA, Mt Martha Club and especially the Stouts for their effort and generosity.

During the presentation night, there was a great slideshow of the boats out sailing. Is there any way I could purchase a copy of this on cd/dvd/usb stick?

The fleet of 39 boats were mostly very fast, competitive boats and very experienced, champion skippers.

'We learn from our mistakes', so the Nats were very educational for me. Hoping to improve power through improved sail controls (swivel cam-cleats) and a straight mast, reducing drag through re-shaped rudders & centreboards, gloss hull finish & the centreboard gap filled in. Will be practicing my windward mark rounding, drifter sail settings, drifter tacks and testing lower, faster lines to windward.

Cheers

Tony Hastings

tonyquoll@yahoo.com

PO Box 543 Mallacoota VIC 3892