This year’s J/24 Australian Nationals were sailed on the fabulous Sydney Harbour and the teamwork at the host club, Royal Prince Edward YC, was nothing short of amazing. Though the fleet had 13 teams participating, the depth of talent was huge and great skippers were back in the pack. Midway through the regatta, Ben Lamb, Dave Suda and Steve Girdis all had a mathematical chance of winning the regatta. It was incredibly close racing all the way until the end. In fact, big changes could (and did) happen on the final day of racing in the middle of the pack where just 6 points separated six places! In this group, Rolex Sydney-Hobart winning tactician Sean Kirkjian, Vlad (Singapore), Doug Watson, J Spot, Ron Thompson, Dave West, are all great skippers and would be treated to a “roller-coaster” ride of ups & downs all the way to the end. Steve Girdis sailing CONVICTS REVENGE was crowned the Australian 2014 J/24 National Champion in an ultra-tight battle in the last two races, winning by just one point as a result of winning the last race! It was not an easy title to come by. It was consistent sailing that ultimately won the day for the CONVICTS, posting a 3-3-3-6-2-3-1-2-4-1 scoreline for 23 points net. Early regatta leaders, Ben Lamb’s KAOTIC won four of the first six races but in races 7, 8, 9 they posted a 6-5-10 and basically had to win the last race to gain the title. Girdis’s CONVICTS won the finale in the Australian J/24 fleet. Dave Suda’s gangsters on PACEMAKER were lying second after eight races with a very consistent scoreline of 1-4-2-4-4-2-3-1. But PACEMAKER’s 5-7 in races 9 & 10 dropped them into third overall, taking the bronze. Rounding out the top five were BY THE LEE and Kirkjian’s SAIL PAC in 4th & 5th, respectively. For more J/24 Australian Nationals sailing information, http://www.j24.com.au/.