Easy Spring sailing at the Harken Labour Weekend Regatta

by Catherine Langford on 3 Nov 2009
The Bay of Islands Yacht Club hosted its annual Harken Labour Weekend Regatta to kick off the sailing season for the centreboarders.

A strong contingent of Javelins, Mistrals, Splashes, 3.7s, Lasers and a scattering of Europe dinghies took to the bay on Saturday with a 6-7 nautical mile bay race; a fun warm up for all the boats before class racing started in earnest on the Sunday and continued through the Bank Holiday Monday.

The long weekend proved to be a typical Northland affair, with the Bay of Islands Yacht Club offering catering facilities and a readily-opened bar in the Waitangi clubhouse. However, the informal atmosphere of the weekend belied the serious intent of every sailor. There were over 40 entries and many local names coming in at the top positions. There were three 3.7s racing, all out of their own club, with Steve Ussher taking first place in Volare. Barbara Caley rode to victory in She Just Goes in the Europe class (fellow Europe sailor Andy Greager was juggling racing with organisational responsibilities!).

Phil McNeil and Mat Smith took the Javelin title in characteristic style, with Craig Gilberd and Antje Muller hot on their heels in Bungholio. Kerikeri local, Rawiri Geddies, stole a close lead on Ben Lutze in the Laser class. Sam Brierley and Matt O’Maigh ranked first in the well-represented Mistral class, while Michael Cate, Rosemary Sim and Melissa Gibbs ranked 1st, 2nd and 3rd respectively in the Splash class. The Musto Skiff and RS700 fought it out between them with Neil McCallum taking first place in the RS700 and Russ Evans following closely behind in Black Box Recorder.

Thanks to Harken for their ongoing sponsorship of this important yearly event and also to Carters for their support. Thanks also to all the volunteers of the Bay of Islands Yacht Club who made sure it was a memorable weekend.