MANNING sailor Troy Lewis won his third consecutive state sabre class championship in the two day event conducted on the Manning.
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A fleet of 15 contested the championship - nearly double that from last year. This included Steven Bradford, who travelled from Tasmania. Bradford finished second to Lewis. He was sailing in his boat for the first time and headed back to Tasmania soon after the conclusion of the presentation on Sunday afternoon.
Lewis said consistency was the key to his victory. He won two of the seven races, had two seconds, a third, fourth and sixth. He finished five points clear of Bradford.
Craig Simpson from Kogarah Bay was third, beating Manning's Richard Dodds on a countback. Dodds was originally been called in third spot.
Conditions were light on the Saturday, although the breeze was consistent. There was a delay of more than two hours for the championship to continue on the Sunday waiting for conditions to pick up.
"The committee did an amazing job to get seven races in,'' Lewis said.
"The courses were set really well, but we were shocked they got the seven races.''
This year's format was increased to seven races, up from the usual five.
"It's a pretty full-on weekend to do seven races in any class,'' Lewis said.
"It made for a different dynamic.''
Sailors from Kogarah Bay, Big River, Canberra, Manning and the one representative from Tasmania contested the championship.
Next year's event will be held at Kogarah Bay and Lewis said he will be a sure starter as he attempts to claim a fourth crown.
