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The Barton Marine Winter Series continues to grow exponentially to the point it's now easily the most successful (in terms of participant numbers) sailing the Evans Bay Yacht & Motor Boat Club run each year.
Now into its four year with naming sponsor Barton Marine, a great partnership has evolved. This year nearly 90 boats entered and seen more than 250 people take part.
The series hasn't been without its challenges, with the 2020 series run in between lockdowns and alert level changes. This was overcome through a range of measures, including moving to an electronic sign on/off system as well as advising courses online which minimised the need for participants to congregate in one place.
This year has seen some additional changes, including the introduction of a reserve day for each race day. The Barton Marine Winter Series normally sails fortnightly on a Saturday during winter, however, the reserve day gives the race committee the option to move to Sunday should it look like Saturday will be unsuitable for racing.
The move was made with family and other non-sailing commitments (apparently these exist) in mind and a decision on the use of the reserve day is made based on the forecast by Thursday afternoon, giving participants and volunteers certainty and the time to rearrange their plans for the weekend.
Unfortunately, it looks like this weekend's final day of racing will be cancelled, but the series has been a huge success once again and it's hoped next year's fifth edition of the Barton Marine Winter Series will be bigger and better again.
You can find out more about the winter series, including results, here.
