Visiting Australian yacht Limit fought off tough opposition to hold onto her first overall position in Division A on the second day of the Bay of Islands Sailing Week regatta.
The Reichel Pugh 63 Limit secured the lead in day one of the regatta on Wednesday, and stamped her dominance
on the class again on Thursday, winning all three races.
Victory did not come without its fair share of drama however, with the continuing shifting winds causing race officer Paddy Simms to regularly reset the course flags.
Organiser Lesley Haslar said at one stage during racing in the bays, Limit came flying through the Multi Hull division start line.
"The canting-keel hooked up Pin Buoy's anchor line and blew all their settings. The result was a 20-minute delay and we believe Limit was heard to offer a bottle of rum to the committee boat - accepted of course," she said.
Also in Division A, a continuing duel took place between Rob Bassett's Wired and Jim Farmer's Georgia, keeping also enthusiasts intrigued. During race one on day two, Wired slipped through around the top mark and led the next leg, due to an rare error by Georgia.
Bassett conceded the next confrontation at the bottom mark however, and with spinnakers flying and winds gusting up to 25knots, they "undercooked" but Georgia skipper Dean Barker was a bit smarter, Haslar said.
A sudden gust during the drop on approach to the mark resulted in Wired rounding up out of control. Georgia was able to slip through and stayed ahead in a short reach to the finishing line and completed day two with two seconds and a third placing, while Wired had two thirds and a second.
Division B saw close racing with some contention at the bottom mark.
Several boats are battling out the top three, including Bobby's Girl, Deep Throttle, Revs and Karma Police. Day two's racing finished at Roberton Island, for the annual beach party.
