Sean Wallis took top honours in a challenging event with flukey winds
Sunday's DF95 State Championship could hardly have provided a greater contrast to the conditions experienced the previous day.
A fleet of 25 boats assembled for racing under the HMS, but instead of Saturday's strong winds, Race Officer Peter Buchanan was faced with the challenge of finding enough breeze to even establish a course.
Short periods of rain passed through during the morning and, for some time, it appeared the wind might never properly settle. Following a delayed start, racing finally commenced in an extremely light south-westerly.
The HMS seeding races saw Sean Wallis win his opening race, while Queensland visitor Gary Metcalfe won the corresponding seeding race, giving both sailors an ideal start to the championship.
Almost as soon as the opening races were completed, however, so was the south-westerly.
A significant shift to the ESE required the race team to relocate and reset the course in the Canning River channel. The new breeze provided an opportunity to continue racing, but the strong outgoing flow and the odd jelly fish in the river added another dimension to an already difficult day.
Progress upwind could be painfully slow as the DF95s attempted to make headway against the current. Finding pressure and positioning the boat correctly became critical, with small differences in breeze producing significant gains or losses.
Eventually the breeze again dissipated and racing was suspended for lunch with two A Fleet races and three B Fleet races completed.
After another delay, the breeze eventually settled back into the south-west, allowing racing to resume.
At the front, the championship was developing into a battle between Wallis and Nick Jerwood.
Jerwood recovered strongly from his opening result with a win in Race 2 followed by a second in Race 3. Wallis countered with second and third places respectively, keeping the championship extremely close.
Race 4 became particularly important because its completion brought the first – and ultimately only – discard into effect. Jerwood could now drop his fifth from Race 1, significantly closing the gap to Wallis.
Wallis responded when it mattered.
Race 4 produced one of the highlights of the championship, with Bruce Quail sailing an outstanding race and leading deep into the contest. Wallis eventually found a way past on the final leg to the finish to take the win, while Quail held on for an excellent second place. Jerwood finished fourth but remained firmly in championship contention.
Jerwood immediately hit back by winning Race 5. With Wallis finishing second, the margin between the pair was reduced to just two points heading into the final race.
It set up a fitting conclusion to a day in which every point had mattered.
The calculations heading into Race 6 meant the championship remained open. Jerwood needed a win, while Wallis knowing if this occurred he would need no worse than a second to claim the title.
This time it was Andrew Donkin who produced the performance of the race.
Donkin took the final race victory, while Wallis crossed in second place to secure the Western Australian DF95 State Championship. Jerwood finished fourth to take second overall.
At the same time, another battle was being decided for the final position on the podium.
Queenslander Gary Metcalfe and defending champion Justin McAullay entered the final race level on points. Metcalfe delivered when it counted, finishing third in the final race to secure third overall.
There were strong performances throughout the 25-boat fleet. Bruce Quail's second in Race 4 and third in Race 5 helped him to sixth overall, while Donkin's final-race victory elevated him to eighth. Nick Robinson recorded an important fleet win during Race 3, while Kim Klaka, Jason Poutsma, Mitchell Benson and Garry Goodall were among those regularly involved in close battles through the fleets.
DF95 State Championship – Top Five
- Sean Wallis – 8 points
- Nick Jerwood – 12 points
- Gary Metcalfe – 19 points
- Justin McAullay – 25 points
- Jason Poutsma – 28 points
Across the weekend, competitors experienced almost the full range of conditions radio sailing can offer.
Saturday was about boat handling, equipment reliability and keeping a DF65 under control at speed in strong winds, rain and squalls. Less than 24 hours later, Sunday's DF95 competitors were searching for the smallest patches of pressure while trying to overcome the current in the Canning River.
Through both extremes, the quality and competitiveness of the racing remained high.
South of Perth Yacht Club provided an excellent location for the championships, with the ability to utilise both the protected marina area and the Canning River proving particularly valuable given the vastly different conditions experienced across the two days. The support of South of Perth Yacht Club in allowing Wanderers Radio Sailing Club to conduct the championships at the venue was an important part of making the weekend possible.
Thanks must also go to the countless volunteers who contributed across both days. Conducting championship racing of this size requires a considerable team, from Race Officers and race management through to observers, scorers, course setters, boat handlers and the many people working behind the scenes.
Their contribution, together with the cooperation and camaraderie of the competitors, helped make the weekend a great showcase for the DF classes in Western Australia.
Congratulations to the 2026 Western Australian State Champions – Nick Jerwood in the DF65 class and Sean Wallis in the DF95 class – and to all competitors who took part in a memorable weekend of racing.
Gary Metcalfe, third place
Nick Jerwood, second place
Sean Wallis, an IOM national champion, is now the DF95 state champion!
The winners
