The Oborn’s Nautical South Island Traveller Series was set up to encourage South Island sailors to travel to clubs throughout the South Island with an active fleet of Optimist sailors. The underlying goals of this series are to build relationships with sailors and their families throughout the South Island while creating the opportunity for sailors to compete in bigger and more competitive fleets.
The 2026/27 Traveller Series is for Open fleet sailors only, although we are hoping that White and Green Fleet sailors will still come along and enjoy these regattas as well. It will include three events and the winners will be the lowest-scoring male and female sailors once results are collated.
The events are spread around three locations in the South Island who have active Optimist fleets. There is one event held in each province to make it fair to all sailors who wish to compete in the series. This season the events will include:
No. 1. The South Island Age Group Regatta (SIAG) at Charteris Bay Yacht Club on 24th to 25th October, 2026 – Canterbury
No. 2. The Marlborough / Nelson Regionals on 5th and 6th December 2026 – Nelson
No. 3. The Inter-Islander Regatta at Queen Charlotte Yacht Club on 20th to 21st February 2027 – Picton.
All competitors will need to be current NZIODA members for their results to be counted towards the South Island Traveller Series.