Aaron Goodmanson and Alister Rowlands of Charteris Bay Yacht Club, sailing Fortune 3739, won their seventh National title at the 2011 Flying Fifteen Nationals making them the most successful combination in New Zealand Flying Fifteen nationals.

A fleet of 22 boats from Christchurch, Wellington, Nelson, Napier, Auckland, Whangeri and the Bay of Islands competed in the series held as part of the Bay of Islands Sailing Week , 18 to 21st January 2011.

Goodmanson and Rowlands receive NZ Flying Fifteen Nationals title for 7th time -  Wayne Henderson

Weather conditions on Wednesday and Thursday were on our side to complete 8 of the 12 race series. Wednesday saw Aaron Goodmanson and Alister Rowlands in Ffortune 3739 of CBYC win the first two races in up to 12 knots of breeze. John Leydon and Sandra Williams from Nelson in Fflypast 3838 took first place in a wind shift in light conditions in Race 3 and Ben Lowe and Kate Gilbert of RAYC, competing in Fathers Folly 3839 at their first F15 national champs, took Race 4.

Thursday started light and patchy for Race 5 which was won by 420 sailors Frankie Lardies and Finn Drummond in a borrowed boat Southern Lights 3553. After a long lunch break the wind settled into a great sea breeze and Fathers Folly came through again to win Race 6. As the wind settled into 15-18 knots, James Sandell and Graham Robinson in Busineff 3754 of Napier took Race 7, and Fortune finished the last race of the day and the regatta with a first place.

Racing on day 3 was called off due to wind and tide conditions making the ramp unsafe for launching.

Racing was very competitive with first places shared amongst 5 boats in the 8 races completed. In Race 2, boats in positions two to seven finished within 15 seconds of each other. In the end, consistency across the series paid off and was reflected in the final regatta result with second place overall going to Barry Thom and Phil Quinn on Foreign Affair 3907 and third to Murray Gilbert and Jonathan Burgess on Ffrenetic 3840, both from RAYC in Auckland.

Now seven times national champoion - Flying Fifteen Nationals - Bay of Islands Sailing Week 2011 -  Christine Webb

The Classic division was won by Bill Kidman and Grant Hamish of BOIYC on Feisty 2030 and the Silver division by Sally Garret and Neil Easton of RAYC on Iff 3087.

After attending the Bay of Islands Sailing Week prize giving at Opua Wharf for presentation of the first place getters in each of the Gold, Silver and Classis Divisions the fleet adjoined to the Sugarboat for a formal dinner and awarding of class silverware as follows:

1st Place (Wilkin Anderson half model): Aaron Goodmanson and Alister Rowlands, Ffortune 3739
2nd Place (Air NZ Plate): Barry Thom and Phil Quinn, Foreign Affair 3907
3rd Place (Te Wharoa Trophy): Murray Gilbert and Jonathan Burgess, Ffrenetic 3840
1st Silver Fleet pre sail number 3500 (Tauranga Trophy): Sally Garret and Neil Easton, Iff 3087
1st Classic Fleet (Tauranga Classic Trophy): Bill Kidman and Grant Hamish, Ffeisty 2030.
Helm over 55 years (Spencer Salver): Barry Thom
Top Fleet (Pinkies Pot): Canterbury (incl Nelson)
Improvers Trophy during series (Raoul Winters Handicap): Frankie Lardies and Finn Drummond, Southern Lights 3553
Trust Bank Handicap Cup: Robert Anderson and Steve Allen, Skinful 3169
Skipper improvement from 2010 nationals (Craddock Cup) John Leydon and Sandra Williams, Fflypast 3838.
Invitation race 1 (Sam Mason Memorial Trophy) Aaron Goodmanson and Alister Rowlands, Ffortune 3739
First male/female crew( Leatham Edmond Memorial Trophy ): Ben Lowe and Kate Gilbert, Fathers Folly 3839

Thanks to the Bay of Islands Sailing Week for running the series on an in shore course shared with Sports Boats, Elliott 5.9s and A Class Cats and to the Bay Islands Yacht Club for hosting the nationals and their onshore and launching facilities.

This event also served as the selection regatta with the top six boats eligible to qualify for the NZ team to race at the 18th Flying Fifteen World Championship, the confirmed team will be announced by the end of February. The World Championship regatta will be held 15 - 28 July 2011 at Hayling Island Sailing Club, England.

Twelve races scheduled. 8 completed. 1 discard. Full results can be found by clicking here

Flying Fifteen Nationals - Bay of Islands Sailing Week 2011 -  Christine Webb

Flying Fifteen Nationals - Bay of Islands Sailing Week 2011 -  Christine Webb

Flying Fifteen Nationals - Bay of Islands Sailing Week 2011 -  Christine Webb

Flying Fifteen Nationals - Bay of Islands Sailing Week 2011 -  Christine Webb