F18 Australian Nats 2017: Day 3

All images & Video sent by Alex McKinnon. Decksweeper photo above : F18 Australian Assoc Fb–
For the time being this is the only data I have from the Australian Nats Day 3. Steve Brewin hoisted a Deck Sweeper on his Exploder F18.
I have some talks at least with 2 avid and experienced F18 sailors on this setup past months, on them wanting to try it on the F18.
Only initial drawback I see is space for the crew to pass, that can be solved modifying current A-Class planshape, but it will be interesting to see how a DS performs in light winds specially.

More updates & results later when available–

Update: Great racing day, great to see Steve going for the Decksweeper after they broke mast in the first race with many breakages. Racing was postponed later as reported below and Steve had time to fit a new mast and a spare sail with a Decksweeper sail plan. Conditions reported for the additional races were 15-18knots, Brewin/Williams scored a bullet and second with the Exploder equipped with the first A-Class type ‘DS’ sail on an official F18 event.
Quite a debut for the DS sail, now I see all sail makers grabbing their heads towards Denmark 2017! Such a great feeling for me having Steve sailing Jakub’s built Exploder F18 and fitting that sail, joining two of my favorite Cat Classes, the F18 & A-Class.

Still , Brewin needs to test the sail in calm weather, but one thing is certain the sail works in that range against top notch Australian crews with super proven and winning platforms like the C2 , Edge & Cirrus R.

Great times ahead for the F18, along the convertible daggercase project (just for fun outside the Class) , the upcoming fine tuning and Worlds participation of the Exploder F18 by some undisclosed top sailors, plus  Manu Boulogne new Cirrus R2 launch,  plus this new devel by Steve Brewin will get the wheel going again in terms of getting renewed limelight for this great Class.

No links to updated results yet.

Day 3 report sent by Alex McKinnon
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“Due to a light Northerly blowing in the morning and a forecast of a sea breeze, racing was postponed until about lunch time. With land temperatures rapidly rising and a light Northerly carrying it off shore, the sea breeze was bound to fill in quickly however no body expected it to arrive with such a punch.

With racing on the way, the wind quickly filled into 20knots plus. By the top mark, the wind increased to what would have been around the 30 knot mark and seas built up very short and sharp ensuring the bear aways will be interesting.

Several boats cartwheeled whilst turning the corner whilst others rounded with much effort and plenty of buried bows. The first downwind saw at least 12 boats cartwheel and the Exploder of Brewin/Williams snap their mast. About 6 spinnaker poles also broke from nose dives resulting in about 2/3rds of the fleet retiring.

Racing was postponed after this race with racing resuming at 3pm when the wind subsided to 15 to 18 knots.

The Van Kerckof brothers sailed consistently scoring 6, 6, 5 maintaining the lead at the conclusion of day 3. Brett Burvill was the biggest mover, scoring 2, 1, 2, moving up into 2nd place, 4 points from the lead and 6 points in front of the 3rd place Kiwi team.

Brewin / Williams returned to shore replacing their mast along with their mainsail, running a Stevie deck sweeper. In the second session, they finished 2nd and 1st, moving into 4th position.

Boag / Salt had their Cirrus wound up in the breeze, scoring a 1st in race one of the day. They developed so much of a lead on the first lap in the fresh conditions, they decided to err on the side of cation and not run the kite down wind on the second lap. Lap 3, they hoisted the kite again to ensure they were not run down by the rest of the fleet on the way home to a finish. Backing up this win with 2 third places has seen them jump back up the leader board rounding out the top 5.

Tomorrow, the final day is scheduled for an early 9.30 start. With another sea breeze forecast, morning breeze may be light and fickle.
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