“Ten months and it will all be over – and we want to be racing right at the end.” Dean Barker talking this week about the 34th America’s Cup. “Coming to work in 2013 changes the focus dramatically. It’s no longer next year. I can sense the change in atmosphere around the base.”

East-Sou-East at 15 – 18 knots was the start of the day. This was only the beginning……. B Division Race 1 – the breeze freshened. Power Play was ahead at the first cross-over, Elysium in second place. At the rounding of the top mark – there was no change. And so the race continued. Second time around the top mark first two positions still unchanged with Kaimai Express rounding in third place and Simply Red right in behind.

The morning began with barely five knots of wind, predicted to increase during the afternoon. Today has been full of activity. Most races delayed until just before noon with varying winds throughout the bay.

Hamilton Yacht Club ran its annual Optisail and Youth Training Camp between 15th and 18th January. The four day live in camp ran this year with 18 sailors from Hamilton, Clarks Beach (Auckland) and Gisborne Yacht Clubs aged between 9 and 14 years.

Beautiful sunny morning – about 5 knots expected to get up to 10 knots later in the day. Seventy excited crews ‘ready to roll’. Start boats are primed to report back race results “soon as” so the volunteers in the result hut can get the job done.

It has been a few months since I have updated on what I’ve been doing and where I’ve been racing. Trust me, that it is not because there has been a lack of news to update everyone on – quite the opposite, it has been a very action packed few months!

Here’s a look at the up-coming sailing related events around the country for the next couple of weeks. See the YNZ on-line calendar for full details of these events and those on later in January and beyond. Are you organising an event you would like to see included? Don’t miss out on some free promotion for your sailing events by adding them to the YNZ on-line calendar here.

Olympic sailor Andrew Murdoch is switching to the Finn class and 2013 Oceanbridge Sail Auckland, on from 2nd – 5th February, will be his first regatta in the heavyweight single-handed Olympic boat. It will be an event to watch with Murdoch lining up against the likes of 23 year old Josh Junior and Junior’s training partner in Wellington two-time OK Dinghy World Champion Karl Purdie. All are relative newcomers to the Finn class.

There’s plenty of dockside action in Opua with 2013 Bay of Islands Sailing Week set to get underway tomorrow, Thursday. The set up began at 7.00am Tuesday with big trucks arriving carrying well organised canvas awnings to become the North Sails Marque. The day began cloudy but warm with an 8-10 knot breeze.

With just three days left for competitors to register in NZ’s premier Olympic and Paralympic class regatta, Oceanbridge Sail Auckland, a major incentive has been added. “We’re pleased to announce that the Oceanbridge Sail Auckland Organizing Committee has two travel vouchers each worth one thousand dollars to award randomly at the close of the regatta” said Regatta Director Simon Manning.