F18 Australian Nats 2017: Daniel & Nathan van Kerckhof Champs

All images &  video sent by Alex McKinnon Photography. , click images for slideshow – Biggest Australian Nats ever on the number of participants, 45 boats.
Within a strong fleet in numbers and filled with top Aussie sailors Daniel & Nathan van Kerckhof (C2) got revenge from last year over Burvill-Gibson (Edge/Hyde/1D spi) by 4pts after 12 races. Third overall for Mackay-Wilkinson (C2) , followed by Clark-Puttnam (Edge/Goodall Sails)  &  Brewin-Williams (Exploder/Brewin Sails)

On the design aspect the Australian C2/Goodall Sails & Edge / Hyde / Balazs1D  combo continued to prove their performance and Brewin-Williams had some excellent races (1,2,3 among other results) with the Exploder equipped with the new Exploder mast and his own Brewin sails.

Also they established a milestone for the F18: After a broken mast on Saturday first race carnage they fitted a spare sail: an A-Class Decksweeper style mainsail as seen in pics above by Alex McKinnon, in 15-18knots they scored 1 & 2, and today 9th and a 7th with it.
Surely Brewin with his A-Cat DS background will continue to develop further, and as reported yesterday expect some other Decksweeper sails for next F18 Worlds in Denmark.

We would like to see Brewin getting more F18 hours along the A-Class but the Exploder A-Cat team is on a mission for Sopot Aclass Worlds 2017. Nevertheless expect quite a lineup for the Exploder F18 at Denmark Worlds too.

On the last day of racing for the Australian 2017 Nats check detailed report  Stephen Medwell sent by Alex McKinnon.
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Pinkster Gin F18 Australian Nats 2017 
“Racing today started at 9.30 am in a light 5 to 10 knot southerly with the last two races scheduled. Race leaders, Daniel and Nathan Van Kerckhof were clinging to a narrow 4 point lead over the Windrush team of Brett Burvill and Lachlan Gibson. The Van Kerckhof brothers finished 2nd to Brett Burvill last year in a close fought series and they were determined to not be bridesmaids again this year.

Pre race, Daniel was spotted on the shore getting a very swollen foot strapped and swallowing pain killers for what is suspected as a possible broken foot. When asked, Daniel said it was not fount to stop him jumping on the boat and finishing off the regatta.

Race 11, the Van Kerckhof brothers after a bad start fought their way back to the fleet scoring 2nd behind the Kiwi team of Olivia and Micah with Burvill/Gibson coming third. This was enough to see the Van Kerckhof brothers win the 2017 Pinkster F18 Australian Championships.

Race 12, Burvill finished off a great series with a bullet, closely followed by the Van Kerckhof’s

Final results were the NSW team, Daniel and Nathan Van Kerckhof in 1st, WA/Vic team of Brett Burvill and Lachlan Gibson in second, NZ team of Olivia MacKay and Micah Wilkinson in 3rd (also first female skipper). 4th were another WA team of James Clark and ???. 5th was NSW team of Steve Brewin and Andrew Williams.

1st Gen boat winner went to 14 year old Jack Challands and 18 year old Edward James after Ed bought the boat, his first F18 days before the event.

Youth winners were 15 year old Lachlan Hughes sailing with 18 year old Harrison Reitman. This team who also have not raced an F18 before finished 9th in a very hot fleet and in front of some very experienced F18 sailors. Very encouraging signs for the next generation of cat sailors coming through.

The Formula 18 Association along with the Port Melbourne Yacht Club and all sailors involved would like to thank the event sponsors as events like this do not happen without their assistance. We would like to thank, Pinkster Gin who have just entered the Australian market with their premium Gin. Many Gins were enjoyed after daily races along with many take home bottles bough once sailors had experienced the smooth refreshing taste of Pinkster Gin.

Victorian State Government who is a strong supporter of sport in this State also heavily supported this even.

We would also like to thank Forward Sailing and Off the Beach Marine who have been a regular supporter of sailing in Australia including the F18 class.

The 2017 event broke records being the largest National Fleet of F18s in the classes history. The event was also very relaxed and all competitors enjoyed the friendly whilst very competitive racing.

2018 Nationals will be held in Western Australia who have been strong supporters of the class for many years. The F18 class will also be putting in a bid for the 2020 F18 World Championships. If we are successful, it will be the second time the class has held a World Championship in Australia.
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Top ten below, full results at here