2007 Squaddy Brass Monkey Regatta

	Successful regatta and regular sailors use halyards, sheets and mooring lines from the leading company LIROS distributed by Deckhardware Australasia.

Thanks to sponsor Liros ropes (distributed by Deckhardware), the Squaddy Brass Monkey Regatta was sailed on Sydney Harbour last weekend in weather that could easily be mistaken for spring, even thought it was mid-winter.

A wide range of different classes of small boat contended the two day event in two divisions. The faster division included representatives of the F18, Mosquito, 18' Skiff, 12' Skiff, 49er, Foiler Moth and Flying Dutchman classes. While the slower division held a 70's era 18' Skiff, Cherubs, NS14s, MG14, IC(DC), and Scow Moths.

On Saturday, blue sky and a temp of 25(c) made frequent dips a little easier to take for the sailors contending with the 30 degree shifts and instant 10 knot differences in pressure of a classic Sydney westerly. Wind speed varied between 10 and 25 knots all afternoon making for challenging conditions and an exciting spectacle on the short course designed with spectators in mind.
The more stable classes banked their advantage with good results while some of the skiffs struggled to judge the erratic lay lines to the mid course gate. The race committee was well entertained by these antics as their vessel marked one side of the gate.

Sunday brought another stunning bluebird day but this time sailors were treated to a stable 8-12 knot south-easterly breeze. Big rigs were pulled out by those who had them and the skiffs found it a lot easier to anticipate the gate lay lines.

Overall, 12' Skiff "O" sailed by class fixtures Jono Temple and Richard Jones corrected out to a win the faster division from F18 "Seawind". An MG14 "Final Phase" sailed by Greg Roche and Daniel Yaxley won the slower division by a single point from NS14 "Fire n Ice". The "Ugly Monkey" trophy which is awarded by the race committee to the boat that best represents the regatta principles (be keen, have fun and sail well) was awarded to the perpetually smiling Tara McCall and crew Alana O'Connor who sailed their NS14 to decent finishes in every race.

Although the fleet was smaller than previous years, the weather made this the best Brass Monkey Regatta yet. Sydney Flying Squadron looks forward to putting it all on again next year.

F18 "Seawind", second in division, was impressive all regatta. Copyright - Mel Yeomans

Skipper of 18 "SX Projects" looks for the gate with "a bit on". Copyright - Mike O'Shea

12 "O", First in Division, Prefers to stay out of the chilly water. Copyright - Mike O'Shea

Two 18's showing the last 30 odd years of development. Copyright - Mike O'Shea