Windy sailing for Splash Nationals

by Neil Deverell on 29 Mar 2012
Splash Nationals held at the Bay of Islands Yacht Club concluded on Monday with all sailors surviving a very heavy weather series.

Race officer, Kim Admore, recorded 30 knots over the deck of the start boat on the Sunday; however this did not deter the Splash sailors who kept hanging out on their toe straps in their determination to get a good result.

The younger sailors in the fleet had their fair share of capsizes and some of the more experienced youth sailors could only hope that the older sailors would do the same, however, senior sailor Neil Deverell showed the way around the track to record eight wins in the eleven race series to take first overall.

Monday proved a challenging day with shifty winds, and points were close for the minor placing.

Antje Muller started the day well with a third and a first , however , James Ayr came through in the end with consistent results to take second overall and become the 2012 Splash youth champion. Antje slipped to a fifth in the final race and was third overall and first senior woman.

Kohi sailor, Marshall Von Keisenberg ,showed he has got what it takes when he won the final race to take fourth overall.

His club mate, Nicholas Mahoney, was often in contention and won race 2 and was fifth overall.

Saturday night AGM was held and a new committee was elected, President Paul Donahoe is keen to see the class continue to develop as a great training boat for youth sailors, along with a good boat for adults to sail at National and International level of competition.

A new website is to be developed to keep sailors informed of coming events results and boats and equipment for sale etc.

Splash National Results can be found at www.boiyachtclub.co.nz/results2012.php