Dangerzone wins the 2012 Harken Young 88 Nationals

by Mel Benton, RNZYS on 15 Apr 2012
Day 2 of the 2012 Harken Young 88 Nationals started with a better breeze than forecast, however as predicted it steadily dropped off leaving four boats in the last race of the regatta out of the time limit.

Race 6 started in plenty of breeze at 10 – 12 knots and rain but by the third race of the day they were starting in 6 knots which had a tendency to drop off at times to below 2 knots.

Grant Turnbull skipper of Dangerzone, had this to say of their win: 'Thanks have to go to my crew. They are a fantastic bunch of mates and it is fantastic to sail with mates who do such a great job. The crew work was great. We started well yesterday and got lucky a few times. At the end of day one we were behind at the end and knew we had to beat Flash Gordon today. Today we adjusted the rig and tried not to choke the boat. We handled the conditions today really well and sailed our own regatta. We all would really like to thank our sponsors, for the Sprint Series, North Sails who have looked after us really well this year and Harken for the 2012 Harken Young 88 National Championships.'

Will Tiller, skipper of Flash Gordon said they had a good regatta although they were disappointed they couldn’t keep Flash Gordon at the top of the board. 'Our thanks go to Doyles for letting us use Flash Gordon. We could have done better and we hope that next year we can pick up the victory again. Thanks to everyone for running such a great regatta, the Young 88 Association and the RNZYS Race Management team.'

The RNZYS Lion Foundation Youth Training Programme skipper Jamie Dawson commented on their regatta. 'We had a good day today. The first two races were really good. The last race however was a bit messy but we ran deep at the top mark and picked up a few places in the finish. third overall for the regatta is a good way to finsish. We had some good improvement on last year and we all really enjoyed this year. Thanks to the RNZYS Lion Foundation Youth Training Programme and Dave Stanton, the owner of Sister Moonshine for letting us use the boat. It’s been great.' Coach Guy Pilkington who was also part of the crew said they did really well. 'They were mature and made good decisions and were a pleasure to sail with. It is a great way to finish the YTP season.'

Russell Hopper who owns Raging Hormones with his father Jeff said they had a better day today than yesterday. The whole crew was better all-around coping with the light and shifty breeze. 'We do better in heavier winds. Our highlight this year was race one yesterday… 20 knots! It isn’t much fun sailing in no breeze but we have enjoyed the regatta overall.'

Commodore Ross Masters, who had an indifferent regatta this year said while they improved today in difficult conditions it wasn’t their best regatta but it was all good fun. 'Well done to the Dangerzone crew. They have had a great regatta in some trying breezes. And it is great to see our current and graduated Youth Training Programme crew also out on the water on so many of these boats. They are a credit to the RNZYS and we look forward to seeing them all again next year.'