The Eastern Gippsland Etchells Championship was decided over the weekend at the Metung Yacht Club (MYC), with Elusive coming out on top.
Two last minute cancellations saw seven Etchells from the Metung fleet enter the Championship, the two-day regatta becoming a one-day event due to storms on the second day.
The racecourse, in Lake King, was set on an axis of 250 degrees, over a 0.8 nautical mile distance, with two windward-leeward returns to the finish.
Race one saw a clear start, and the boats were led to the first windward mark by Elusive, helmed by Jeff Rose, and crewed by Rob Conn and Wayne Smith.
Elusive was followed around the mark by Come Monday, helmed by Stuart Loft and crewed by Dean Smith and Brian Land.
Behind them was New Wave, helmed by Damien Daniel and crewed by Ian Cameron and Stephen Richardson, followed in a tight bunch by Odyssey, Kelpie, Leading Edge and Quandong.
Elusive was well clear of the fleet as spinnakers flew in the eight-12 knot breeze, with Come Monday leading the rest of the fleet, as they spread out along the course.
The first turn around the leeward mark saw Elusive still well clear, followed by Come Monday, with Odyssey, helmed by Roger Claydon and crewed by Leigh Unsworth and Sarah Clough moving up the fleet, rounding the leeward mark in third position.
They were followed closely by the all-youth team on board Kelpie, helmed by Toby Conn, crewed by Mitch Kanat and Tom Russell, with Quandong, helmed by Niesje Hees and crewed by Cliff Gibson and Josh Reid, led the end of the fleet.
The second beat up to the windward mark saw some movement in positions, although Elusive followed by Come Monday had a strong one-two position.
Leading Edge, helmed by Fred Haes, with crew of Adrian France, Will Crooke and Blake Smith, had pushed up the fleet and was third around the windward mark on the second leg.
They were followed by Odyssey, Kelpie, Quandong and New Wave.
Elusive was first across the finish line, followed by Come Monday, then Leading Edge in third place, with Odyssey, Kelpie, Quandong and New Wave.
The second race, set on an axis of 260 degrees and over 0.8nm, in 13 knots, saw a lot of tight bunching at the start line and many boats got on course side.
Some did their penance turn, while others had to be recalled.
In the end, the race officer, Dean Robson, called the race abandoned at the turn on the first windward mark, with race two re-started under a “U” flag.
At the first windward mark, Quandong led the way, hotly pursued by Come Monday, followed by Leading Edge, Elusive, Kelpie, New Wave and Odyssey.
Quandong continued to lead the fleet on the spinnaker leg and around the leeward mark, but was overtaken on the next leg by Come Monday, followed by Leading Edge.
Elusive was also moving up the fleet, and on the final spinnaker run, Come Monday led the fleet home, crossing the finish line ahead of Elusive, followed by Quandong, Leading Edge, Kelpie, New Wave and Odyssey.
Unfortunately two boats finished with starting indiscretions, because the race began under a “U” flag, which saw unfortunately Come Monday and Kelpie disqualified.
The amended race outcome saw Elusive in first place, followed by Quandong, Leading Edge, New Wave and Odyssey was fifth.
New Wave had to retire from the regatta at the start of race three, with gear failure.
The wind had shifted around so the axis for race three was 280 degrees, over 0.8nm, with wind 13 knots.
It was a clear start in race three, in very low visibility (which had been lessening all day) for the six Etchells.
Low visibility made navigation to the marks a matter of timing rather than clear sight.
Leading Edge was first around the windward mark, followed by Kelpie, then Elusive, Come Monday, Odyssey and Quandong.
At this stage, it was apparent there had been a wind shift, and the race officer organised the second leg to be on an axis of 260 degrees.
Leading Edge was the first spinnaker to appear on the horizon, and led the fleet around the leeward mark, with Elusive, Kelpie and Come Monday in a bunch.
Leading Edge retained her lead on the second leg, leading the fleet around the windward mark the second time, and sailing first across the finish line.
Elusive had established herself in second place for the rest of the race, but Come Monday passed Kelpie on the second tack to the windward mark turn, with Odyssey and Quandong at the back of the fleet.
Elusive was crowned the 2025 East Gippsland Etchells champion, the sixth time that Rose has won the championship, and the third time sailing Elusive.
Rose is a past junior member of MYC, past commodore and had another, more recent, junior member of MYC in his crew, in Smith.
In accepting the trophy, Rose commended Smith for his fast and neat work on the spinnaker.
“It came down fast and didn’t touch the water,” Rose said.
Rose dedicated the trophy win this year to a recently departed long term member and volunteer at MYC, Rob Hutton.
Elusive also won the trophies for heat one and heat two races, with Leading Edge awarded the trophy of heat three.
The Rex Billing perpetual trophy is awarded to the winner of heat one.
Billing won a Fastnet race in a Cavalier 28, and was a perpetual volunteer at MYC, taking out the rescue boat and setting the course at each year’s East Gippsland Etchells Championship.
The Barrie Gordon Ravell memorial trophy is awarded to the winner of heat two.
Ravell was a past commodore of Royal Brighton Yacht Club and was instrumental in bringing the Etchells class to Metung, and owned the second Etchells in Australia, Clipper.
He also owned Reverie and sailed both Etchells at Metung and Melbourne.
The David Lawrence memorial trophy is awarded to the winner of heat three, Lawrence sailed in the Etchell, Temptress, winner of the East Gippsland Etchells Championship in 2012 and 2018.
