Issue date
Wildcard entrant Jack Frewin won the recent Starling match racing national championships at the Glendowie Boating Club in a regatta hit by wild weather.
Frewin initially missed out on selection for the national at the Auckland trials but was given a wild card North Island entry after the Waikato entrant withdrew before racing started.
The Howick Sailing Club member topped the standings on countback after the uncompleted first round with more wins than Samantha Stock, Eli Leifting and Sam Street. In normal circumstances the top four would have progressed to the semifinals then finals and, at that point, all previous results were set aside and any of the four would have had the opportunity to win the series.
(Jack Frewin, left, stalks South Canterbury's Emily Agnew in pre-start manoeuvres. Photo / Brian Peet).
In a first for the event, all boats were reefed on day three due to the strong winds, enabling racing which would have otherwise not started. This is a useful reminder to smaller Starling sailors of the practical and positive effect of reduced sail in marginal racing conditions.
The event normally sees the 12 regional representatives completing more than 150 races in three days but this year only 61 races were possible.
Wild weather that left 15,000 Auckland houses without power also played havoc with the event. Winds topped 20 knots by midday on all three race days, building during the afternoons with gusts exceeding 30 knots.
Race Officer Richard Brown was left with no alternative but to shorten each of the three race days.
Final standings
1 Jack Frewin (North Island)
2 Samantha Stock (North Harbour)
3 Eli Leifting (Auckland)
4 Sam Street (Taranaki)
5 James Sheldon (Northland)
6 Sean Dickey (South)
7 Oliver Cowley (Nelson/Marlborough)
8 Emily Agnew (South Canterbury)
9 Zoe Bennett (Wellington)
10 Sally Hill (Canterbury)
11 Nina Mannering (East)
12 Joel Kennedy (Bay of Plenty)
