Issue date
Sailability Wellington hosted the 2015 Hansa Class National Championships, Kiwi Cup and Kiwi Ability Regatta at Lowry Bay, Wellington from 17th to 19th January 2015.
With winds over twenty knots on all three days, racing was cancelled for most classes on the 18th, with only the Kiwi Ability fleet getting in racing in the more sheltered waters of the marina, so completing six races in their series and allowing one race to be dropped from each sailors score. Ben Pitt sailed consistently well to gain first place, with Natasha Williams in second and Monica Thompson in third.
Most of the fleet of 10 Liberty’s managed to get in two races on the first day, and a further three races on the last day after a spell ashore between the last two races due to high winds. This meant that while nobody could drop a result from their total score, at least there was a series. It is interesting to note that only three boats from a fleet of ten managed to complete all five races. Tony Vaka, in his first regatta, sailed well enough on the first day to sail conservatively on the last day and protect his boat from damage, and won both his class and the coveted Kiwi Cup. Darrell Smith was second and Wayne South third.
With a fleet of three SKUD 18s not being sufficient to constitute a class, there was less pressure to complete five races and therefore a series, and after Tim Demsey and Gemma Fletcher damaged their boat badly in a port starboard incident in race three and retired, the other two SKUD 18 crews only completed one more race. Paul Webber and Mark Winters came away with first place, with Paul Wager and Anna Ankersmit second and Tim Demsey and Gemma Fletcher third.
Disappointingly for the 303 sailors, there were only four boats so this class also could not be awarded a national title, even though they completed five races. Micheal Jones sailed (and bailed) extremely well, won all five races and the class, with Bob Knox coming second in all races and the class. Genevieve McLachlan took third place.
Read full results here
Around the country, Sailability Hawkes Bay sailors recently competed in the Deco Chase Race, and the Kiwi Gold Sonars saw some racing action at a recent regatta run by Gulf Harbour Yacht Club. In Auckland, Oceanbridge Sail Auckland starts on Thursday and continues until Sunday. Entries have closed, but if you’re in the area, why not drop in to the Royal Akarana Yacht Club to support the sailors.
If all this talk of regattas has wetted your appetite for racing, you still have time to enter the Lake Taupo Yacht Club’s Mighty River Power Regatta on the 14th and 15th of March. Entries close on 9th March. You can find more information here .
However, blind sailors will be disappointed to hear that the Houston bid to host the 2015 Blind World Fleet Racing Championships has not been successful so there will not be a World Blind Sailing Championships in 2015.
