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DF 95 Queensland State Championship

Fantastic conditions for the  2023 Dragon Flite 95 Queensland State Championships hosted by Eagleby  Radio Yacht Club at Eagleby, Queensland

The popularity of this new design has rapidly spread worldwide, with some 40,000 yachts being sold internationally and sailing enjoyed by sailors in many countries. The DF95 skippers/boat owners find that these designs have succeeded with a genuinely well-balanced and near-perfect handling radio-controlled yacht. The beauty of the Dragon Flite 95 is that it is a strict one-design class. The sailing does not become an arms race where money rules.  The DF95 is a one-design class that has gained tremendous market acceptance in just a few years among the sailing fraternity as the large numbers of sailing grow both in Australia & globally. Hence, the future for DF95 looks extremely bright and assured.

The cool, consistent  5  to 10 km/h east to south breeze meant rig selection was easy … Yes, it was A rig, no changes....so competitors could spend time strategised, looking for the wind shift, with “main leech tension key to performance in the light conditions” ... competitors said as they shared settings to help each other.

Twenty boats registered for the event with three States and nine clubs represented from around Australia ……making the journey to the Sugar Cane fields at Eagleby … a great rural setting only 30 minutes south of Brisbane….The competition was intense, with Australian, State and international champions represented,  with nine different winners. After the first one and half days of racing, four boats shared equal second place behind first place, Mike Jefferys #344

Notable performances over the weekend with 26 races are as follows.

Andrew Wilson #187     5 Heat Wins

Daniel Bergan #329     5 Heat Wins

Mark Love # 63            4 Heat Wins                                  

Lester Gabriel #23       3 Heat Wins                                  

Mike Jefferys,               2 Heat Wins

Allan Walker                 2 Heat Wins

Mick Gentles                2 Heat Wins

Graham Cowling          2 Heat Wins

Steve Elkington            1 Heat Win

Big-name interstate competitor John Wyatt (who represented Australia in the DF95 Globals and sails out of Royal Sydney Yacht Squadron agreed “the racing, sportsman and organisation was first class “...

 close

 Racing was so close, with only 7 points separating second to fourth place.

fleet 

 Final Results

First, congratulate our overall winner, Mike Jefferys, who sailed consistently well and was a deserved winner in a very challenging, competitive, and closely contested event. In addition, we would also like to congratulate all competitors who took part in the championship, as you make the regatta possible.  

 results

Mike Jefferys (middle of picture) is from Springfield Lakes RYC and is also the Australian 2023 DF65 National Champion….Mike is also Australian and State Champion in big boats (Diamond and Olympic Soling class). Second Place went to a previous Sydney to Hobert winner, and a past DF95 State Champion, Allan Walker (left side) from Paradise RYC…. and only 2 points behind with the highest heat wins was Daniel Bergan (right side) from Paradise RYC…who is also State Champion in DF65 and Laser Fleets….great sailing.

None of these events happened without the efforts of the organising club and committee…the event was superbly organised by Eagleby’s Andrew Wilson (President) and Jimmy Mee (Secretary),  Trevor Fisher (QRYA president) acted as race officer with Jimmy Mee’s assisting on Day 2 ….also helping was Jimmy’s Son and David, Ray, on the scoring and observing. Notably, the course was set brilliantly by Bruce (a well-known Eagleby sailor and Coordinator), who commented how enjoyable it was to watch the close racing with only points separating the top competitors.

 Some racing videos may be viewed on the YouTube “DF65 Dragon Force Tuning Tips.” 

 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qFP-Cr5kXzw

 Tuning Tips from Mark Long #63

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yokYEZGOkw8&list=PLnVfmV16zvYwYGtICzyebrZojqTQZ5TW4

RESULTS

PosName/ClubSail No.NettTotal
1Mike Jefferys
AUS 34473.0102.0
2Allan Walker
AUS 2688.0132.0
3Daniel Bergan
AUS 32990.0130.0
4Andrew Wilson
AUS 18795.0137.0
5Mark Long
AUS 63101.0143.0
6Mick Gentles
AUS 254113.0167.0
7Lester Gabriel
AUS 23115.0169.0
8Graham Cowling
AUS 884127.0166.0
9Ian Gordoin
AUS 673209.0265.0
10Stephen Elkington
AUS 59213.0268.0
11Murray Walker
AUS 674223.0287.0
12Peter Newman
AUS 163249.0321.0
13John Wyatt
AUS 36249.0321.0
14John O'Regan
AUS 945297.0363.0
15Grant Lihou
AUS 917301.0373.0
16DavidBrundson
AUS 89320.0392.0
17Tony Fannin
AUS 17362.0434.0