MHASC successes at National Masters, Port Stephens 10-13 March 2023 | Middle Harbour Amateur Sailing Club

Commodore Graham, Jennings reports:

Congratulations to our fellow 14 MHASC members who stormed around Salamander Bay for the Nationals over the past 4 days.
We were greeted on Day 1 with very solid ENE breezes. The following days had the breeze from the NE, then S, and finally SE – and it remained solid.
Special congratulations to our ‘cube winners’;

• Rob Lowndes (Jon West photo above) who won the Legends cube masterfully recovering from a torrid Day 1, closing out his win from Peter Heywood on the final day!
• Sean Feeney who finished 2^nd in the ILCA7 GM to Brett Beyer and 6^th overall in the ILCA 7 fleet despite not sailing on Day 1!
• Jeff Loosemore who finished 3^rd in the ILCA7 GGM despite the conditions that tested ILCA7 sailors with another 20 kilos or more onboard!
• Vanessa Dudley who was the 2^nd female in the big ILCA 6 Green Fleet.

Nick Skulander sailed strongly to finish 2^nd Apprentice and 9^th overall in the ILCA7’s. Nick had some great results included a 3^rd overall in race 9.
Nick Alexander finished 5^th in the ILCA7 Masters and Phil Bookallil made the top 10 in this larger fleet.
Steve Findlay and Vanessa Dudley had a close battle in the ILCA6 Green fleet finishing 14^th and 15^th overall in the GMs.
Diane Sissingh deserves an award for tenacity in strong breeze conditions that did not favour her. Diane found a great battle in the fleet with Justine from GSC and finishing ahead of her with a 26^th overall in the GM fleet.
In the ILCA6 Yellow fleet the ever-smiling Peter Stephinson held off sustained challenges from me and we finished 11^th and 12^th in the GGMs. It’s good to see Peter back in fine form.
The ever-present David Edmiston was never far behind and finished 5^th in the Legends with a strong 7^th overall in the Yellow Fleet in the last race.
Lew Verdon followed with a 6^th in the Legends, and Frank Walsh 7^th.
The highlight of Frank’s regatta would undoubtedly be taking his grandson Dominic for his first ever sail on Sunday morning – a touching sight for us all. 
Click here for the full results and here for Jon West Photography’s superb photos.

Kevin (& Sue) Phillips led a great team of volunteers running this event which as always included contributions from MHASC and Association Committee members David Edmiston (& Elaine), Rob Lowndes and Geoff Lucas.
Many thanks to the Australian ILCA Association, ILCA NSW & ACT Association, and the Newcastle Cruising Yacht Club for a great and memorable event.