Rough & Reddy wins Marsden Cove event in E5.9 Traveler Series

by NZ Elliott 5.9 Class Assn Media on 1 Sep 2014 Event 3 on the 2014 Traveller Series sailed from Marsden Cove, hosted by Onerahi Yacht Club, included another strong fleet of 16 boats including all four new boats launched in the last few months.

The conditions on Saturday were moderate to strong southerly breezes with a considerable southerly chop running down the Bream Bay Beach.

Once again the fleet experienced incredibly close racing with positions changing throughout races and throughout the day.

The closeness of the fleet in speed and points was evidenced by Icebreaker (Aaron Young) pulling off a great start to port tack the entire fleet in the final race of the day and holding on to the narrow lead around the course for a great win. Despite the win Icebreaker eventually finished eighth overall - but only 5 points off fifth.

The recently launched Rough & Reddy (Craig Satterthwaite, Bart Bearda and Greg Salthouse) were consistently at or near the front of the fleet all day to lead the event after 5 races from Retro and Blurr.

Back on shore for the fleet debrief sponsored by Doyle Sails - with Daniel Mann (Zoot Allures) doing a great job on the BBQ.

Sunday saw much lighter breezes with a couple of hours of delay for the fleet on Bream Bay until the wind filled. Blurr won the first race of the day in very light conditions by significant margin with several boats failing to make the 20 minutes shut-off time limit behind the winner.

A further delay while the wind settled before to further races were sailed with Rough and Ready taking race 7 and Retro (Mike Sanderson) winning race 8.

Overall Rough and Reddy took out the regatta after a very impressive series. Retro and Blurr were close behind with a gap back to a bunch including Zoot Allures (Dave Cochran), Animal Crackers (Chris Maddock), Shapeshifter (Brett Elliott) and Ewok (Craig Coulam).

Rough & Reddy is another new boat to win a regatta in the traveler series. That's the third different winner after three Traveler Series events in 2014 - the others have been Ewok (Auckland Champs) and Retro (Opua).

The Elliott 5.9 Association wishes to thank regular PRO Paddy Simms for another fine race management effort in tricky conditions as well as both Doyle Sails and NZ Rigging for their support of the event and the class.

Retro now leads the 2014 travel series by a close margin from Rough & Reddy and Blurr.

2014-15 Racing Schedule and Results

The next event is the Lake Rotoiti Traveler Series Regatta in September. Here's the full schedule:
Regatta 4 - Lake Rotoiti. September 20-21, (BOPTYS)
Regatta 5 - Omaha - November 1-2, Sandspit YC, Omaha, Rodney District
2014 NZ E5.9 National Champs. Napier. November 26-29, Napier Sailing Club
2015 Kawau Weekend - 7-8 March 2015.

Results can be tracked on Racetrack click here http://racetrack.org.nz/select_series.php?clubid=E59

You can follow the traveler series on our website www.E59.org.nz

More new E5.9 hulls underway

The NZ E5.9 Association has undertaken the series build of at least six new Elliott 5.9's. This project was over a year in the planning and is underwritten by several current owners and the Elliott 5.9 Class Association on a cost recovery basis. The project is being undertaken in conjunction with, and is supported by, well known Auckland boatbuilder; Sea Craft/Haines Hunter.

Indicative pricing is $6,950+GST for a bonded hull, deck and hull liner. All standard equipment to complete can be obtained through Association-approved suppliers and retail outlets. As an alternative there is a good supply of used equipment such as masts and sails.

Four of the new hulls are now sailing and making an immediate impact with Retro and Rough & Reddy leading the 2014 Traveler Series after three events. Hull 5 looks to be sold and there is the prospect of several more being required. Each hull will be fully compliant with the class rules, using the class association-owned moulds and construction guidelines.

The E5.9 Association aims to have a boat on display at the upcoming Auckland Boat Show. Hull 6 will be started shortly.

The Elliott 5.9 and NZ E5.9 Class Association

Offering close racing and great social events built around a North Island weekend regatta circuit, the Elliott 5.9 class is the perfect three-person syndicate boat. The class is relatively low maintenance and is sailed by a crew of three. No rail meat - everyone has a job! There are active fleets in Opua, Whangarei, Auckland, Plimmerton, and New Plymouth with boats in other venues like Tauranga, Lyttleton, Nelson and Queenstown.

Plimmerton now boasts six boats and the fleet is looking forward to another competitive year of club racing.

The E5.9 Class Association welcomes enquiries and will work with interested sailors and owners to get them into the fleet. Charter boats are occasionally available and there are occasionally second hand boats for sale.

Interested sailors can keep up with Association news and our events and projects by 'Liking' the E5.9 Association Facebook Page; www.facebook.com/elliott5.9.

You can also join our mailing list via the Subscribe to News button on the home page of our website: www.e59.org.nz.

Boats for sale can be found via Trademe or by contacting the Class Association.