OKI 24-Hour-Race - NZ’s toughest dinghy race has its 50th this weekend

by Jane Pilkington on 8 Mar 2017 The North Shore’s toughest dinghy race, the OKI 24-Hour Race, begins this Saturday 11th March at 2pm, for the 50th time at Lake Pupuke.

The Murrays Bay Sailing Club has drawn high calibre New Zealand sailors like Rio Bronze Medallist Sam Meech and the Olympians Nathan Handley and Dan Wilcox, as well as young talents and the experienced.

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

Sailing the OKI 24-Hour-Race is a mental and physical endurance challenge, not only for those sailing the 24 hours single-handedly, but also for the teams of 2-3, sailing in shifts.

“The OKI 24-Hour-Race is one of the highlights of NZ’s yachting season, because it is a personal challenge for everyone, but also because it has every-day sailors competing with Olympians and World Masters”, says Murrays Bay Sailing Club Commodore Scott Leith.

Saturday, at 7.30am the event kicks off with the 6-Hour-Optimist-Race for young sailors, who compete in NZ’s Green and Open Fleets. At 2.00pm Laser sailors start their hunt for the highest lap numbers.

The major prize of $2,000 will go to the sailor/s who have completed the highest number of laps within the 24-hour timeframe. The best solo sailor has the chance to win $1,000 as well as the major prize.

This year’s event has attracted three-time winner Rohan Lord, who is going solo this year as well as Andrew McKenzie and the defending champion Tom Saunders. A few extra ETNZ ace sailors should be good for some excitement.

The current World Master Laser Champion, Scott Leith and his team are eager to defend their title in the Masters race.

Previous years have shown that weather conditions can be extreme and range from 30-knot southerlies to two knots of shifting breeze.

Coping with the cold, tiredness and keeping nutrition on a top level are the major concerns during the race.

OKI 24-Hour-Races are fundraiser events for the Murrays Bay Sailing Club to develop youth sailing and volunteers dedicate many hours to make the OKI 24-Hour-Race a memorable and safe event.

The OKI 24-Hour-Race is supported by many sponsors throughout the years and across various industries.

Location:
Lake Pupuke at Sylvan Park

Timings:
OKI 6-Hour-Race: Saturday 11 March 2017, 7:30am – 1:30pm
OKI 24-Hour-Race: Saturday 11 March 2017, 2:00pm to Sunday 12 March 2017, 2:00pm


About Murrays Bay Sailing Club
Murrays Bay Sailing Club (MBSC) has a proud history and enviable track record of producing performance sailors. We firmly believe that sailing is a sport for life and it teaches our sailors great life skills and builds lifelong friendships. The clubs history is rich with names of sailors recognised through national championships, America’s Cup and the Olympics.
Our success on the international stage is underpinned by the value we add at a community level. The local Waterwise programme is located at our clubrooms and is utilised by many of the schools in the area. MBSC in turn runs a progressive training programme ranging from Learn to Sail (LTS) in our “plastic optimists” through our Optimist, P class, Starling, Laser, 420’s, 470’s, Techno sailboards, 29er’s and Zephyrs fleets. www.murraysbay.org

About OKI Data Australia & New Zealand
OKI is a global manufacturer of business and industrial printers and MFP’s. OKI Data Australia commenced operations in 2009 following the acquisition from long-time master agent and distributor, IPL.  OKI Data New Zealand was established in October 2015, following the announcement by OKI’s then master distributor in New Zealand - Comworth Technologies, to realign its business focus and exit distribution. Over 30 years ago OKI pioneered LED printing technology, an advanced form of printing using fewer parts compared with the more widely known laser printing.  This in turn provides many benefits to users including longer product life, fewer operational issues, increased reliability and better image quality over the entire life of the print engine.  All OKI LED printer products are backed by 3 years warranty upon customer registration, within 30 days of purchase.

Notes:
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