Ahead of the pack
AIR Force has continued its strong performance on the water, claiming the individual boat title at the Interservice Keelboat Regatta for the third consecutive year, following a hotly contested competition on Sydney Harbour.
The individual boat title was decided on a tiebreak against a fast and consistent Army crew.
Skipper of the winning Air Force boat, FLTLT Marcus Livingstone, said: “It’s a huge achievement to secure three straight individual boat titles and, personally, my fifth title.”
“This year, once again, the Army team was especially quick and incredibly hard to beat, never scoring outside the top three.”
The Army sailing team claimed the overall Team Championship, edging Air Force into second place by five points. The narrow margin reflected the strong and consistent performance of all three Air Force boats throughout the regatta.
With crews skippered by FLTLT Livingstone, SGT Darrell Greig and SGT Ross Macdonald, all contributed valuable results across the races to keep Air Force in contention for the team title until the finals.
FLTLT Livingstone praised his crew of SGT Mathew Hurston, SGT Chris Walker and AC James Padina, as well as the wider Air Force sailing contingent.
“The standard across all the Air Force boats was very high this year,” he said.
“Every crew was pushing for their best performances, and that collective effort is what kept us right in the hunt for the team championship.”
'This was the closest and most competitive fleet I’ve seen in my five years competing. Four different teams took race wins and six different teams featured on the podium, which shows the depth of competition.'
The regatta featured teams from Air Force, Army, Navy, ADFA and, for the first time, Saltwater Veterans – with all crews facing a range of challenging conditions.
“Sydney Harbour dished up everything from gale force winds to dead drifts and 180-degree wind shifts, all amongst geographical features and multiple obstacles on the course,” FLTLT Livingstone said.
“The teams had to keep on their toes and constantly assess the conditions to stay competitive.”
Clear communication and teamwork proved decisive across the fleet.
“All members of the team needed to move in unison and communicate changing conditions across a full 360-degree field of view just to keep the boat moving,” he said.
“This was the closest and most competitive fleet I’ve seen in my five years competing.
“Four different teams took race wins and six different teams featured on the podium, which shows the depth of competition.”
Adding further value to the event, Australian Sailing 49erFX and Danish SailGP coach, Victor Payá Canal, provided coaching support throughout the regatta.
The Air Force Sailing Club continues to play a key role in developing members through structured training and access to civilian competitions.
“Service sport is a great benefit that members should seek out,” FLTLT Livingstone said.
“Sailing is unique because we can integrate less experienced sailors into highly competitive racing – so if you’re interested, please reach out and give it a go.”
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