South Island Paper Tigers - Shaw defends title at Queen Charlotte

by Rowdy Leatham on 5 Nov 2015 Just as Richie and the All Blacks retained the cup, so did Dave Shaw defend his South Island Paper Tiger Championship Title.

This years regatta was hosted by Queen Charlotte Yacht Club in the magnificent Marlborough Sounds. Greeted by blue skies, light breezes, crystal clear waters and dolphins the fleet of 24 Paper Tigers who had travelled from as far away as Dunedin, Napier and New Plymouth, headed out on Saturday for four races which tested both the sailors and race committee with regular (or random) wind shifts to make things interesting and mix up the leader board.

Sunday saw the fleet get a very early wake up call with everyone securing themselves a seat in the Queen Charlotte Yacht Club clubhouse to watch the All Blacks beat the Aussies (as the NZ PT Team had done at Easter) and defend their World Cup title.

Racing on Sunday was again light with what felt like some very difficult wind shifts; but the same guys always managed to end up at the front so perhaps it was just me that found them difficult.

Final results saw Dave Shaw retain his title ahead of Hayden Percy and Scott Pedersen. Greg Shadbolt picked up the B Grade title in his first NZ regatta sailing his Aussie imported boat. While Nick Gardiner won both the C Grade and Junior titles in his first ever Paper Tiger regatta, a fantastic effort.

A huge thanks is needed for all those involved with the Queen Charlotte Yacht Club and the running of this event. Bob Nichols for his organisation for the PT side. Ian Gardiner for running the racing; Sam Edwards for the use of his boat as the committee boat; Lisa Edwards and the whole team on shore for feeding and watering us. We were looked after like royalty from the second we stepped off the ferry at lunchtime on Friday until we crawled back on Sunday evening. Also, all those behind the scenes who processed the results and did all those small things that makes a regatta run smoothly and so enjoyable for the competitors.

Finally, a note to anyone that ever gets a chance to sail at Queen Charlotte Yacht Club… Don’t think twice! Do what ever it takes to get there; it will be well worth it! Especially those from the North Island, I promise the ferry isn’t that expensive, talk to the guys at Queen Charlotte Yacht Club and they will help you get organised.

Full results