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Tactical mastery and patience were the order of the day as Bay of Islands Sailing Week 2025 kicked off in challenging conditions on Wednesday. Crews navigated through a morning of light, shifty winds across the race courses, showcasing their light-air expertise before an afternoon sea breeze arrived to energise the racing.
While not entirely expected following a day of rain and plenty of cloud cover in the morning, the sea breeze meant sailors could shift mode to dial their boats into the afternoon conditions.
Melges 40 Sassinate dominated Division A Open with a perfect score of three wins from three races. At the helm, Mikayla Plaw, proved that patience and precision are the keys to success in challenging conditions.
“It’s been pretty patchy out on the course so we were looking for pressure the whole time and making sure we had enough breeze to keep momentum,” she explained after their first win.
Fellow Melges 40s Menace and Clockwork maintained pressure on the leader, with Clockwork crew member Aaron Hume-Merry emphasising the importance of “keeping it tidy” to stay on the pace.
Kerikeri Cruising Club's foiling Shaw 7.5m Animal Biscuits secured back-to-back victories in the sports boat fleet. Photos / Jacob Fewtrell Media
The Flying Fifteen fleet, simultaneously competing for their National title, delivered some of the day's most intense racing. Ben Lowe's Unknown emerged as the early leader in a tight battle, with Ffrenetic and The Godfather hot on their heels. Sally Garrett, skipper of The Godfather, captured the day's challenges perfectly.
"We experienced moments of brilliance followed by moments of learning. With the course constantly shifting, finding consistency was a real challenge."
In the sports boat fleet, Northland boats dominated the leaderboard. Kerikeri Cruising Club's foiling Shaw 7.5m Animal Biscuits recovered from a fifth-place finish in their opening race to secure back-to-back victories, while Opua-based Angry Dragon and Orange Peeler maintained close pursuit.
Patrick Kell of Orange Peeler found a silver lining in the light conditions, noting their crew weight advantage while still hoping for a touch more breeze in the coming days.
The Young 88 division saw a commanding performance from Young Magic, with Matthew Mason steering to three consecutive victories. Undercover and Sailormoon maintained pressure on the leader, setting up what promises to be an exciting battle in the days ahead.
Bay of Islands Sailing Week 2025 kicked off in challenging conditions on Wednesday. Photos / Jacob Fewtrell Media
Across in Island Racing Spinnaker, Division B sponsored by Vining Marine is led on line by the Lambert/Beau 28 Tongue Twister, while Shaw 750t Deep Purple leads the Northland Inc Division C. Island Racing D sponsored by Gurit is led by the Shaw 550 The Racoon.
Leading the Bay of Islands Marina Non-Spinnaker Division is Elliott 1850 Zindabar.
Racing continues today with all divisions looking to build on their day one performance, while those currently leading will work to maintain their advantage in what promises to be another day of tactical sailing at its finest. - Bay of Islands Sailing Week
