BoP Sailor leads after day of mixed conditions at Starling MR Nats

by Sutter Schumacher on 10 Jan 2010
Bay of Plenty sailor Luke Stevenson leads the Davie Norris Boatbuilders 2010 Starling National Match Race Championships with a perfect record of six wins and no losses.

Marlborough's Declan Burn, fresh from a second-place finish at the Splash Worlds just two days ago, sits in second with a 5-1 record, part-way through the round-robins.

Sailors representing 10 provinces had to contend with a wide variety of conditions on Lyttelton Harbour for the first day of racing. The Naval Point Club Race Committee was busy trying to keep up with course conditions that ranged from puffy northwesterlies to a solid northeasterly breeze peaking at 18 knots. The weather was just as variable, with overcast skies and spits of rain finally clearing to let the sun shine through.

By early in the seventh flight, wind on the course had dropped to less than 2 knots, and most matches were abandoned mid-race since the boats drifted quicker than they could sail. That was a wise call, as it turned out. Within 30 minutes of returning to shore, a stiff southerly roared across the harbour.

Provisional results after the first 6 flights:

1) Luke Stevenson, Bay of Plenty, 6 wins - 0 losses
2) Declan Burn, Marlborough, 5-1
3) Logan Dunning Beck, North Harbour, 4-2
4) Carey Shelley, South Canterbury, 4-2
5) Peter Sise, Otago, 4-2
6) Adam Middleton, Wellington, 3-3
7) Sam McKenzie, Auckland, 3-3
8) Ollie Steiner, Hawkes Bay, 1-5
9) Gareth Moore, Canterbury, 1-5
10) Alice Noyer, Northland, 0-6

Round-robin racing continues on Monday, 10 January, with the top four finishers advancing to the semi-finals. The top two finishers there advance to the finals, also on Monday. If weather does not permit sailing on Monday – the forecast on Monday night for the next day was looking iffy – racing will continue on Tuesday.