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- 10-11 Apr - Oceanbridge NZL Regatta - Wakatere BC
- 1 May - King/Queen of the Rive - Panmure Lagoon SC
- 2 May - RSA Regatta - Panmure Lagoon SC
- 15-16 May - Freshwater Champs - Pupuke BC
The South Island Laser Champs were held at Nelson Sailing Club on December 1st and 2nd.
There were 18 Radials and 4 Full rigs entered from Dunedin, Christchurch, Nelson and Picton.
On Saturday, sailors were held on shore until about noon (beats sitting on a millpond!). We then sailed out to the start line which felt like a race and a half in itself. The winds were 3-5 knots WSW moving to WNW later in the day and then dying away altogether after 3 races were done and dusted.
There were 149 entrants in the various classes of the regatta. Naturally, the biggest fleet was Lasers with 31 x Radials, 17 x Standards and 2 x 4.7's. But also good numbers of Opti's, Open Bic's, OK's and Piper Tigers - a real old school regatta atmosphere.
With the rain lashing the rest of the upper North Island, we probably had the best spot. Cloudy but warm, a few sprinkles on Saturday, but the worst of the forecast rain for Sunday held off till we were off the water and packed up.
The excellent Napier SC race committee got all 7 races, 4 on Saturday and 3 on Sunday. The Lasers shared the outer Triangle+Windward-Leeward course with the OK's and Paper Tigers. That made for some challenging bottom mark roundings - those Paper Tigers arrive from nowhere and can leave a big hole in the wind.
Saturday was light to medium breeze. One big right-hand shift caught some (well me) on the first beat of the standard fleet in the third race, but otherwise, it generally oscillated and was fair racing.
We were delayed 30 minutes at the start on Sunday when the wind died as we got out to the course. But were entertained by a decent school of dolphins (or maybe porpoises) who paralleled the boats as we warmed up in the filling breeze. We then go a medium strength breeze and busier sea state over the groundswell - making for some energetic sailing.
Josh Armit dominated the standard fleet winning every race. He was generally (but not always) in the front few sailors from the start. But really put distance on the chasers on each reach.
Dave Ridley was the next most consistent standard and leading master. He was followed by Luke Deegan who is recently back in the country and a great addition sailing at Lake Pupuke.
The Radials had a much tighter battle with master Scott Leith getting 4 bullets to Luke Cashmore's 3 bullets. They ended on equal total points, and Scott only one point clear to win after the drops. They were followed by Caleb Armit and Albert Stanley finishing on equal points, Caleb taking 3rd on countback.
Only one point shy of the boys was Annabelle Rennie-Younger as leading female and 5th overall. Second female and first youth female was Samantha Stock in 9th after having to drop a DSQ (there must be a story there).
Two 4.7's were mixing it up with the Radials. Jacob Goodall came out on top in all but one race over Charlotte Gray.
Thanks again to Napier SC and all the volunteers who put on such a slick event each year. And all the local and travelling sailors who made it such a great event.
5 races were scheduled and the fleet got on the water on time but the breeze refused to cooperate, boxing the compass and then fading out completely before a course could be set. After a nice chat and lunch ashore a light 5 to 8-knot Easterly breeze arrived, allowing the fleet back on the water for two races before the 3pm start close-off time . The breeze remained unstable all afternoon, with frequent large shifts and pressure variations challenging everyone.
Photo: Sailing Energy
Huge congratulations to Josh Armit who won the boys Laser Radial at the 2018 Youth Worlds in Corpus Christi, Texas.
Josh sealed the deal in the 58 boat fleet with a day to spare, then went on to get a second in the final race. He started the regatta with a 6th, his eventual drop race, then was a model of consistency, including 3 firsts, 2 seconds, a third, fourth and fifth.
Samantha Stock finished 20th from 46 in the girls Radial.
Josh and Samantha were part of a successful NZL team which include
- 2nd girls RSX Windsurfer (nice to see)
- 2nd in boys 29er
- 3rd mixed Nacra 15
- 5th Boys 420
Results for the July 2018 South Pacific Laser Masters Results, Manly Brisbane
- Helen Spencer
34 sailors entered the 2018 Northshore Freshwater Champs.
Saturday had 12-18 knots from the Northwest with gusts up to 25 knots.
Sunday had sun and a shifty 8-12 knots from the West.
The Full rig numbers were down this year but the quality was excellent with Rohan Lord coming out top over Dave Ridley who was just ahead of Andrew Dellabarca who had driven up from Wellington.
Winner of the Great Grand Masters was Gary Lock who redeemed himself with a 3rd in the last race.
In the Radial there was an excellent turnout of youth, women and masters. Josh Armit series was ruined after a broken mast in race 2, but Luke Cashmore who won overall sailed a good series ahead of Harrison Baker. One to look out for was 13-year-old Caleb Armit who finished 5th.
1st Women was Samantha Stock in 7th and 1st Master Radial was Georgi Yankov in 12th.
Our thanks to Race officer Garth Briden and to Commodore John Dowsett for use of his boat in the trying Saturday conditions. Thanks to Sandy Wilson in the Tower and the rest of the committee who made it a successful day with generous prizes.
The next big Pupuke event is the North Harbour Masters in the 2nd week of November and there is regular sailing through the winter on Sundays at 1.30pm start time.
John Dowsett - Commodore Pupuke BC