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Natasha Miller writes, 'The S80 was designed by Kim Swarbrick in WA in 1978 to be the ideal combination of an affordable and responsive one-design racer, with potential for weekend family cruising.

At 8 metres long with a draft of only 1.4 metres, the class took off in WA and Victoria with large fleets still racing in both locations.

As a proud S80 owner Ruth Lawrence (who sails on Momo in Tuesday Twilights) thought it was time to try her hand in the original home state by contesting the South West S80 Championships hosted by Koombana Bay Sailing Club in Bunbury WA on the Australia Day weekend.

Ruth’s team consisted of Tuesday Twilight sailors Tash Miller and Belinda Parkes (Trilogy), Eloise Clarke (Enigma) and Skye Paton (who we will tempt into Tuesdays shortly).

Bunbury is the gateway to Margaret River and is a real gem, with crystal clear water, sandy beaches and dolphins galore. Just watch out for crab pots amongst the moorings!

We were warmly welcomed by the KBSC community and enjoyed a fantastic event with ten S80s competing in seven of windward-leeward races over two days.

We had some very high highs (rapid synchronised kite launches) and some very low lows (wrapping the kite and heading for Madagascar), and finished second on consistency handicap.

One design racing is the bomb! If you have a good-sized fleet, each race improves everyone’s skills. You get instant feedback on what you get right (and wrong) and a chance to do it all again and do it better.

Congratulations to the winner Phil Slee (S80 Miss Behavin) and all the competitors.

Full results are available here



Warm thanks to:
Paul Andrews for the generous loan of S80 Misty Blue (sorry for flying the NSW flag).
Phil Slee for the loan of sails and miscellaneous boat parts.
KBSC Secretary Lisa Cowell (S80 Sister Act) for making the connection. We hope Lisa and her team will visit us for the LOTS Regatta in October. 
The flag officers, committee and staff at KBSC for a first class regatta.
The City of Bunbury for the firework display on the 26th (we know it was for us).
Femme Soleil for the hats.

Finally, if you have or know of an S80, Ruth is tracking them down and hopes to organise a Sydney mini-regatta over autumn. Please get in touch with her, email [email protected].