Spring Round-up

TEAM SAILING SPRING REGATTAS

Spring Regattas are traditionally training regattas and kick start the team sailing season, leading up to Nationals in April. It is a good time to catch up with old friends and rivals and to meet new teams.

Between 11 – 13 October, there were two training regattas held, one at Whangarei and one at Taupo.

The Parua Bay Team Sailing Spring Regatta was run by the Sail Northland Charitable Trust in conjunction with the New Zealand Team Sailing Association and the Whangarei Cruising Club.

The regatta was well attended with seven teams competing over the three days.

Racing was cancelled on day 1 due to strong winds, but there were some excellent land-based training sessions. Thanks to Sharon Ferris, Derry Godbert and Alan Clarkson.

Also thanks to Gay Noyer for being our race officer and Ross Sutherland for laying the course.

The weather conditions ranged from 25 knots on the first day through to 5 knots on the last.

Four round robins were completed with good sailing, as all the teams improved during the event.

The results were:

  1. Whangarei Boys
  2. Mahurangi
  3. Glendowie
  4. Whangarei Girls
  5. Wentworth
  6. Kerikeri Blue
  7. Kerikeri Red

 

At Lake Taupo Yacht Club, the first day’s high winds allowed for only 1.5 hours of sailing, the rest of the time was in the classroom.  The second day was beautiful, with perfect conditions. The sailors had fleet races, learned on-water tactics and how to sail the boats.  There were a few crew learning to skipper and new 420 sailors learning to crew. Day 3, the sun was hiding, but with perfect conditions again for training, a regatta was run.

Results:

  1. 1st Cambridge/Waiheke combined
  2. 2nd Taupo
  3. 3rd Tauranga
  4. 4th New Plymouth
  5. 5th Hamilton Combined
  6. 6th Napier/Taupo Combined

Coaches, Tim and Angus were awesome and the sailors loved it learned heaps.  The parents were really helpful, with a shared lunch every day – Taupo parents made soup, visitors added rolls, fruit etc, all sailors brought baking and it just worked out perfectly.

The feedback was really positive, so that as long as the sailors want to do it again and with the same awesome support from the parents, organiser Susana Buckton will continue to make this a yearly training clinic at this time every year.

Nelson also held start of season team sailing courses over both weeks of the school holidays.