Tuke and Dawson take top spot in OKI 24 Hour Race

by Christine Meads on 29 Mar 2009
Blair Tuke and Chris Dawson have won the Open Class of the OKI 24 Hour Race.

Winners in the Women’s Class were Briar Dye-Hutchinson, Jessica Barrell and Erica Dawson. Travis Dow and Spencer Loxton picked up first place in the Youth Class. James Roberts, Alex Munro, Sam Schofield and Hamish Chadderton took the top spot in the Sub Youth Class, while Nic Page, Mike Pasco and Tony Nicholson were the winners of the Masters Class.

Top honours went to Liam Closey and Nathaniel Deverell who took out first place in the inaugural ‘OKI 6 hour race’ – an optimist dinghy race for children aged 9-13 years.

Blair Tuke who was elated with the win said the OKI race was ‘smooth sailing’.

'It’s the first time Chris and I have teamed up to compete together in the OKI 24 Hour race, we’re stoked with the result and look forward to possibly entering again next year.'

Blair now has his sights set on competing in the World Championship 49er class later this year.

Run by the Murrays Bay Sailing Club the OKI 24 Hour Race began yesterday (28 March) on Lake Pupuke and finished today (29 March). The Race is an endurance sailing event that tests the limits of competitors’ stamina and sailing ability. The race required competing teams to sail non-stop throughout the night in rotating shifts for a period of 24 hours in laser class boats.

Murrays Bay Sailing Club Rear Commodore, Sean McDonald, said while the race is a serious endurance event, it was also a great event for both participants and spectators alike.

'Crews were made up of two competitors per boat, except for the Masters and Women’s divisions where they can have three team members, and the Junior Youth Interclub Challenge where they had a minimum of four members.

'Under the Race rules, each team member was able to sail for a maximum of three hours before they were required to rest for a minimum of one hour.

'Crew members embarked and disembarked from their yachts from a pontoon positioned on the Lake. Ultimately, the winning teams were the ones that completed the most number of laps within the 24-hour period.'

To view Martin Tasker's report on ONE News http://tvnz.co.nz/othersports-news/24hr-sailing-event-adds-twist-2597463/video!click_here


Full list of winners OKI 24 Hour Race

Overall Winner

Blair Tuke & Chris Dawson sailing Musto

Open Class

1) Blair Tuke & Chris Dawson sailing Musto
2) Max Andrews & Chris Kitchen sailing Continental
3) Jason Geale & Aaron Hume-Merry sailing Chemwash

Women’s Class

1) Briar Dye-Hutchinson, Jessica Barrell & Erica Dawson sailing North Shore City Council

Youth Class

1) Travis Dow & Spencer Loxton sailing Pfizer
2) Michael Cate & Rawiri Geddes
3) Finn Drummond & Nick Croft sailing Adhesive Tec

Sub Youth Class

1) James Roberts, Alex Munro, Sam Schofield & Hamish Chadderton sailing Mackay Boats

2) Scott Barnes, Molly Meech, Sam McKenzie & Sam Bullock sailing Pinto Trailers

3) Brad Moss, Alex Dyet, Josh Salthouse & Tomer Symphony sailing OKI
Masters’ Class

1) Nic Page, Tony Nicholson & Mike Pasco sailing Canam Construction
2) David Lowe, Ray Beale & Don McGlasshan sailing NZSail.com

3) Thomas Borreman, Colin Preston & George Yankow sailing Line 7 Marine

OKI 6 Hour Race

Optimist dinghy children’s Race

1) Liam Closey & Nathaniel Deverell
2) James Jennings & Nick Egnot-Johnson
3) Alec Burrow & Matthew Hughes