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Narrow margins decided the medals at the 29er and RS Feva North Island championships at the Manly Sailing Club last weekend.
Seb Menzies and Blake McGlashan, who won gold in the boy's 420 at this year's youth sailing world championships, edged Brayden Hamilton and Jack Honey in the 29er by 1.5 points.
Those two crews had a healthy advantage over the rest of the 14-boat fleet but only one point separated three teams battling for bronze.
Monty Alderson and Josh Schon were 0.5 points ahead of George Lee Rush and Harry Butler, with Francesco Kayrouz and Carrington Brady a further 0.5 points behind in fifth. Aimee Bright and Maddie Rist were the first all-female crew in 12th overall.
Above: Fran Kayrouz and Carrington Brady just missed out on a medal. Main: Simon Cooke and his son Ashton won the RS Feva title. Photos: Manly Sailing Club.
It was also tight in the RS Feva fleet, with Simon and Ashton Cooke finishing five points ahead of Blake Hinsley and Oskar Masfen (first youth) and father-daughter combination David and Emmalee Ferris another four points behind in third.
Emma Pickard and Gyanne Garner were first females and fourth overall and Carter Stringer and Josh Smith were first juniors and fifth overall.
Simon Cooke and Masfen combined to win this year's open title at the RS Feva world championships in Italy but there's been considerable change at the top end of the fleet with most sailing with different partners.
Cooke is now sailing with his son Ashton. Nicholas Drummond, who was second in the under-18 fleet at the world championships with Hinsley, has teamed up with Josh Hyde but the pair were missing from the Manly regatta.
It's hoped a handful of combinations will compete at next year's world championships in Germany before New Zealand host the 2021 RS Feva worlds.
A coaching session was held by some of those who attended the world championships on the day before the RS Feva North Island championships and it's a feature that's likely to continue at future events. There have also been discussions about introducing a family category given the number of parents and children sailing together.
A number of teams were rusty for the first event of the season, particularly on the downwind legs where it was noticeable that teams nearer the back were over-trimming the gennakers and often sailing too high or too low to gain good wind flow on the gennakers or VMG.
At the front of the fleet, however, the first three Fevas were often separated by boat lengths at most marks and finishes.
The Cookes won six of the eight races with Hinlsey and Masfen winning the other two. The latter recovered well from their first race when they dropped the jib and scored a DNF.
Results and standings from the RS Feva and 29er North Island Championships at the Manly Sailing Club last weekend:
RS Feva Overall (17 boats)
1st: Simon Cooke / Ashton Cooke (RAYC) 1 1 (3) 1 1 (2) 1 1 - 6 points
2nd: Blake Hinsley / Oskar Masfen (RAYC) (18 DNC) 2 1 2 2 1 (3) 3 - 11 pts
3rd: David Ferris / Emmalee Ferris (KCC) (4) 3 2 3 3 (4) 2 2 - 15 pts
29er (14 boats)
1st: Seb Menzies / Blake McGlashan (MBSC) (2) 1 1 2 1 (5) 2 2 2 1 - 12 pts
2nd: Brayden Hamilton / Jack Honey (WBC/BOIYC) (5) 2 2 1 (5) 1 1 1 1 4.5 - 13.5 pts
3rd: Monty Alderson / Josh Schon (KYC/WBC) 1 3 (7) 3 (6) 6 3 5 3 6 - 30 pts
