BoI Sailing Week

Friday January 27, 2012 And so the racing on this 10th anniversary of Bay of Islands Sailing Week has come to a close. Today was another great day for competitors, a little cloudy but still a reasonable breeze - NW 12-15 knots. Visiting Aussie Judge Stephen Merrington is full of compliments about ‘this Kiwi regatta’ - “it’s very similar to Airlie Beach. The new tent setup is perfect, it feels really tropical. This is always a top regatta with friendly people and good racing. Can Rosemary and I come back again next year?” Said Paddy Sims Race Officer from Taipa Sailing Club, “we’ve got quality and competent racing this year, none of that ‘follow the leader stuff’ – we’ll work on getting more local boats to join in next year”. Very tight racing today in A Division in particular between Kia Kaha and Wired, but happy to say both boats came out of the skirmishes with no new paint jobs required. Very fair competition – they’ll certainly have something to talk about over a drink tonight. Unfortunately Boating NZ (Sports Boat Division) had to pull out today sacrificing two races. Edwin Delaat hurt his back, apparently for the second time. Edwin is a 15 year old ‘world yachtsman of the future’ – not to say he isn’t already well on his way. This young man has seamanship and yachting credentials to take your breath away. We’re sorry you had to miss out on those last two races Edwin – we hope to see you back here again in 2013. There will be more to report after an evening at the Prize Giving listening to tales of the day from one and all.