Please select your home edition
Edition
2024 fill-in (top)

Adams 10 National Championship 2024 at Lake Macquarie Yacht Club

by Geoff Charters 20 Feb 21:38 GMT 9-11 February 2024
Adams 10 National Championships 2024 © Beau Outteridge

The recent Adams 10 National Championships were contested over 3 days from Friday 9th - Sunday 11th February at the picturesque Lake Macquarie.

The event was a great opportunity for the local fleet at the Lake to compete against the strong contenders, who braved the coastal sail and the notorious Lake entrance channel to come up from Sydney and from Pittwater. Seven Lake boats squared off against six boats from Sydney and two boats from the Pittwater, making a competitive fleet of fifteen Adams 10s at the start line each day.

Day one was sailed in light to moderate shifty Southerlies to South Easterlies. The lines had to be reset after each of the three races sailed and the locals certainly showed off their superior local knowledge, taking out four of the top six spots on the day and seven of the top ten spots over the regatta.

Tom Braidwood and his experienced team on Backchat led the field to take a 1, 3, 2 (6 points) on day one, making it a hard challenge for the rest of the fleet for the remainder of the weekend. The closest of the chasing pack was Matt Crockett and his crew on Smitten 2, 4, 3 (9 points). Garry Gudmunson on Organised Chaos with a 3, 2, 5.5 (10.5 points), closely followed by Allen Stormon and his crew on Gezzabelle with a 4, 6, 1 (11 points). Dave Young and his crew on Tenacity were right up there with the leaders on 5, 1, 5.5 (11.5 points).

Day two saw a significantly changed weather pattern, with strong Southerlies in the 25 knots + range causing some "interesting" challenges for the fleet, with some boats handling the difficult conditions better than others. The top boats all opted to retain their No 2 jibs, while the more conservative members of the fleet went for their No. 3's. This difference showed in the gusty conditions as the No 2s stayed powered up in the lighter phases and pulled away from the pack.

Placings in the middle of the pack were hotly contested with six and seven boats arriving at each mark at the same time throughout each of the three races. With much high-volume asserting of claims and counterclaims to rights. Fortunately, these pinch points were sorted out without damage to people or boats - just a few dented egos, as missteps here cost five up to places at the finish!

At the end of the day Backchat again showed why they were the 2023 champions with a commanding display of sailing combined with local knowledge to put them at 2, 1, 1, consolidating their position at the top of the leaderboard with 10 points overall. Gezzabelle climbed into second place with some good sailing, which saw them finish the day with a 1, 2, 2, (16 points), just ahead of Organised Chaos and Tenacity. Smitten had an unfortunate second day and slipped to 5th on the back of a 12, 4, 8 (33 points).

Day three saw another change in the weather, with the wind softening to a gentle 7 - 10 knots shifting Southerly, making picking the correct side of the course extremely challenging.

The fleet remained compressed for each of the three races with seconds separating the numerous boats finishing midfleet.

Backchat took out the first two races of the day 1, 1, for a total of 12 points and the regatta win, with a last race available as a drop. The rest of the fleet had a real tussle for the minor placings. Gezzabelle clawed their way into second place overall (20 points) with hard fought placings over Organised Chaos (25.5 points) and Tenacity (29.5 points).

Overall Results:

PosSail NoBoat NameSkipperClubR1R2R3R4R5R6R7R8R9Pts
14772BACKCHATTom BraidwoodLMYC13221111[16S]12
26316GEZZABELLEAllen StormonRPAYC4[6]112224420
310ORGANIZED CHAOSGarry GudmunsonRMYC325.5[10]3343225.5
44572TENACITYDavid YoungLMYC51[5.5]354.535329.5
5M53SMITTENMatt CrockettLMYC243[12]4882132
6M101ROCK SOLIDNick MunroeLMYC1074[13]66713558
7MH26ANOTHER DILEMMATim GallegoMHYC[15]5104712.5510659.5
8321BARTENDERGeoff AdamsRMYCT68[14]912101071173
9MH63KICKNCHASERobert BrentonRMYCT91087137[15]111075
10M69POGUE MOHONEScott HamiltonLMYC[14]12751411148980
11MH192ARTEMISTracy RichardsonMHYC1313.511119[14]96880.5
12MH308LUMINE LUNAEKim DarlingMHYC7[15]128114.512141381.5
13MH36NO FRIENDSGeoffrey ChartersMHYC1299[16F]151569782
14MH2CONTENTIOUSBrian LeesMHYC1111136812.51112[14]84.5
15MH118SIRIUSGarth RileyMYC813.5[15]1410913151294.5

Congratulations to: Backchat for 1st place overall, Gezzabelle for 2nd place, Organised Chaos for 3rd place, also 1st place for best placed “Wooden Seat” boat (one of the very, very old boats!) and 1st place Masters team (Average age > 50 years). Dave Young and his crew on Tenacity were the best placed Corinthian team with a creditable 4th place.

The Adams 10 Association is grateful for the hospitality shown by the Lake Macquarie Yacht Club, who made the fleet welcome and the race committee, ably led by Ross Ahern, who presided over three days and nine close races. Class sponsors Zhik graciously provided prizes for the winners.

The whole fleet had a blast amid some hard sailing, convivial socialising and great camaraderie built over a fantastic long weekend. We look forward to resuming the competition next year in Sydney Harbour.

Related Articles

Nautilus Marine Sydney Harbour Regatta overall
Competitors have had a fabulous weekend Today's weather was a turnaround from yesterday's wet blowy day at the 2024 Nautilus Marine Insurance Sydney Harbour Regatta, a glorious north-north/easterly wind on a sunny hot day made a difference to many results of yesterday - but not all. Posted on 3 Mar
MHYC celebrates International Women's Day
Halfway through the Nautilus Marine Insurance Sydney Harbour Regatta Halfway through the Nautilus Marine Insurance Sydney Harbour Regatta (NMISHR), Middle Harbour Yacht Club (MHYC) is celebrating International Women's Day early (it is on Friday 8 March), saluting women at the event Posted on 3 Mar
Nautilus Marine Sydney Harbour Regatta Day 1
Overcast day fails to dampen great racing Despite moody skies and rain showers, the opening day of MHYC's Nautilus Marine Insurance Sydney Harbour Regatta 2024 was nothing short of exciting as gusting winds to 30 knots hit Sydney Harbour forcing the best out of all yachties and their boats. Posted on 2 Mar
Sydney Harbour Regatta entries top 100
Continuing to grow daily as Middle Harbour Yacht Club reveals some of the prizes on offer Entries to the 2024 Nautilus Marine Insurance Sydney Harbour Regatta have topped 100 and continue growing daily as Middle Harbour Yacht Club (MHYC) reveals some of the prizes on offer to entice more entrants before the Tuesday 27 February entry deadline. Posted on 20 Feb
SailFest Newcastle Regatta day 2
Matador takes win as SMB crew takes swim "We shall fight off the beaches... and we shall never surrender" may well have been the catchcry of David Doherty's TP52 Matador today as it charged like a bull towards its second consecutive Pallas Capital TP52 Gold Cup victory. Posted on 16 Apr 2023
SailFest Newcastle Regatta day 1
Newcastle Harbour showed more of its wile side than wild side As much a rite of passage as just a passage race, the opening salvo of SailFest Newcastle Regatta's offshore series and TP52 Gold Cup Act 2 again lived up to its billing as being tactically challenging and scenically spectacular. Posted on 15 Apr 2023
Spectators to be cock-a-hoop about Harbour action
2023 Newcastle SailFest regatta will rekindle the city's proud maritime tradition This weekend's 2023 Newcastle SailFest regatta will rekindle the city's proud maritime tradition and salty sailing history, with action aplenty on the harbour and off the beaches. Posted on 14 Apr 2023
Newcastle set for SailFest TP52 showdown
The headline attraction is the City of Newcastle TP52 Gold Cup Newcastle's working harbour will doff its hard hat to the sight of vibrant spinnakers and eager crews as the fourth SailFest Newcastle Regatta is staged this weekend, bringing a flotilla of grand prix yachts and fleet-footed performance craft. Posted on 13 Apr 2023
Nautilus Marine Sydney Harbour Regatta overall
Ideal autumn day decides winners An ideal autumn day on Sydney Harbour and offshore decided the winners and new Australian and NSW champions in three classes at Middle Harbour Yacht Club's 2023 Nautilus Marine Insurance Sydney Harbour Regatta today. Posted on 5 Mar 2023
Adams 10 Images and Video by Bow Caddy Media
The Adams 10 owners and sailors are a self-deprecating bunch - find out why... The Adams 10 owners and sailors are a self-deprecating bunch that cheerfully point out the cost effectiveness their chosen boat, happily chiding each other about whose is the oldest... Posted on 7 Feb 2023