Brewin and Benson were always in the top three finishers in the 25-boat fleet while their rivals were less consistent in the tricky wind conditions across the series.

In today’s four races they added two firsts, a second and a third to their scorecard to complete the series on 14.8 points, well clear of second placegetters Greg and Brett Goodall on 32.6 points. The Goodalls were also sailing a new C2.

Third overall, on 35.6 points were Robbie Lovig and Lachlan Gibson sailing the Hobie Tiger, Scott Lovig Hobie.

Racing from Royal Geelong Yacht Club in the south-western corner of Corio Bay, between Limeburners and Point Henry, the F18s had flat water and patchy 5-12 knot south-east breeze for most of the series.

Today’s first race was the lightest, with the feeble south-easterly breeze rarely exceeding five knots and many dead spots across the course. Brewin and Benson rounded the first mark uncharacteristically out of the top five, but soon worked their way through the fleet,  picking off boat after boat to grab second place right at the finish.

Winner of this race was C2, sailed by Greg Goodall and his son Brett, of Australian High Performance Catamarans (AHPC), the company responsible for the new C2 and the established Capricorn F18 designs as well as a number of other racing catamarans.

Greg is a two-times world champion in the A-Class catamaran and grew up racing on Lake Eppalock, which like most of the lakes in drought-affected western Victoria, now has water levels too low for boating. The lake sailing background has had a lasting influence, evidently, as the Goodalls shone in the light wind races at this national championships.

“Conditions out there were so close to lake sailing; flat water and shifty breeze,” Greg said.

The breeze picked up for today’s second race, won convincingly by BO, from Edge By Windrush, another brand new F18 design sailed by West Australian skipper Brett Burvill and crewed by Ryan Duffield.

BO won the third race of the day from C2 and Scott Lovig Hobie, giving Brewin and Benson the overall title without having to compete in the final race. They chose to sail anyway, in a race won by Scott Lovig Hobie, followed by Edge by Windrush and the ever-consistent BO.

Series-winners Brewin of Sydney, and Benson of Darwin, normally race single-handed A-Class catamarans. Brewin won the 2001 A-Class worlds and is mounting a campaign to win this year’s A-Class worlds in Italy.

Benson, who is currently based in Townsville (Qld) for tertiary studies, is also planning to race in the A-Class worlds, and he and Brewin are planning to also race together at the F18 worlds in Urquy, France immediately after the A-Class series.

The Club Marine Formula 18 Australian Championship was the selection series for the eight places available for Australian crews at the 2010 worlds.

The Australian contingent will include the new C2 design, designed by Greg Goodall at AHPC in Bendigo and developed using AutoCAD and 3D computer modelling work by his son Brett, who is studying industrial design and mechanical engineering.

The new design has more volume in the forward sections of the hulls, and Steve Brewin said he had found it more forgiving and less inclined to nosedive downwind than the previous generation of Capricorn F18, while being very fast in stronger breeze.

Greg Goodall said that a large amount of time has gone into making the C2’s control systems “as simple and clean as possible, to reduce the number of tangles and have systems that work in every condition.”

Also planning to contest the Worlds are the developers of the new Windrush F18 design, who had two boats racing for the first time at this championship. A joint effort by Brett Burvill, Josh Fugill (racing with Cara Lithgo in the other new Windrush F18 here) and Victorian multihull designer Stuart Bloomfield, the new boats showed form especially downwind and in the lighter conditions.

Burvill and Duffield finished fourth overall, while Lithgo and Fugill managed 11^th in spite  of Lithgo suffering a broken middle finger during the first day’s windy racing.

In amongst the new boats at the top of the fleet was the three-and-a-half year old Hobie Tiger sailed by Robbie Lovig and Lachlan Gibson. Lovig said the boat was competitive in stronger wind like the first day’s racing at this regatta.

Fifth overall was the best of the Capricorn contingent, Scrunch or Fold sailed by Matt Homan and Lucas McDonald of Brisbane (Qld).

Sixth place was claimed by Michael Guinea of Townsville (Qld) racing the Nacra F18 Dutch Rudder with visiting Netherlands F18 sailor Christa van Helden. Nacra F18s have won the previous two world championships.

The fast and exciting Formula 18 (F18) catamarans are coming to Corio Bay in Geelong, where the Royal Geelong Yacht Club will host the F18 Australian Championship for the first time at Audi Victoria Week from January 23-26.

Heading the line-up are the reigning Australian champions, Matt Homan and Luke McDonald from Humpybong Yacht Club in Queensland. “It’ll be really good sailing on Corio Bay – we’ve never done a title there before – it’ll be nice flat water,” Homan said today.

Asked who could upset his second consecutive title, Homan replied: “Steve Brewin and Greg Goodall are the majors – and a few of the Nacra guys as well.” Goodall finished second at last year’ Nationals, Brewin sixth.

“There’s a new design, a C2, that’s coming to Geelong, which is relatively untried, so that should be good,” Homan reports.

A development class, which means that manufacturers are always improving their designs and pushing the limits of technology, there are various F18 brands. Homan, Brewin and Goodall all sailed Capricorns at the 2009 Australian Championship, but that will not be the case this time around.

Goodall, from Victoria, designed the new ‘C2’ and he’s loaning one to Brewin from NSW. Brewin, who usually sails with his dad Richard as crew, will not only race a new C2, but will have a new crew Jack Benson aboard.

“Dad’s torn his shoulder really badly, so I won’t let him sail. He’s pretty unhappy about that,” says Brewin, who has good reason to be proud of his Dad, who won the 2009 F18 NSW Championship with his other son Chris.

“Dad’s 60 and he’s still a great crew. I don’t know anyone else even near his age that could do it,” Brewin says. Which is why the pair finished out of the placings at the last Nationals; Richard sailed with the tear, not knowing what was wrong.

Brewin, who agrees Goodall will be a major threat, says Homan is his other main rival, “and Brad Collett (a Queenslander who finished the 2009 Nationals third) if he makes it.”

On his own chances, Brewin, who’s won many titles in his career, admits he and Benson have had little time on the water. “We had a quick sail on Botany Bay in 28 knots the other day. From that, we’ve sorted out the communication problems. Jack’s a good sailor, and we should be OK, but it is a new pairing and a new boat.

“Jack and I just need to gel and we might be in with a chance,” said the sail maker who obviously designs his own sails. Launched at the Paris Boat Show last month, Audi Victoria Week is its first time the C2 will be seen publicly in Australia.

Brewin says the key to success at the Championship comes down to three things: “Confidence, getting good starts and having a first good beat. I’ve got plenty of confidence, so we’ll see…” he said.

He’s not sure how fast the C2 will be, but said: “I suspect it will be the fastest F18 when it sorted – I think it’ll be a ripper.”

“Everything’s coming together for the F18 Nationals at Audi Victoria Week, and I am really looking forward to the regatta,” says Brett Goodall who is crew for his father Greg.

A colourful catamaran that features a spinnaker and two trapezes, allowing both crews to hang out on the wire (see the photo), the boat is favoured by the likes of world champion Tornado Olympic medallists Darren Bundock and Glenn Ashby, who have also won an F18 Worlds or two among their numerous other cat titles.

Such is the fast “thrills and spills” nature of the F18s; proponents of the class have the motto: “Life is too short to sail slow!”

Other names who will contest the 11 race series that will be sailed on windward/leeward courses include Robbie Lovig (Vic), Warren Guinea (Qld), Greg Wyers (NSW) and Brett Burvill (WA).