Who would have thought … the Optimist North Island title is heading south! Jayvee Buchanan from Charteris Bay sailed a great regatta and proved his ability across a range of weather conditions to win the title. Jayvee is now the current North Island and South Island champion (he holds the South Island title which he won in February).
Each of the 3 days of the regatta in Napier from November 13-15 brought a different set of conditions, from a 20+ knot westerly on the morning of the first day, moderate sea breeze conditions on the second day and light and shifty on the final day. Olivia Mackay (2) and Taylor Burn (3) enjoyed the breezy conditions on the first day, with Liv winning the first two races, and Taylor collecting a first and second.
Ryan Lo (4) from Singapore was challenged by the big breeze on the first day but displayed his great racing ability by winning five races over the regatta. Tauranga’s Trent Rippey sailed a consistent regatta across all conditions finishing 5th overall. Markus Somerville (6) from Wakatere picked the shifts perfectly on the final day of the regatta to claim 2 first places, and Eliza Wilkinson (7) from Kohimarama also finished on a high note with a second and first placing. What is possibly a record for this regatta in the open fleet, 126 competed!
Winds gusting above 25 knots on the first day meant the green fleet sailors stayed ashore, and finally their racing was abandoned for the day at 1pm. Many of the greenies headed out to the race course to spectate the open fleet for the remainder of the afternoon. They took advantage of the superb conditions on Saturday to sail four races, then were treated to a bus ride to Ocean Spa for some relaxation time. Three races were completed on Sunday. Congatulations to Tom Mannering, Napier, who won the green fleet regatta.