Smiths win Port Otago Sunburst Nationals

by Martin Balch on 30 Mar 2008
Macandrew Bay on Otago harbour provided three days of light winds over Easter for the National Sunburst championships, sponsored by Port Otago.

23 boats from Wellington to Bluff attended, with a healthy mix of old masters down to current high school pupils vying for the top honours. The light winds probably prevented the young guns from extracting the best from this old established Jack Brooke designed all purpose dinghy – in the stronger winds, these boats can still be made to fly downwind under spinnaker.

The first two days were frustrating for all with variable, light and shifty breezes. Sunday, after a windless start, produced the best breeze of the contest for the last afternoon of racing. While the northerly breeze was only six to seven knots in strength, occasionally picking up to 10 knots, it was steady in strength and direction. Race officer Bren Nelson started the afternoon racing on a tight windward/leeward course between the sandbanks but as the afternoon tide rose, he was able to expand the course to make the last race, the re-sailed second race, the best of the contest.

Runner up last year, Shane and his son Daniel Smith from Mt Pleasant were determined to take top honours this year. An indifferent start in the first race was one of their few hiccups. They soon passed the early leaders, Bayfield High pupils Ben Hawker and Douglas Williams in Flossie to take their first finishing toot.

The Smith team then followed up with another win in the second race that was subsequently abandoned due to a race procedural error. The Smiths sailing Tac Tix then stayed consistently near or at the head of the 23 yacht fleet for the rest of the regatta. Convincing wins in the 6th race and then again in the re-sailed second race sealed the contest for the Tac Tix team despite having to do take a penalty turn in the seventh race.

The contest also developed into an interesting duel between the young guns, led by Macandrew Bay’s Jake Hawker, and the experienced campaigners led by the Smith’s, Otago’s Peter Nees, teamed with Peter Wood, Dunedin father and son combination Brett and Robert McCormack, and the Alexandra team of Murray Shanks and Bryan Hall

Jake Hawker, with his crew Hayden Bruce sailed Embers, the current National Champion boat with its previous Worser Bay crew, into second place.

When the final points were tallied, Tac Tix had deservedly won the contest with Hawker and Bruce comfortable runners up, well ahead of the McCormack's. Nees and Wood were close behind in fourth place with Bayfield High pupils Ben Hawker and Douglas Williams in Flossie just ahead of the Alexandra team of Murray Shanks and Bryan Hall. Flossie also won the junior and Secondary schools trophies for their fine performance.