The 2026 Victorian 29er State Championships were held over the long weekend 7–9 March at Sandringham Yacht Club, delivering a fantastic regatta with a wide range of conditions that tested every crew.
The fleet of 10 was made up mostly of Victorian teams, with Josh Bacon and Zac Oakley representing Mornington yacht club.
Day 1 brought a strong southerly breeze (gusting 22 knots) and tall Port Phillip waves, making for a very challenging start to the regatta. The conditions pushed sailors and equipment hard, with nearly half the fleet retiring during the day, but those who stayed out battled through three tough races.
Race one after a slow start and a swim, the MYC boys battled it out with close racing between six and seventh place to get pipped across the line and coming home in 7th.
Race two of the day saw the boys retire just after the start due to equipment failure. After a quick pit stop and repairs back on the beach, they returned back to the start line with only minutes to spare for the start of race three.
Great resilience from the boys as a number of other competitors decided to call it a day as the wind and waves strengthened, later in the afternoon.
Race three they had another slow start and a capsize, which put them behind the eight ball from the get go. To their credit they didn't give in and battled away, being well overpowered in the strong breeze capsizing a number of times throughout the race before being timed out, after completing approximately two thirds of the course.
Day 2 was again windy. Slightly stronger than the previous day but with more east in the breeze. This flattened the sea state but created a sharp, awkward chop and the wind proved shifty with strong gusts throughout the racing. Crews were kept on their toes across another three races.
The improvement in Josh and Zac's boat handling in stronger winds was evident across the first two races, of the second day.
This resulted in two strong 6th place finishes in the first and second race. With some missed opportunity's and small mistakes, (which will improve with time and experience) the boys could have easily found themselves battling it out for a top 5 finish.
With the wind and seas picking up again in the afternoon and after 4 solid races over the first two days of the regatta, the MYC boys decided to retire from racing for the day and rest up and recover for what the weather was going to bring, on the final third day.
Day 3 light winds greeted sailors who were initially held ashore under AP while waiting for the breeze to fill in. Eventually a northerly front arrived, much stronger than expected, leaving everyone wondering what conditions they would face.
In what started off in perfect conditions for our boys, with around 15knots from the north, they nailed their start and with a great windward and return leg found themselves comfortably sitting in 5 position and on the heels of the leading pack.
Unfortunately the wind didn’t hold — a large 45deg wind shift caught the boys and the majority of the leading pack out, which saw the final half of the race sailed in very light to no wind resulting in another 7th place for the team.
With little sign of the breeze rebuilding, the one race on day three completed the regatta.
A big congratulations to Henri and Miles Levenspiel on taking out the Victorian state title.
Also a big thankyou to both these guys for the support and assistance they have given both Josh and Zac in their first year of 29R sailing.
Their skills and results really gives our MYC boys something to aspire too.
All and all a fantastic first regatta for both Josh and Zac in the 29r, in challenging conditions.
The boys results and improvements over the regatta are a credit to the to the coaches we have at MYC thank you.
Podium Results
1st Goro Tomishima & Orland Sadlik (NSW)
2nd Miles & Henri Levenspiel (VIC)
3rd Hamish Skelton & Christian Spencer (NSW)
7th Josh Bacon and Zac Oakley (MYC)
The Perpetual Trophy for Best Performing Victorian Crew was awarded to Miles & Henri Levenspiel.
A big thank you to Sandringham Yacht Club, the race management team, volunteers and families who helped make the event such a success.
At these states a couple of weeks ago we had a mixture of sailors both male and female battling it out at the front of the fleet, across all ages, from 14 to 40
With an exciting up and coming 12 months planned for the 29r class here in Victoria
The 29r Nationals are to be held at Sandringham in January 2027. This regatta is part of the world selection event , which promises to draw a big fleet.
In the lead up to the nationals here in Victoria, the Vic 29r association will be focusing's on accommodating and developing new to intermediate sailors to the class.
We are looking for individual sailors and or teams who may be interested in joining the class.
Please send an email to [email protected] or [email protected], showing your interest and we will be in contact regarding future regattas, come and try days, boat for sale etc.
Report By Bret Levenspiel and Kris Oakley
The fleet of 10 was made up mostly of Victorian teams, with Josh Bacon and Zac Oakley representing Mornington yacht club.
Day 1 brought a strong southerly breeze (gusting 22 knots) and tall Port Phillip waves, making for a very challenging start to the regatta. The conditions pushed sailors and equipment hard, with nearly half the fleet retiring during the day, but those who stayed out battled through three tough races.
Race one after a slow start and a swim, the MYC boys battled it out with close racing between six and seventh place to get pipped across the line and coming home in 7th.
Race two of the day saw the boys retire just after the start due to equipment failure. After a quick pit stop and repairs back on the beach, they returned back to the start line with only minutes to spare for the start of race three.
Great resilience from the boys as a number of other competitors decided to call it a day as the wind and waves strengthened, later in the afternoon.
Race three they had another slow start and a capsize, which put them behind the eight ball from the get go. To their credit they didn't give in and battled away, being well overpowered in the strong breeze capsizing a number of times throughout the race before being timed out, after completing approximately two thirds of the course.
Day 2 was again windy. Slightly stronger than the previous day but with more east in the breeze. This flattened the sea state but created a sharp, awkward chop and the wind proved shifty with strong gusts throughout the racing. Crews were kept on their toes across another three races.
The improvement in Josh and Zac's boat handling in stronger winds was evident across the first two races, of the second day.
This resulted in two strong 6th place finishes in the first and second race. With some missed opportunity's and small mistakes, (which will improve with time and experience) the boys could have easily found themselves battling it out for a top 5 finish.
With the wind and seas picking up again in the afternoon and after 4 solid races over the first two days of the regatta, the MYC boys decided to retire from racing for the day and rest up and recover for what the weather was going to bring, on the final third day.
Day 3 light winds greeted sailors who were initially held ashore under AP while waiting for the breeze to fill in. Eventually a northerly front arrived, much stronger than expected, leaving everyone wondering what conditions they would face.
In what started off in perfect conditions for our boys, with around 15knots from the north, they nailed their start and with a great windward and return leg found themselves comfortably sitting in 5 position and on the heels of the leading pack.
Unfortunately the wind didn’t hold — a large 45deg wind shift caught the boys and the majority of the leading pack out, which saw the final half of the race sailed in very light to no wind resulting in another 7th place for the team.
With little sign of the breeze rebuilding, the one race on day three completed the regatta.
A big congratulations to Henri and Miles Levenspiel on taking out the Victorian state title.
Also a big thankyou to both these guys for the support and assistance they have given both Josh and Zac in their first year of 29R sailing.
Their skills and results really gives our MYC boys something to aspire too.
All and all a fantastic first regatta for both Josh and Zac in the 29r, in challenging conditions.
The boys results and improvements over the regatta are a credit to the to the coaches we have at MYC thank you.
Podium Results
1st Goro Tomishima & Orland Sadlik (NSW)
2nd Miles & Henri Levenspiel (VIC)
3rd Hamish Skelton & Christian Spencer (NSW)
7th Josh Bacon and Zac Oakley (MYC)
The Perpetual Trophy for Best Performing Victorian Crew was awarded to Miles & Henri Levenspiel.
A big thank you to Sandringham Yacht Club, the race management team, volunteers and families who helped make the event such a success.
At these states a couple of weeks ago we had a mixture of sailors both male and female battling it out at the front of the fleet, across all ages, from 14 to 40
With an exciting up and coming 12 months planned for the 29r class here in Victoria
The 29r Nationals are to be held at Sandringham in January 2027. This regatta is part of the world selection event , which promises to draw a big fleet.
In the lead up to the nationals here in Victoria, the Vic 29r association will be focusing's on accommodating and developing new to intermediate sailors to the class.
We are looking for individual sailors and or teams who may be interested in joining the class.
Please send an email to [email protected] or [email protected], showing your interest and we will be in contact regarding future regattas, come and try days, boat for sale etc.
Report By Bret Levenspiel and Kris Oakley
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