Napier Summer Regatta sees 250 boats take to the water

12ft Skiff entry Monkey Business (Jono Clough and Hamish Hall-Smith) finds itself in some tough business as the regatta draws to a close. Photo / Ian Cooper

IC29112020sailing_skiff 12ft Skiff entry Monkey Business (Jono Clough and Hamish Hall-Smith) finds itself in some tough business as the regatta draws to a close. Photo / Ian Cooper

Doug Laing

Napier Sailing Club has got its new season under way in grand style with about 250 boats on the water during its three-day Summer Regatta which ended today.

The weekend included New Zealand Championships for 12ft Skiffs, and North Island championship racing in the Laser, Open Skiff, Flying Dutchman and Zephyr Classes, as well as East Coast championships in the Optimist Open, OK Dinghy and Paper Tiger Classes, with sports boats of 4-5 hands also involved.

The national 12ft Skiffs, which had eight entries, was won by Alex Vallings and his crew from Auckland.

Club secretary/treasurer and former Commodore Graeme Robinson, who raced the Flying Fifteen class with regatta chairman Chris Reid, said boats and sailors came from throughout the North Island, plus two Flying Dutchman sailors from Nelson, with some of about 50 race officials, rescue personnel coming from as far afield as Auckland and New Plymouth.

Ages ranged over about 70 years, from children aged under 10 years in the Optimist classes, to veteran sailors aged close to 80.

Racing classes had three races on the opening day, despite conditions with winds up to 25 knots and close to maximum for racing, with four on Saturday and another three on the final day.

Former Olympic gold medallist and multiple America's Cup-winning skipper Sir Russell Coutts was at the club on Friday running a training programme, and sailors in the regatta included 1984 Olympic Soling-class US gold-medalist and Americas Cup racer Rod Davis, now aged 65 and at the regatta in the OK Dinghy class.

Among other regattas hosted by the Sailing Club during the summer are the National OK Dinghy championships from February 5-18 and the Hartley 16s, Noelex 25s and Flying Fifteens nationals from March 5-7.