Overcast skies and light winds greeted competitors on day one of the Bay of Islands Sailing Week regatta today.
After a slow start, racing got under way about midday and, just as forecast, conditions continued to improve throughout the day.
With a fleet of six TP52s, racing was always goingto be close in Division A. But the outstanding performers of day one were Viento, who took line honours in all three races, and now sit comfortably in the lead on both IRC and PHRF handicaps.
The fleet was evenly matched in the Tornado Nationals but it was Stony Broke that came out on top after the first day of racing. C4 put in an impressive performance, placing second in the first two races, and first in the final race of the day, for a place of second overall after day one.
The sports boats division is one of the biggest in this year's regatta, with a dozen boats competing.
The boats did give the on-water umpires their only opportunity to issue a penalty for the day, which went to local boat Orange Peeler for a port-starboard infringement at the start of a race.
