LOCALS TAKE THE HONOURS
The cheer that erupted for Bay of Islands local Chris Hornell and the crew of his TP52 Kia Kaha at the CRC BOISW prize-giving ceremony was perhaps the loudest in the event’s 17-year history.
Kia Kaha nailed the top honour of the event – the South Pacific PHRF Championships trophy. And the crowd were clearly pleased to see this local hero – sailing an older TP52, with second-hand sails and an amateur crew – claim the win.
Chris Hornell says local knowledge helped “a little” but other factors were more important. “We had a good bunch of people, and everything we did turned to gold. Good conditions for our boat.”
Also competing in the A Division, Jim Farmer’s Georgia claimed a win on general handicap after three days of racing. With a dozen BOISW regattas under his belt, Jim describes the event as “the best regatta in New Zealand, for sure.”
In B Division, Icebreaker’s flawless performance in the first eight races came unstuck on the final race of day three, when she crossed the line early and had to turn back. But she’d done enough in the earlier races to claim a comfortable victory on both PHRF and general handicap.
No other Sports Boats could slay the Angry Dragon, which meant another raucous cheer at prize-giving for this Bay of Islands local boat, skippered by Stuart Wilson.
In the Weta fleet, Chris Kitchen’s Kitty claimed the win with a huge lead over the rest of the single-handed fleet, winning all but one race during the week. In the two-handed Weta division, R2D2 executed a similar performance with eight wins from nine races.
Ran Tan II claimed first place in Island Racing A division, while a regular Australian visitor to the event, First Picasso, took top position in Island Racing B. In Island Racing C it was Rum Jungle in first place, and Island Racing F was cleaned up by 4Foxsake.
Gambler secured the no-extras Island Racing D division, and the Island Racing E division saw some stiff competition with a fleet of seven multihulls competing. Ave Gitana eventually came out on top.
CRC BOISW will be back next year, in the week preceding Auckland and Northland Anniversary Weekend. The event’s organised and run almost entirely by volunteers, with over 60 people offering their time and energy to bring the regatta to life.
It’s also made possible with the generous support of sponsors CRC, NZL Sailing Foundation, Explore, North Sails, Mount Gay Rum, Luxury Real Estate, KZ Marine and Bay of Islands Marina. Many other local businesses also lend their support to the regatta through the provision of goods and services.