Bay of Islands Sailing Week - Tight racing as breeze kicks in - Day 1
by Hana Hielkema / Jacob Fewtrell Media 22 Jan 04:55 PST
Golden Pond - Day 1 - Bay of Islands Sailing Week 2025 - January 22, 2025 © Jacob Fewtrell Media
Tactical mastery and patience were the order of the day as Bay of Islands Sailing Week 2025 kicked off in challenging conditions.
Crews navigated through a morning of light, shifty winds across the race courses, showcasing their light-air expertise before an afternoon sea breeze arrived to energise the racing.
While not entirely expected following a day of rain and plenty of cloud cover in the morning, the sea breeze meant sailors could shift mode to dial their boats into the afternoon conditions.
Melges 40 'Sassinate' dominated Division A Open with a perfect score of three wins from three races. At the helm, Mikayla Plaw, proved that patience and precision are the keys to success in challenging conditions. “It’s been pretty patchy out on the course so we were looking for pressure the whole time and making sure we had enough breeze to keep momentum,” she explained after their first win.
Fellow Melges 40s 'Menance' and 'Clockwork' maintained pressure on the leader, with Clockwork crew member Aaron Hume-Merry emphasising the importance of “keeping it tidy” to stay on the pace.
The Flying Fifteen fleet, simultaneously competing for their National title, delivered some of the day's most intense racing. Ben Lowe's 'Unknown' emerged as the early leader in a tight battle, with 'Ffrenetic' and 'The Godfather' hot on their heels. Sally Garrett, skipper of 'The Godfather', captured the day's challenges perfectly.
"We experienced moments of brilliance followed by moments of learning. With the course constantly shifting, finding consistency was a real challenge."
In the sports boat fleet, Northland boats dominated the leaderboard. Kerikeri Cruising Club's foiling Shaw 7.5m 'Animal Biscuits' recovered from a fifth-place finish in their opening race to secure back-to-back victories, while Opua-based 'Angry Dragon' and 'Orange Peeler' maintained close pursuit.
Patrick Kell of Orange Peeler found a silver lining in the light conditions, noting their crew weight advantage while still hoping for a touch more breeze in the coming days.
The Young 88 division saw a commanding performance from 'Young Magic', with Matthew Mason steering to three consecutive victories. 'Undercover' and 'Sailormoon' maintained pressure on the leader, setting up what promises to be an exciting battle in the days ahead.
Across in Island Racing Spinnaker, Division B sponsored by Vining Marine is lead on line by the Lambert/Beau 28 ‘Tongue Twister’, while the Northland Inc Division C is lead by Shaw 750t Deep Purple. Island Racing D sponsored by Gurit is lead by the Shaw 550 The Racoon.
Leading the Bay of Islands Marina Non-Spinnaker Division is Elliott 1850 Zindabar.
At the time of writing, North Sails Division A results were still being decided.
As the sun sets on day one, the forecast suggests more challenging conditions ahead, promising to test both crews and race management alike as Bay of Islands Sailing Week 2025 continues to deliver world-class racing in one of New Zealand's most picturesque venues.
Racing continues tomorrow with all divisions looking to build on their day one performance, while those currently leading will work to maintain their advantage in what promises to be another day of tactical sailing at its finest.
For more images: www.facebook.com/boi.sailingweek
Results: bayofislandssailingweek.org.nz/results/2025-results
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