2022 2.4mR Australian Championship Hobart - Neil Patterson tops the podium.

Royal Brighton Yacht Club, Melbourne, Australia, 21-23 January 2022

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A report by Peter Russell (AUS)

Day 1 – A keen fleet started with 3 OCSs in race 1 and Peter Coleman racing to the lead. Race 2 was a tight jumble after the championship favorites Neil Patterson and John Collingwood had been disqualified in race 1 – Peter Russell just squeezed out the fast Michael Leydon who was learning to sail with limited vision. Race 3 saw John Collingwood bounce back with a comfortable win. So, after day 1 Peter Coleman was first on 8 points with Peter Russell and David Graney tied on 11 points.

Day 2 – An early start in the swinging breeze saw only two races completed and Glenn Norton getting a handle on Vim’s rig with an encouraging 3, 2 result. Neil Patterson controlled the start of race 4 to win with nothing going wrong for David Graney in second place. Race 5 saw an unexpected wind shift to the left with Glenn Norton and Peter Russell drifting to the top leaving the rest of the fleet wallowing on the right on the favored shore side. Colin Brown enjoyed the challenging conditions with two fifth places. So, after day 2 Peter Russell and David Graney were again tied on 10 points with Neil Patterson third on 11 points.

Day 3 – So the Championship could be anyone’s in a building seabreeze. Neil Patterson just jumped off the start line and controlled races 6 and 7 to win his first championship after having competed since 2014. John Collingwood showed he was still the master in race 8 but with 2 OCSs he couldn’t repeat his win in Sail Melbourne. David Graney broke the tie with Peter Russell in race 7 to be 1 point ahead. In race 8 Peter Russell rounded the top mark in third but was run down by David Graney and Ray Smith excelling in his 007 role. Peter Russell entertained the fleet trying to cover David Graney but split tacks at the top forced by starboard Glenn Norton (Peter’s old boat) saw David Graney finish a well-deserved second place overall.

A fleet of 12 boats with David Graney from Tasmania and Peter Warren, Colin Brown, Michael Leydon and Peter Russell from the ACT travelling to Melbourne to join the Victorian fleet the championship marked a welcome return to convivial sailing.

Congratulations to Neil Patterson finishing in first place, David Graney in second place and Peter Russell in third place.

Glenn Fergusson from RBYC won the regatta point score trophy for most improved over the series.

Thanks to the 2.4mR Team Captain Mark Seager, the RBYC race team and all volunteers for another great regatta.