January 2010

Sydney crew of Hugh Tait and Tom Potter convincingly won the Australian MG14 Championhip sailed from 27 Dec. – 2 Jan. at Taree Amateur Sailing Club.

The pair launched their new boat just in time for the regatta which sported CST’s IM series elliptical mast and boom. “Carbon Neutral” sailed a near perfect regatta with five 1st placings and a 2nd to win the series on 7 points.

“I want to thank CST for fitting me in at the last minute
making it possible for Tom and I to attend and win the Championships. The rig worked extremely well and we had excellent speed, upwind in particular”, said Hugh.

2nd place went to Rohan Nosworthy and Lindsay Mason with ex Australian Champion Gary Reeves and Alexander Warner in 3rd.

"Carbon Neutral" rounds the bottom mark just ahead of Nosworthy's "Water Rat"

The 40th Contender class World Championships were hosted by Royal Queensland Yacht Squadron, attracting a fleet of 60 boats.

Sailed over a 10 race series with 2 drops, Australian Jono Neate on board AUS2323 won the regatta. Jono sailed a consistent regatta with four 1st place finishes and a total score of 18 points. 3 points behind was Italy’s Andrea Bonezzi and in 3rd Germany’s  Christoph Homeier, on 22 points.

Jono sailed one of the Bonezzi built timber hulls sporting a CST mast. Our new HM Club range of Contender masts was developed in the lead up to the Worlds and is available as 1 or 2 piece option.

Strong fleet of 109 boats contested the International 14 class Worlds on Sydney Harbour. The regatta hosted by Manly 16ft Skiff Sailing Club, required a split in fleet to Gold and Silver divisions, due to the high number of participants.

The series was sailed in a range of conditions over a 7 race format and eventually won by Sydney based Brit Archie Massey and Australian crew Dan Wilsdon. The winners on board Carbon Fibre Express sponsored boat were dominant in all conditions with superior tactics, boat handling and excellent downwind speed.

The pair scored four 1st placings, a 2nd and 6th to win by 11 point margin over Roger Gilbert and Ben McGrane with Mark Krstic and Andrew Wilson in 3rd place.
This is also Archie Massey’s 2nd consecutive world title crown, something that has not occurred before, in the class that has heritage dating back to the 1930s

“We did a lot of development with Archie and Dan leading up to the series. Particularly with his new CST HM2 Mast and with Dave Alexander doing sail development. It is fantastic to see the guys win the series,” said CST Composites General Manager Chris Dixon.