Issue date
15 boats raced in the 2014 Auckland Champs hosted at Bucklands Beach Yacht Club, in what was the most competitive fleet for some years.
Three brand new boats were launched on day one of the event, a tangible result of the Class Association sponsored new hull programme. Four are now racing and more hulls are expected to be built in the coming months.
Hull 1 of the new programme was Retro, for Mike and Emma Sanderson. This boat has been highly competitive since launching in late 2013 and featured again at this event, taking out the final race.
Class President Nathan WIlliams and wife Gill launched their new hull "Cheeky Darky" but unfortunately suffered a few teething problems in Race 2, missing the rest of the first day. Craig Satterthwaite and 'Bart' Bearda fared better in their new 5.9 "Rough & Reddy", immediately on the pace and mixing things up with the established boats.
A popular addition to the fleet was Waikato farmer Colin Philips who ordered Hull 2 unseen, after looking over Voodoo at the 2013 Auckand Boat Show. Sailing with his son and daughter, the team finished every race and managed a spinnaker on the second day.
Saturday's racing was incredibly competitive in the shifty south westerly - with only seconds separating the bulk of the fleet at most marks. Sunday was a calmer affair with the BBYC Race Management team wisely sending the fleet in early after a solitary race was held before the wind died as forecast.
Craig Coulam, Phil Quinn and Cody Banks (RAYC, Auckland) on Ewok continued their steady progress up the fleet over the past 2 years to take out a close fought event from the returning and very brightly painted NZ Champion Blurr (RAYC), with class stalwart Dave Cochran (Onerahi) on Zoot Allures taking a popular third place.
Ewok is the new Auckland Champion and takes an early lead in the 2014 Traveler Series.
The Association held a Special General Meeting during the regatta where class sailors were updated on various initiatives underway as well as voting on some rule changes designed to tighten up the one-design nature of the class. The Association is keen to see the competitiveness of the exiting boats preserved while the new hulls come on line and also took the opportunity to address some historical inaccuracies in the rules.
2014-15 Schedule
The next event is the Opua Traveler Series Regatta in early July. Here's the full schedule:
Regatta 2 - Opua - July 5-6, Opua Cruising Club, Bay of Islands
Regatta 3 - Marsden Cove - August 23-24, Onerahi YC, Whangarei Heads
Regatta 4 - Lake Rotoiti. September 20-21, (BOPTYS)
Regatta 5 - Omaha - November 1-2, Sandspit YC, Omaha, Rodney District
2014 NZ E5.9 National Champs. Napier. November 26-29, Napier Sailing Club
2015 Kawau Weekend - 20-22 March 2015.
More new E5.9 hulls underway
The NZ E5.9 Association has undertaken the series build of at least six new Elliott 5.9's. This project was over a year in the planning and is being underwritten by several current owners and the Elliott 5.9 Class Association on a cost recovery basis.
The project is being undertaken in conjunction with, and is supported by, well known Auckland boatbuilder; Sea Craft/Haines Hunter.
Indicative pricing is $6,950+GST for a bonded hull, deck and hull liner. All standard equipment to complete can be obtained through Association-approved suppliers and retail outlets. As an alternative there is a good supply of used equipment such as masts and sails.
Four of the new hulls are now sailing, with the prospect of several more being required.
Each hull will be fully compliant with the class rules, using the class association-owned moulds and construction guidelines.
Interested sailors can keep up with the project by 'Liking' the E5.9 Association Facebook Page. You can also join our mailing list by sending an email to the Association via the Subscribe to News button on the home page of our website: www.elliott59.weebly.com/
