Local boats take Waikawa spoils

A surface like mirrored glass and not a breath of wind resulted in a long wait under grey skies for 40 boat crews lined up for the start of the recent Giesen New Year Regatta in the Marlborough Sounds.

With a third of the fleet coming from out of the region, last weekend’s regatta attracted more boats than previously seen, said spokesman Duncan Mackenzie.

The event, organised by the Waikawa Boating Club, was the first leg in the top of the south keelboat championship.

The race management team was finally able to get two races away in light and shifting conditions that challenged crews with sail and course selection.

Saturday ended with the lighter boats in the fleet sitting at the top of the leader board and all eyes on a more promising forecast for day 2.

Despite the challenge mounted by visiting boats who, according to Mackenzie have traditionally seized a good share of the spoils, Waikawa boats prevailed across all four divisions.

Sunday dawned sunny, and with a northerly breeze filled in across the course, the race management team were able to get through a challenging programme of five races across the divisions.

In the final tally, David Grigg’s Beneteau Global took the contest in Division 1. Grigg gave credit for the win to ‘‘a top notch crew from Auckland’’, and said he was extremely impressed with how the event was run.

‘‘The committee ran a very good ship,’’ he said. Global will participate in local boat club races for the season and ‘‘possibly offshore’’, but will not be able to take part in the next leg of the championship in Nelson at the end of this month.

Matt Kerr’s Ross 40 Satellite Spy came in third in the division and collected the line honours prize for the regatta, winning three of the five races.

An interesting sight in the division was the DIAM 24 racing trimaran Onco Fonco sailed by former Waikawa skipper Meric Davies.

Sluggish in the light airs on day 1, the multihull came into its own on day 2, displaying a great turn of speed.

Division 2 was dominated by Laurie McIntyre’s Young 780 D’Edge. McIntyre was unavailable when approached for comment.

In Division 4, the regatta administration headed into countback territory with the final outcome favouring local skipper Dave Kelway.

Kelway’s Beneteau First 456 Khamsin performed well across the entire regatta with particularly notable performances in the light conditions on day 1 when many expected the big Beneteau to struggle.

‘‘It was an overall mixed bag of conditions,’’ said Kelway, but added that they were able to pick their way around the wind shifts with good results, and on Sunday were blessed with conditions that suited Khamsin ideally.

Kelway credited his crew, whom he said ‘‘didn’t put a foot wrong all weekend.’’ Khamsin will continue with the season’s club events, but will not participate in the Nelson regatta.

Local skipper Tom van der Burg took out Division 5 with his Lotus 9.5 Satu scoring a perfect three wins. ‘‘We’re pretty ecstatic about that,’’ said Van der Burg, saying that it was ‘‘a good week in yacht racing.’’

‘‘Day 1 was a bit of a drifter,’’ he said, ‘‘but we were lucky that the committee shifted the course and got us into some wind.’’

Satu will also continue with the season’s club events, but due to other commitments will not participate in the Nelson regatta.

Regatta spokesman Mackenzie said they were encouraged by the large number of new boats attracted this year.

With the development of new marina berths by Marlborough Sounds Marinas at Waikawa well underway, Mackenzie says he’s confident this will deliver even more competitors to the fleet in 2022.

Club Commodore John Jackson believes that the attraction of Queen Charlotte Sound is central to the regatta.

‘‘As locals we sometimes take for granted the world-class cruising on our doorstep. Being able to offer such an attractive destination certainly helps when the regatta team are making the calls to attract visiting boats,’’ he said.

***Results (Person’s name, make of boat, boat name)

###Div 1: 1st. David Grigg, Beneteau, Global. 2nd. Sam Edwards, Farr 30, Loco. 3rd. Matt Kerr, Ross 40, Satellite Spy.

Div 2: 1st. Laurie McIntyre, Young 780, D’Edge. 2nd. James Snowdon, Warwick Stratus 747, Saucy Sausage. 3rd. Clin Lock, Young 88, Legacy 2.

Div 4: 1st. Dave Kelway, Beneteau 1st 456, Khamsin. 2nd. Chris Hitchings, Young 11, Simply Irresistible. 3rd. NickyJenkins, Hanse 345, Tiamana.

Div 5: 1st. Tom van der Burg, Lotus 9.5, Satu. 2nd. Bryce Ecklein, Young 88, Fade to Black. 3rd. Tim Armstrong, Davidson 35, Satin Sheets.

The Beneteau Global on its way to a first division win.