Esperance turns on ideal weather for Flying Fifteen

The Flying Fifteen International State Championships set sail on Good Friday, with 33 boats greeting the starter's gun.

Enticed by a moderate south-easterly breeze and cool conditions, former world champions Nick and Janet Jerwood, in Ineffable, and Grant Alderson and Dean MacAullay, in El Toro, set the pace for the rest of the field.

Also showing promise was Esperance team David Swan and Matt Elliott in Changing Lanes, who came in fourth overall.

Speaking to the Kalgoorlie Miner yesterday, Mr Swan said he was "pretty pleased" with the result in such a strong fleet.

Mr Swan, the organising committee chairman, was also honoured with lifetime membership to the Flying Fifteen International Association WA at the weekend.

He took time from the busy social schedule yesterday to discuss the finer details of navigating the course in a 22ft planing sailboat.

"They're good to race because they're exciting, they're small and transportable and they're highly tactical and highly technical - it takes a lot to sail them well," Mr Swan said.

"The conditions were perfect, they were quite light breezes, but light is fine too, as long as it's not too light.

"We got all the races in a range of conditions and it was just beautiful weather, it was a spectacularly successful regatta."

Mr Swan said the club had been building up to the event for several months, and was proud to announce the 2015 State Championships was to act as a training run for the 2017 Nationals event, also to be hosted in Esperance.

"We are hoping to make that pretty big," he said.