Congratulations to John and Tyler Dransfield in RumbleFish, 2019 World Champions! John and Tyler took over Dutch boat Rumble Fish after owner Alle Roodbergen suffered a spinnaker pole to the eye during the Pre-Worlds. The new team did the Netherlands proud with a strong performance in light winds on the final day to claim the trophy.
The first race was won by Jonathan and Phoebe Branch in B2, claiming their first win for the Worlds. Wave Catcher (Cullen Hughes and James Hughes) came second, but Rumble Fish came third, preserving their lead.
In the second race, Rumble Fish came first to pull further away on the leader board, with B2 second and Wave Catcher third. With one race to go, and a second drop now applying, only a disaster could stop Rumble Fish now.
As the leaders crossed the line, it was Bob (Damian Carey and Austin Freer), ending as they had begun with yet another race win. Second was Bulletproof (Simon and Tyson Barwood), with Rumble Fish in third to clinch the title in emphatic style.
A special mention also goes to Molly Stening, who bravely sailed on after taking a spinnaker pole to the face. Her boat, Blue, came second overall in the Classic Division.
As is tradition, the new World Champions stayed out on the water until all the other boats had come ashore, and then they were carried up the ramp to the sound of the Dutch and Australian national anthems. Alle and Anna Roodbergen were there to celebrate with the other sailors.
Fulll results here: http://www.imcansw.org/uploads/…/8/13987755/worlds_final.pdf
The full prize list will be available later in a separate post.
As usual, don't forget to checkout Robert Owe-Young's daily photo album: https://robertowe-young.smugmug.com/2019-Mirror-Worl…/Day-5/
#MirrorWorlds2019

KABOOM! Sydney amped up the show yesterday with a full blown Southerly Buster sweeping in after a stifling hot morning. The cool change was heralded by a 30 knot gust recorded at the airport, and it arrived at the club shortly before racing was due to start. This brought grins to some faces and nervous looks to others. There was a half hour delay as the RO waited to see what would happen, then the AP went down and boats were released.

There were some epic examples of sailing skill, none more so than 12 year old Duke Secco, who helmed Crescendo to complete the first race and record a result.

At the sharp end, McMissile (Campbell McKay and Stirling McKay) were fast off the line in the first race, and led the way up the first beat with Rumble Fish (John Dransfield and Tyler Dransfield) and Blue (Dave and Imogen Wade) close behind. Bulletproof (Simon Barwood and Tyson Barwood), who were in 4th, tried a gybe set while the other leaders went towards the shore. The Shark Island side didn’t work, and Bulletproof had lost ground to the leaders while Bob (Damian Carey and Austin Freer) had drawn closer.

As they reached the finish line, it was Rumble Fish first, followed by Blue, then McMissile.

In the second race, Bulletproof got the jump at the start and led up the first beat, tacking just in front of Blue on the starboard tack layline. Bulletproof caught a wave on the quarter and capsized while setting the spinnaker falling back to sixth. Blue didn’t look back and led the rest of the race to claim the win and cap a great day for David and Imogen. McMissile were second and Rumble Fish third. Bulletproof passed Foxy Lady III (Jess Andrewartha and Grant Atherton) and Firefly (Gavin Cooke and Oliver Cooke) up the next beat. Firefly unsure of the course at the top mark second time, sailed around the spreader mark letting Bulletproof get away on the first reach. A big gust came through halfway down the bottom reach for a fast ride to the line.

In the words of Simon Barwood, "Finally Sydney turns on some great weather for us, pity the thunderstorms brought a great day’s sailing to a premature end."

So, with one day and up to three races left, Rumble Fish now have a seven point lead at the top of the table, followed by McMissile, then Wave Catcher.

1st Rumble Fish - 24 Points
2nd McMissile - 31
3rd Wave Catcher - 35
4th Bob - 36
5th Waterborne At Last - 58
6th Ripples - 65
7th Bulletproof - 72
8th Foxy Lady III - 76
9th MadCat - 80
10th Choppa - 90

Full results available here: http://www.imcansw.org/uploads/1/3/9/8/13987755/series___r9.pdf

As usual, don't forget to check out Robert Owe-Young's daily photo album. Some amazing shots there! https://robertowe-young.smugmug.com/2019-Mirror-Worlds/Day-4/

And so it all comes down to the final day. Racing will start at 11 in the morning this time to allow time for boats to pack up before the Prize-giving Ceremony and Closing Presentation.

#MirrorWorlds2019​

Enter the Rumble Fish! The big news yesterday was that Rumble Fish, now sailed by John and Tyler Dransfield, claimed two wins to move into second place behind Wave Catcher. John is a multiple Fireball World Champion who took to Mirror sailing seven years ago to teach his sons to sail.
The first race of the day was won by Bob (Damian Carey and Austin Freer), followed by Rumble Fish, then Ripples (Chris Fuller and Daisy Fuller). The fleet struggled with the tide on the starting line and after a general recall the RO raised the black flag. Blue (David Wade and Imogen Wade) and Woody (Kevin Jarvis and Rose Jarvis) then became the first boats to be black flagged for the series.
In the second race, Rumble Fish came first, followed by Bob, then Ripples. Wave Catcher (Cullen Hughes and James Hughes) came 7th, which combined with a 9th in the previous race, cut into their margin for the lead.
The third race was won by Rumble Fish again, followed by McMissile (Campbell McKay and Stirling McKay) and Wave Catcher. Blue (David and Imogen Wade) came back with a 5th place. Waterborne At Last took a Scoring Penalty and scored as 26th (which was promptly dropped).
So, with two days to go, Wave Catcher still holds the lead after the drop, but only by a single point, and the top five boats are still within 15 points of each other.
1st Wave Catcher - 19 Points
2nd Rumble Fish - 20
3rd Bob -24
4th McMissile - 26
5th Ripples - 33
6th Waterborne At Last - 39
7th Girra-girra - 57
8th B2 -57
9th Foxy Lady III -57
10th Bulletproof -64
The winds have been unexpectedly light so far, which has favoured the lighter crews. There are strong wind warnings for Sydney Harbour today and tomorrow, but only for parts of the day, and we may see only 10-15 knots for the racing.
Full results here: http://www.imcansw.org/uploa…/1/3/9/8/13987755/series_r7.pdf
As always, don't forget to check out Rob Owe-Young's great daily photo albums: 
https://robertowe-young.smugmug.com/2019-Mirror-Worl…/Day-3/
#MirrorWorlds2019

And so, the door opens and in walks Cullen Hughes! The reigning World Champion, with crew James, moved to the top of the table on Day Two with two wins out of three. The winds were light and shifty, around ten knots, and R3 especially saw many of the frontrunners have to fight their way back through traffic from the middle of the fleet.
The first race of the day was won by Paul and Tess Plowman in Girra-girra. Girra-girra is named after the Gadigal word for "Seagull" and Pauland Tess have shown impressive form in light winds. 2nd was Waterborne At Last (Douglas Raftesath and Spencer McKay), with Wave Catcher (Cullen Hughes and James Hughes) coming third.
In the second race, it was Wave Catcher, followed by newly crowned National Champions McMissile (Campbell McKay and Stirling McKay), then MadCat (Mark Nash and Caitlin Nash) from Hunters Hill.
The third race began with darkening skies, but stronger winds. Once again it was Wave Catcher first, then MadCat, the Rumble Fish (now sailed by John Dransfield and Tyler Dransfield).
So, the standings after Day Two are:
1st Wave Catcher (9 points)
2nd McMissile (22)
3rd Bob (25)
4th Waterborne At Last (28)
5th Rumble Fish (29)
6th MadCat (34)
7th Foxy Lady III (34)
8th Girra-girra (35)
9th B2 (39)
10th Ripples (47)

DAY ONE UPDATE
After a week of typical Sydney Summer conditions, the first day of the Worlds saw some of the strangest weather we ever get, with midday fog, eerie mammatus clouds and light and fickle winds. The light winds proved especially cruel around the top mark in the only race of the day, with lots of boats caught in a horror show trying to get over the current to round the mark. At least the spectators on Shark Beach got a good view of lots of pretty red sails.
At the sharp end, it was Bob (Damian Carey, Austin Freer) who claimed the points. 2nd was B2 (Jonathan Branch, Phoebe Branch), followed by Ripples (Chris Fuller, Daisy Fuller) in 3rd. 4th was Wave Catcher (Cullen Hughes and James Hughes) and 5th were the newly crowned National Champs, Campbell and Stirling McKay in McMissile. 
6th was Girra-girra (Paul Plowman, Tess Plowman), showing a knack for speed in light winds. 7th was the MCA Demo boat sailed by Martin Egan (crew not recorded). 8th was Foxy Lady III (Jessie Andrewartha, Grant Atherton.
About twenty boats were timed out and recorded as TLE on equal points at 41st position.
As usual, don't forget to check out Robert Owe-Young's great daily photo albums (https://robertowe-young.smugmug.com/2019-Mirror-Worlds)
​