SIRS was a great regatta this season, with a mixed bag of conditions proving once again that Sydney Harbour is an excellent, if at times testing, venue for Finn racing. Fresh from his well-earned 6th place at the Athens Olympic Games, Anthony “Nocka” Nossiter won the regatta hands-down, with bullets in all bar one of the eight races. Nocka did not have it all his own way however, with Josh Beaver taking one heat from him and pushing him consistently through the regatta to finish second. The America’s Cup contingent was well represented with Nocka having recently joined the Italian syndicate +39, and Team GBR mainsheet grinder, Jim Turner, and Alighi mainsheet grinder, Will McCarthy, both taking their first swing at Finn sailing finishing in fourth and fifth place respectively. Will Wild made the trip from Brisbane to split the big AC boys in fourth place, and Michael Dicker from Port Kembla finished in sixth.

Day 1 (10-15 knot sea breeze, windward-leeward course)
The first day of SIRS turned on some champagne sailing conditions on Sydney Harbour, with a building nor-easterly sea breeze and 30 degrees. Nocka won both races, despite a scare in the first race after being rolled off the start line by Josh and getting caught back in the fleet. The superior technique and ‘time-in-the-boat’ showed; with Nocka pulling away significantly on all downwind legs in the messy Sydney Harbour chop. Josh took second in both races, and Jim starting with his Finn campaign with a bang with third in the first race, before Will Wild pushed the Brit back a spot to claim third place in the second race. Will McCarthy demonstrated that grinding on an AC boat does not require legs, reviving the ‘old-school’ bent leg hiking style and finishing with a fourth and a fifth. Sailing the oldest boat in the fleet, with a round carbon mast and ‘hand-me-down’ sails, young Michael showed he has come on strongly over the winter, staying in touch with the big boys in both races.

Race 1: 1st Anthony Nossiter, 2nd Josh Beaver, 3rd Jim Turner, 4th Will McCarthy, 5th Will Wild, 6th Michael Dicker

Race 2: 1st Anthony Nossiter, 2nd Josh Beaver, 3rd Will Wild, 4th Jim Turner, 5th Will McCarthy, 6th Michael Dicker

Day 2 (0-15 knot gradient breeze, windward-leeward course)
The sea breeze came in early on the second day of SIRS, so the fleet left the ramp expecting a rather large day at the office. But it was not to be. As soon as the Finn flag went up for the first starting sequence, the sea breeze started to die, slowly losing the fight with the building gradient blowing off the land. Race three offered a choice between chasing breeze on either extreme of the course. Josh came off the boat and took the route into the headland to the right and out of the current. Nocka took the other option, heading hard left, chasing a band of pressure. The right paid, with Josh rounding the top mark significantly ahead of Jim, with Will Wild & Will McCarthy next around ahead of Nocka and Michael. With the wind down to less than five knots, the fleet slowly closed up with Nocka claiming several scalps on the downwind, but Josh managed to hold on to take the win ahead of Jim with Nocka recovering to third.

Race 3: 1st Josh Beaver, 2nd Jim Turner, 3rd Anthony Nossiter, 4th Will McCarthy, 5th Will Wild, 6th Michael Dicker

After race three, the sea breeze totally conked out, leaving the fleet stranded before the westerly kicked in, blowing hot air off the land. The race committee quickly moved the race area, setting the course up under the Harbour Bridge, making for some spectacular, if unsteady, racing. Race four saw Nocka burst back to prominence, winning the pin start and trucking left to the Garden Island shoreline. Jim rounded a close second at the top mark with Will Wild & Michael a couple of boat lengths back. Josh blew the first beat totally, getting caught on the outside of the left-hand rotation of the breeze, and ending up some twenty boat lengths behind fifth-placed Will McCarthy at the top mark. Down the run, the fleet was chopped in half by a Manly ferry steaming across the course, leaving Nocka & Jim to stretch out to an easy lead. The fleet had learnt its lesson the next time up, and all stayed firmly on the path out to the left lay-line. The final run saw the wind pick up and a massive effort by Josh to pump his way through the fleet to third, only stopped by Jim with a violent luffing match on the finish line.

Race 4: 1st Anthony Nossiter, 2nd Jim Turner, 3rd Josh Beaver, 4th Will Wild, 5th Will McCarthy, 6th Michael Dicker

The fifth race played out the same songbook as the previous race, except this time all the sailors already knew the tune, banging the left side hard to take advantage of the slow left rotation of the breeze and the geographic bend off the shoreline. Apart from several of the sailors blowing their radiators in the heat downwind, the lack of passing lanes left few opportunities to recover from mistakes or a lack of speed, with Nocka winning, followed by Josh and Jim.

Race 5: 1st Anthony Nossiter, 2nd Josh Beaver, 3rd Jim Turner, 4th Will Wild, 5th Will McCarthy, 6th Michael Dicker

Day 3 (12-20 knot southerly gradient, windward-leeward course)
The last day of SIRS saw some tired bodies after the heat and humidity of the day before. The gradient had swung around to the south, as the weather threatened to turn into one of Sydney’s famous ‘southerly busters’. Race six saw the fleet split off the line, with Will McCarthy and Josh going left towards Bradley’s Head, and the rest of the fleet taking the right-hand track. With the breeze building, a big pressure band touched down on the right-hand side, rotating the wind right and scooting the bunch on the right-hand side across to round the top mark first. Down the run the breeze built, with Nocka using his strength to pump out to a substantial lead, and Josh also making big gains through the fleet. Nocka went on to take the win, with Josh second, and Jim overtaking Will Wild in the last boat lengths in a downwind finish to snatch third place.

Race 6: 1st Anthony Nossiter, 2nd Josh Beaver, 3rd Jim Turner, 4th Will Wild, 5th Will McCarthy, 6th Michael Dicker

With the breeze pushing over eighteen knots, the fleet charged off the line in race seven, all tacking together on the substantial shifts of the gradient breeze. Nocka again got some leverage to the right of the fleet and crossed the bunch to round in front. Downwind, with the yellow flag up for unlimited pumping, the extra strength and experience of Nocka and Josh showed, with the pair quickly pumping away from the fleet. This was until Josh executed a massive stack on the second run with a wild Chinese gybe. As Josh went for a prolonged swim, Nocka sailed away to an easy win, and Jim Turner took advantage of a Will Wild capsize to finish second, followed by Will McCarthy in third.

Race 7: 1st Anthony Nossiter, 2nd Jim Turner, 3rd Will McCarthy, 4th Will Wild, DNF Josh Beaver & Michael Dicker

The last race saw an incredibly tight tussle. With Josh back on deck, he took a good lead up the first beat, and then stretched out down the run picking the left-hand side (looking downwind) with Will Wild, whilst Nocka, Jim and Will McCarthy tried the right-hand track in closer to Bradley’s Head. Back upwind, the fleet compressed back together with regular, significant shifts making life difficult for all the sailors (with many an emergency tack after a 30+ degree wind shift). Josh maintained his lead, as Nocka worked his way back through the fleet on some good shifts. Down the last run, Josh stayed just left of the rhumb-line, whilst Nocka took some significant leverage out to the left (looking downwind). This left Nocka betting on the next band of breeze to give him the required angle and pressure to get back across to Josh… and he got it, surfing up level to Josh, but with the right-of-way leeward position to protect the favoured pin end of the finish line. After some furious pumping from both sailors, Nocka took the win by less than half a boat length from Josh, with Will Wild getting his own back on the Brit, Jim, to finish the series with a third placing.

Race 8: 1st Anthony Nossiter, 2nd Josh Beaver, 3rd Will Wild, 4th Jim Turner, 5th Will McCarthy, DNC Michael Dicker