Please select your home edition
Edition
Sea Sure 2025

2019 Fiji Regatta Week - Wrap up

by Ronnie Simpson 19 Sep 2019 07:45 PDT 19 September 2019
Sand Bank Race start - 2019 Fiji Regatta Week © Ronnie Simpson

The 36th annual Fiji Regatta Week - Fiji's largest annual regatta - has drawn to a conclusion after six days of yacht racing, parties, seminars and more.

One of the largest racing and cruising regattas in the South Pacific, 2019 was once again very well attended with just over 100 yachts and 380 sailors participating in at least some portion of the regatta.

Representing more than twenty countries on six different continents, the regatta had an incredibly diverse fleet ranging in size from a little 26-foot sloop from California all the way up to a handful of catamarans and monohulls in the 60 to 75 foot range.

The first day of racing to nearby Beachcomber Island was held on Saturday 14 September in completely glassy conditions and zero wind, as a trough of low-pressure between two highs settled over the region bringing uncharacteristically grey skies and light winds. "In many ways, the conditions were actually perfect for today's race, not for a sailing race maybe, but yesterday it was blowing 35 knots through here and a lot of boats were talking about not coming out today. We're quite happy for the wind to be light today", commented event sponsor Bruce Fuller of Seapower Marine in Opua, New Zealand.

With the light conditions of Saturday sticking around through Sunday, the first day of the Bay of Islands Marina Hobie Cat Challenge was also a light-air affair. Paddling was legal in the first round of racing as nearly 40 races were held in light to non-existent winds. While the morning's racing tended to have breeze, the afternoon's racing turned into a full-on paddle event as teams sent one sailor to the front of the leeward hull to paddle their 16-foot Hobie while the other steered and trimmed the sails to take advantage of any breeze.

"You can't dampen these people's spirits", commented event sponsor Russell Carlyon of Port Opua in Opua, New Zealand. "As a cruising yachtsman you have to take it rain, hail or shine, and these people are all here in Fiji having a good time on the water. We got through 38 races today, and we'll be into it for the next few days. There's a good bit of breeze expected to fill in for tomorrow's racing."

That forecast proved to be accurate as Monday saw reinforced southeast tradewinds filling back in for the second day of the Bay of Islands Marina Hobie Cat challenge as well as the Bay of Islands Boatyard Sandbank Race. With breeze topping out in the 30-knot range just outside the lagoon and 20+ knots inside, it was full-on for the little Hobie Cats as boats were capsizing and pitch-poling all over the course.

Fortunately, the boats and the sailors on them emerged without injury. At 11 AM sharp, close to thirty boats and two intrepid kite boarders took the start of what would be the first actual race for the big boats. Starting inside of Musket Cove, it was quite a sight to see the fleet sailing out through a narrow cut in the reef. As soon as the fleet exited the reef they hardened up on a long port tack beat before having to throw in a handful of tacks to reach the top mark, some four miles away near the famous surfing waves of Namotu Island.

At the top mark, it was the Craig Schionning-designed Spirited 480 ROAM who rounded first, followed closely by the Finot-Conq designed FC53 monohull Nica. A few minutes behind them, the custom cruising cat Kapai rounded in third. The lengthened Open 60 NV looked poised to round in fourth, but just managed to under stand the mark and had to throw in two tacks allowing the German-flagged Hanse performance cruiser Seaside to slip by.

Once headed downhill, the longer, lighter Open 66 lit the afterburners and moved into third place while ROAM and Nica continued their match race at the head of the fleet. Entering the reef pass nearly overlapped, ROAM overtook Nica in the pass and continued to show impressive height and speed sailing upwind to extend on the all-carbon Finot-Conq monohull to the finish.

"That was actually our first big boat race with the boat", commented ROAM's owner, skipper and builder Michael Hoult of Hobart, Tasmania. "We've put close to 35,000 miles on the boat... since launching her after a six-year build... but that was our first race with ROAM." Second-place skipper Gorm Gondesen of Nica added, "Conditions were really perfect for a yacht race. It was very windy, but the competition was close and it was a fantastic event. For a northern European, it is just amazing to be sailing upwind in 25 knots while wearing shorts and a t-shirt!".

The afternoon's Hobie cat racing was cancelled due to too much wind. The wind backed off over night which created spectacular racing and sailing conditions on Tuesday morning in moderate winds before the finals were completed in very light conditions at sunset on Tuesday. Taking out the win, not for the first time, was Rod and Kerry Waterhouse of Sydney, Australia.

Parents to Olympic silver medallist and America's Cup sailor Jason Waterhouse, the Australian couple has won several notable Hobie Cat regattas and will soon be competting at the 2019 Hobie 16 Worlds in Captiva, Florida to be held in November.

"This is an event that holds a special place in our hearts", the couple explained. "We've been coming here and doing the Hobie Cat regatta at Fiji Regatta Week since the mid-90's. In fact when Jason was just three years old he sailed in this regatta!". With several young children sailing as crew for their parents, one can only imagine what those young sailors will go on to accomplish in their sailing careers.

Wednesday morning saw the final day of racing in the 2019 Fiji Regatta Week with the Marsden Cove Marina Around Malolo Classic. Again, nearly thirty boats took the start of the race that takes sailors nearly thirty nautical miles around Malolo and Malolo Lailai islands. With light west to northwest winds, the fleet sailed north alongside a reef before exiting the reef and sailing clockwise around the island.

Andrew Rhodes and his crew took an early lead on the Tim Clissold-designed Open 8.5 meter catamaran Miss Minnie, owned by the local charter fleet Coral Cats of Fiji. With a small, very light catamaran it looked to be game over for the cruising boats but the Schionning-designed Spirited 480 ROAM again showed impressive pace to grind down Miss Minnie.

Swapping the lead no fewer than four times, ROAM tacked further offshore on the final leg while Miss Minnie hugged the coast towards the finish and this proved to be the decisive move. Ghosting across the line in winds that had died down to just six to eight knots, ROAM made it a clean sweep of the Fiji Regatta Week, claiming line honors in both of the big boat races. Third over the line and first monohull to finish was the Open 66 NV.

A well attended awards dinner was held at Dick's Place restaurant, named after Musket Cove Resort and Marina founder and Fiji Regatta Week creator Dick Smith. Smith created this regatta in 1982 as a means of getting more yachts to engage in cruising Fiji and the South Pacific. With the majority of the event sponsors coming from Fiji and from the marine industry in the Northland of New Zealand, the regatta has maintained it's core values of being about fun, inclusion and getting yachts to cruise through Fiji and the South Pacific.

Related Articles

AEGEAN 600 Attica Warm-Up Race
5th edition sets sail with strong winds and signature Greek hospitality Under perfect sunny skies and brisk northerly winds, the 5th edition of the annual AEGEAN 600 kicked off with a flawless start both on and off the water. Posted on 4 Jul
Rolex Fastnet Race IRC One preview
Beyond the French legends there is plenty of international talent with podium potential With 17 editions of the Rolex Fastnet Race to his name, including five class victories along the way and an outright victory in 2015, could anyone bet against Géry Trentesaux doing it again? Posted on 4 Jul
B&G support Admiral's Cup and Rolex Fastnet Race
Providing a fully equipped Technical Support Hub at Cowes Yacht Haven B&G®, the world's leading sailing electronics manufacturer, today announced its support of the Royal Ocean Racing Club's Admiral's Cup and Rolex Fastnet Race 2025, delivering expert technical support and tailored on-site services throughout the event. Posted on 4 Jul
ORCV Women's Helm Race changes everything
Rachel Mcguigan charged in—eyes up, hands on, no time to waste Some people drift into sailing. Rachel Mcguigan charged in—eyes up, hands on, no time to waste. Posted on 4 Jul
Celebrating 50 years of AZAB
Royal Cornwall YC host gathering of Azores and Back competitors Yachtsmen and women from around the world gathered at the Royal Cornwall Yacht Club to celebrate 50 years since the Club's "Azores and Back" (AZAB) yacht race first set off from Falmouth Harbour. Posted on 3 Jul
Unforgettable Transatlantic Race 2025 finish
First to arrive was Ocean Fifty Calamity, co-skippered by Timo Tavio and Kimo Nordström. It was rush hour in Cowes on Day 15 of the west-to-east Transatlantic Race 2025, as boats crossed the finish line in Cowes within minutes of each other after an epic 3,000-mile battle for top honors in IRC 1. Posted on 3 Jul
Rolex Fastnet Race: Offshore classics set to race
IRC Zero has a rich seam of ocean-going history running through it IRC Zero has a rich seam of ocean-going history running through it. While French round the world race legend Jean-Luc Van Den Heede (aka VDH) isn't competing in the Rolex Fastnet Race, two of his former steeds will be on the IRC Zero start line. Posted on 2 Jul
Four days to start the 5th AEGEAN 600
The fleet has a wide range of sizes and types represented Nearly all 60 teams are assembled here at the Olympic Marine venue getting ready for the start of the 5th edition of the AEGEAN 600, organized by the Hellenic Offshore Race Club (HORC) with co-organizers being Olympic Marine and Region of Attica. Posted on 2 Jul
An evening with the Scaramouche Sailing Trust
Sailing hasn't always been a sport for inner-city state schools like the Greig City Academy Sailing hasn't always been a sport for inner-city state schools like the Greig City Academy (GCA). But they've shown it can be accessible to everyone, with amazing results. Posted on 2 Jul
Admiral's Cup 2025 | Interview with the CYCA Team
A highly experienced team for the revived Admiral's Cup regatta from July 17 The Cruising Yacht Club of Australia is fielding a highly experienced team for the revived Admiral's Cup regatta that will be run from Cowes on the Isle of Wight in the UK, from 17th July 2025. Posted on 1 Jul
Selden 2020 - FOOTERLloyd Stevenson - AC Alinghi 1456x180px BOTTOMDoyle_SailWorld_728X90px_SY BOTTOM