Manly 16ft Skiffs: Simply Aviation's win a lesson in perseverance

10:51 AM Tue 24 Feb 2009 GMT

'Manly 16ft Skiff Club'

Simply Aviation's handicap victory in Manly 16ft Skiff Club's summer pointscore race last Saturday was a pertinent lesson is perseverance.

Heading into the final mark, skipper Mitch White trailed Era (James Levy) by enough to know second place was all he could realistically hope for.

But it's never over until the final gun.

Era mistimed its final tack - making the fatal mistake of going too soon - and White snuck under its guard to steal an 11-second win in a shifting 5-10 knot breeze.

Be Yourself Personal Training (Rod Hozack) was third.

Simply Aviation's sheethand/builder/financier Grant Windsham freely admitted: 'We won by fluke.'

'They could have sailed us off the course.'

'But don't get me wrong - we are happy to take the win.'

It was Simply's third handicap win in a season Windsham describes as the best in three years.

White is in his first year in the 16s after winning the 13ft skiff Nationals last season, while for'and Elise Munyard is only 21 and has graduated from Flying 11s to 16s.

'It's one of the youngest crews in the fleet and I think we've done pretty well,' Windsham said.

Altis Consulting (Philip Cooke) took out the scratch event on a day when the bar looked a lot more enticing than the dreadful conditions dished up on the harbour.

The weekend finished on a bright note for Manly 16's, with Billy Ditmarsch on Another Dark and Stormy taking out the Manly Juniors NSW state title held on Lake Macquarie, complimenting the previous weeks' win in the Flying Eleven division where the club also took the NSW state championships.

That ensured Manly finished the season with three national crowns and three state titles, making their trophy cabinet the fullest in its 86 year history.

www.manlyskiff.com.au

by Brad Andrew

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