29er Nationals: Kiwitalian crew wins shortened Barfoot & Thompson 29er NZ Nationals
by Sail-World.com/nz 7 Jun 2024 17:23 PDT
Day 2 - Barfoot and Thompson 29er NZ Nationals - June 2024 - Bay of Islands © Jacob Fewtrell Media
The Barfoot and Thompson 29er Nationals were held at the Bay of Islands Yacht Club over Kings Birthday Weekend.
The regatta attracted a top fleet of 27 crews from the North and South Islands. Eight female crews competed.
The fleet included NZ Youth Worlds crew, Will Leach - twice Optimist National champion, helming for Sean Kensington an Optimist and 29er National champion.
Italian exchange student Giorgio Mattiuzzo who has been sailing in the 29er for five years teamed up with Will Mason and Optimist and Starling National champion.
Other top Junior and Youth competitors included Nelsen Meecham, Levi Jenkins, Tom Pilkington and Morgan Lay. A fairly new crew of Hugo Smith and Louis Quere, proved to be very competitive amongst the established combinations.
In the end, the weather proved to be an overriding factor in the championship.
On Friday, competitors were greeted by a gusty and irregular breeze with no pattern to it. The wind ranged from 8 knots to 14 knots peaking at 16 knots.
This created some very mixed results between the top 10 competitors during the racing on Day 1. The key to success was to be consistent, minimize mistakes, and judge risk versus reward. There was little speed difference between the top boats, which made the racing even more competitive. Five races were completed.
Mason and Mattiuzzo worked out a two-point lead over Pilkington/Lay after the first day of racing, with Meachem/Jenkins in contention, with two days left in the regatta.
Bella Jenkins (KYC) and Nicola Hume (KYC) turned in a strong performance placing second and third in Races 4 & 5, but notched up double-digit scores in the two opening races, which made life difficult.
For Saturday's second day of racing, the gusty, funky breeze of Friday was replaced by a very light sea breeze with long intervals between oscillations, creating close racing.
The consequences of mistakes resulted in some high scoring races being posted, despite only two races being sailed.
Mason and Mattiuzzo were the most consistent of the top group, scoring fourth and fifth place, while Smith/Quere were even better, with a 4,2 scorecard enabling the two 14-year-olds to move up the overnight leaderboard.
The scene was set for some keen racing on the final day, but the breeze was a no-show and the placings after Day 2 became the final result - with Mason and Mattiuzzo being declared the new NZ champions.
The sailing instructions stated that racing could start after 3pm. Faced with no more racing, the race committee held a briefing with all sailors proposing to have to change the 3pm deadline, if all sailors agreed to these proposed new sailing instructions.
Regatta leaders Will Mason and Giogio Mattiuzzo objected to the change. and when the breeze had not filled in by the 3pm deadline, they won the national title.
Meachem/Jenkins won the seventh and what proved to be the final race, moving up to second overall - a single point ahead of Leech/Kensington.
Bella Jenkins (KYC) and Nicola Hume (KYC) were the top female crew placing sixth in the Open fleet. Maretai sailors Madison Russell and Kate Rasmussen were the second female crew and eighth in the Open fleet.
Three crews will compete in the European championships in Gdynia, including Jenkins/Hume, the top female crew and Meachem/Jenkins and Leech/Kensington.
Mason/Mattiuzzo are set to compete in the World Championships in Aarhus, Denmark.
After their stellar performance in the Youth Trials earlier this year, Leech/Kensington will also represent New Zealand at the Youth World Championships in Lake Garda, Italy in July.
For full results for the Barfoot & Thompson 29er NZ Nationals click here
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