Luke Stephens And Team Adrenaline Crowned As Melges 24 South Australian Champion

Melges 24 youngster Luke Stephens, 22, has taken out his first state championship in a senior class after a resounding victory in the South Australian Melges 24 state championships at Adelaide Sailing Club over the weekend.

In light and difficult conditions over the three days, Stephens won three of the five races, holding off veteran Robin Deussen in a close battle. 

Adrenaline and Luke Stephens

Luke Stephens and his crew on Adrenaline won their first Melges 24 state championship at Adelaide Sailing Club over the weekend. Photograph: Ally Graham

The early championship lead to Stephens paid dividends as the challenging conditions only allowed five races to be sailed out of a scheduled seven. Stephens, who skippered Adrenaline, said the light winds were a great help as he considered himself to be a better light air sailor. "It wasn't typical Adelaide sea breeze weather for this time of year," Stephens said. "It suited us because I'm a light air sailor and enjoyed the conditions. "Being from Port Lincoln I have a lot more confidence when it comes to sailing in shifty breezes."

In the absence of crew member and boat owner Hamish Nicol, Stephens changed from a four-man to a five-man crew with father-son pair of Anthony and Oscar Mitton joining the team.

Along with regular crew Matt Pernini and Luke Hookings, Stephens said the team adapted to the changes quickly. He said he was happy with how the boat was set up and even with a change in the normal crew, boat speed was not an issue. "We were very happy with how the boat went over the weekend, considering we had quite a significant change in crew," Stephens said. "We just had boat speed over the rest of the fleet the whole weekend, which is a massive help."

Deussen and Red Mist - photo Ally GrahamRobin Deussen and Red Mist - Photgraph: Ally Graham

Deussen, sailing Red Mist, was closely trailing Stephens all weekend however needed to close down a four-point gap in the final race to steal victory. 

A safe race from Stephens in what was expected to be the final race of the regatta in very challenging conditions saw him finish fifth just behind Deussen in third for the Adrenaline team to win their maiden state title. 

Adrenaline and Luke Stephens

The Adrenaline team of Luke Stephens, Oscar Mitton, Matt Pernini, Anthony Mitton and Luke Hookings at the South Australian Melges 24 state championship presentation. Photograph: Ally Graham

Many of the Melges 24 sailors are now looking forward to the Club Marine/Lexus Adelaide to Port Lincoln Yacht Race, which leaves Adelaide on Friday.

Melges 24 skipper Jason Ward on Concubine, who was third overall in the Melges 24 states, will be sailing in the race over to Port Lincoln on his Beneteau First 40 under the same name with a crew predominantly made up of Melges sailors, including Stephens.

Stephens said it was a great opportunity for the Melges fleet to get together on the same boat and blend their skills, which has ultimately resulted in a successful season so far. "Most of the guys that race Melges are doing the race over to Lincoln," he said. "A lot of them are also on (Ward's Beneteau First 40) Concubine as well, which is going to be good fun. "The forecast looks reasonably light for the race over and our boat doesn't do that great in the light breezes but we'll see how we go." 

As well as the boat's first Sydney to Hobart Yacht Race in December last year, it has also claimed a division two IRC win at Geelong Week as well as various offshore race IRC victories in Adelaide throughout the season.

Full results

By Harry Fisher, Down Under Sail