World Champions to sail in the 24hr Race this weekend

by Murrays Bay SC on 5 Mar 2015 The North Shore’s beloved OKI 24-Hour Race begins this Saturday 7 March at 2pm. Olympic-hopefuls and local heroes young and old will be sailing through the night in this iconic event with past winners including Dean Barker, Hamish Pepper and Blair Tuke.

'The OKI 24-hr sailing event is New Zealand’s toughest dinghy race and we have teams from all over the country as well as international sailors competing,' says Murrays Bay Sailing Club Commodore, Scott Leith.

Andy Maloney and Nick Heiner (Laser World Champ) and Blair Tuke (49er World & Olympic Champion) are heading the entry list for the race with stiff competition expected from the large contingent of local male and female crews.

The OKI 24-Hour Race is a competition for laser sailors held on Lake Pupuke and run by Murrays Bay Sailing Club, a club with a rich history of sailors recognised through Round the World races, national championships, America’s Cup regattas and the Olympics.

'Last year’s event was held in stunning sailing conditions with over 90 teams spread across the OKI 24-Hour and OKI 6 hour race for Optimists,' says Leith. 'The start of the race is quite unique and really exciting with the sailors in a Le Mans-style mad dash down the hill and launching themselves into the boats.'

There’s a major prize of $2,000 available for the sailor/s who do the most laps in the 24-hour timeframe. The best solo sailor will also win $1,000 and have a chance to win the major prize as well.

'The solo sailors race non-stop through the night, so it’s a mental as well as a physical challenge, making it the ideal training ground for sailors run up to the World and Olympic regattas' explains Leith.

This year will see Blair Tuke, 49er Olympic medallist team up with James Sandal, to test their mettle in the 24-hour open division.

Scott Leith, 4 times World Master Champion and his team will be looking to defend their title in the Masters race.
Entries from Nicholas Heiner, Dutch World Champion and local sailors Andy Maloney, Sam Meech and Mike Bullot will ensure there is some stiff competition and that the OKI 24-Hour will live up to it’s reputation.

From howling 30-knot southerlies to 2 knots of shifting breeze in the middle of the night and everything in between, the OKI 24-Hour Race is a test of man, woman and boat against the elements.

Timings:
OKI 6-hr Race: (7:30am – 1.30pm Saturday)
OKI 24-hour Race: (2pm Saturday – 2pm Sunday)

The events are fundraisers for Murray’s Bay Sailing Club to develop youth sailing and local business Comworth Technologies, distributor for OKI Print and Panasonic Toughbook products, has been sponsoring the race since 1989.
www.murraysbay.org / www.comworth.co.nz - ENDS–