comers from Lake Macquarie to Lake Illawarra. 1957/1958 saw three clubs sailing Skates. The first title was won by Ray Young at Georges River Sailing Club and the winning boat was the original Skate. The Skate class became more popular and boomed over the next couple of years culminated in the Australian titles being held at Nedlands Club in WA. Skate sailing continues to be enjoyed by Australian sailors. The 2014, 57th Nationals were held at Port Dalrymple in Tasmania. David Luck and Anthony Sinton were the winning team. It was the ninth win for David Luck setting a new record for the most Skate National Championships won by an individual. Design Development The hull was redesigned and widened in 1971 by Doug Jefkins and the measurement tolerances were tightened, and the size of the mainsail and spinnaker were increased in 1983-84 season. The first fibreglass hulls appeared in 1971, with foam sandwich hulls being produced from 1979. During the 1990s the rig was lengthened and the sail plan modified to improve the aspect ratio. The class further evolved in 2000 with thoughts of using an asymmetrical spinnaker mounted from a bow pole. Skates are now configured with the taller rig and bow pole (either carbon fibre or aluminium, extendable or fixed depending on personal preference). These changes have made the Skate easier to sail, and crew weight is now less critical, as evidenced by the number of younger sailors competing at a high level in the fleet. Also involved in building the original Skate were: Boat - Vince Minter Sails - Jack Herrick Spars - Ray Keating Skating Insignia - Bill Denman Naval Architect - Don Dixon Australian National Class Championships In 1965 Chelsea Yacht Club adopts the "Skate" class yacht. It went on and became a strong and successful class, with Kim Clarke winning 2 Australian titles, John Manfield winning 2 Australian titles. The 1975 Victorian Championships were won by R. Drewett, who was sailing the Sabot "Woodstock II", by Don Ash in the GP14 Dinghy "Elan", by Kim Clarke in the Skate "Ratcatcher" and by Geoff Harris in the rainbow "Strangeways". A further 4 Victorian titles were also won. The 57th Skate Nationals were held in 2014 at Port Dalrymple in Tasmania. David Luck and Anthony Sinton were the winning team. It was the ninth win for Dave - setting a record for the most Skate National