Good fleet for 2014 Noelex 25 Champs at Nelson

by Nikki Johnson on 5 Mar 2014 Sunny Nelson and the Tasman Bay Cruising Club provided an outstanding venue for the 2014 Noelex 25 National Championships from the 14-16 February.


Fourteen boats competed in the regatta with eight boats travelling from the North Island. Race Officer Paul Davies did such a fantastic job last year that he was invited to go ‘on tour’ with us for 2014 and once again provided us with a great regatta.

Nelson gave us 3 days of fabulous sailing conditions with the sea breeze arriving each day as predicted. On Day 1, the sea breeze arrived a bit late resulting in a 180 degree wind shift after leg 1 and the abandonment of the race. At the re-start of race 1 (in the opposite direction), everyone was overexcited to get things underway resulting in a bit of feedback between competitors and a general recall. Most boats behaved themselves for the remaining races of the regatta with just the odd OCS providing the start line excitement. After four races on day 1 the top five boats had established themselves as the front runners and there was plenty of healthy competition right across the fleet.

Day 2 provided good wind for sailing but also provided sloppy seas that proved challenging for some competitors. Three races were completed in these conditions and most competitors were pleased to call it a day. Day 3 provided stellar sailing conditions including a flat sea. The competition was tight at all levels and there were some close battles on the water.

Visions (Tristan Ornsby) from Naval Point successfully defended the Championship winning with 9.5 points. There was half a point between the next two boats with Legato from Tauranga (Grant Sutherland) just squeezing out Flashback from Dunedin (Richard Hawkins) to take second. The ranking trophy was won by Bandersnatch (Vince Osborne) from Kapiti.

With boats from across the country, new owners and established owners, the Noelex 25s once again proved that one class trailer yacht racing is alive and well. And with Tasman Bay Cruising Club in charge, it was jolly good fun.

Full regatta results available at www.noelex25.co.nz