BROTHERS Daniel and Nathan Van Kerckhof on Send It Marine were crowned the Cock of the Harbour winners at SailFest Newcastle, etching their names onto one of the oldest trophies in Australian sailing.

Representing Tanilba Bay Sailing Club, they were piloting a brand-new Goodall Akurra F18 cat – one of only two in the world and having just its third ever outing as part of an ongoing development program.

“The boat is straight out of the box, including the sails, but they do such a great job with the engineering,” skipper Daniel said.

“You could go to Brett Goodall and say I’d like the same boat as the Cocks of the Harbour are sailing, and it would be identical.

“We’d also give a plug to Harken and Vaikobi.”

Nathan added, “Comparing it to our last boat, a C2, it definitely feels like it accelerates quicker, but we can’t wait to get it into some stronger breeze and really blow the cobwebs out.”

They narrowly edged out the F20 Thunderbolt (Brett White, Ethan McAlauf), while another F18, 1484, finished third.

Fastest of the monohulls was Waddles, a local 16-foot skiff crewed by David Croft, Anthony Johnson and Greg Linich.

It crossed the line eighth overall, no match for squadron of F18s on the day.

Monohulls dominated the yardstick handicap placings, filling eight of the top 10 places, and it was an all-VS podium led by 2 Sailors + 1 with John Jefferson, Pete and Brody Sullivan aboard.

Second was Stowe skippered by Tim Dodds, from Meeks Real Estate in third.

Send It Marine was the best-placed cat.

 

By Mark ROTHFIELD