Ballards’ local sailing connection

Darren and Tammy Ballard of Ballarat have competed in State and National titles at Yarrawonga since the early 1990s and can remember when the sailing club was surrounded by only paddocks.

“We enjoyed camping at the club and the early morning bacon and egg sandwiches prior to racing,” Tammy recalled to the Yarrawonga Chronicle last week.

“Yarrawonga is a special place for us as we competed in our first State titles together on the lake and then later honeymooned here in 1999.”

This year’s 56th Australian Hartley TS16 National Championships on Lake Mulwala from January 3 to 7 was particularly special for the Victorian Ballard families, who had two father/daughter combinations sailing.

Ralph Ballard from Baringhup, who restores timber boats as a hobby, and his daughter Jennifer Brophy from Mt Egerton sailed ‘Emma’, a timber boat he resurrected. Emma was in such disrepair 12 months ago many said she would not float again, considering she had no floor due to rot.

Ralph learnt his boat building skills from his father, who helped him build his first Hartley “Jendardy” and second “Jendarwen” in the 1980s which Ralph sailed with his wife and then later his son Darren.

Darren Ballard sailed with his daughter Georgie, in “Dadning”, a boat built by Darren and Ralph, named after his late grandfather (Ralph’s father). Darren has previously sailed Dadning with his wife, coming 4th in the 2018 and 2019 Australian titles and 10th with their son Cody in 2020.

A third combination father/daughter of Martin and Mikayla Gregory on their boat Ancient Mariner (NSW) finished 18th, very pleased after only sailing for the first time on the boat a few weeks before the titles. They also came 2nd on Handicap to great cheers from the crowd that gathered at the presentation dinner.

This year’s event attracted 21 entrants with nine sailors from Victoria, seven from NSW and five South Australians.

For some, it was their first chance to get on the water in almost 18 months, for others a chance to see life-long sailing friends after the Covid lockdowns which delayed the titles by 12 months.

Successfully defending their title the Richard Hartley Cup on Sinister in 1st outright, were Peter Wilson and wife Gillian Wilson; 2nd outright on Pickled Pelican were Michael Simms and Peter Howitt of SA; 3rd outright were NSW pair Gary Willis and Eric Partland on Uncle Norm.

The races were conducted in a short course format taking the first competitors around 50 minutes to complete the course. Due to the weather interruptions, the sailors and race officers spent considerable time wet on and off the water as they waited for the storms to pass.

Along with the line honour placings, other awards included:

The Colin Martin for 1st on Handicap - won by Sandman and sailed by Paul Pritchard and his wife Judith (NSW). They also won the Best family trophy for first family boat on handicap; 3rd Handicap - KURDI II: Geoff Potts and wife Chris Hayden (SA); Qantas Trophy,