After missing a year due to Covid we were happy to be back in Napier for our ILCA North Island champs on the November 26th and 27th. 

• Results

In recent years Napier Sailing Club has hosted us as part of their Summer Regatta which has become a signficant fixture on the national sailing calendar. The clubs volunteers do a fantastic job on and off the water. This year there were more than 160 boats across 9 classes. ILCA 6 & 7, Paper Tigers, OK's. together on the outer course. Zephyers, Europes, Optimists, O'Skiff and Starlings on the inner course. NSC now have to host the trailer boat classes on a different weekend.

Andrew, our race officer, gave us a Triangle/Windward-Leeward course finishing at the top. He cleverly balanced T1 and T2 wing and bottom mark variations to try to separate the fleets. On Saturday the sunny Noreaster setlled in before our 11:30am start, giving us a stable 5 to 8 knots all day for 4 races. Despite a forecast for showers on Sunday we had similar light sunny NE conditions for 2 of 3 races. Only the final race had a stronger 15 knot breeze and full hiking.

'Managing the fleet' was the big tactical challenge for the weekend. Especially when the 17 downwind ICLA7's met 49 reaching ILCA 6's at the bottom mark in the light conditions

In the ILCA6 the conditions suited the Fiji Olympic rep Sophia Morgan on Saturday. But she was sharing bullets with Greta Pilkington who managed to sneak past on the Sunday to win the overall regatta by one point. George Lane stayed consistent to come 3rd overall, pipping Ed Tam in 5th for the masters trohpy. George Pilkington had a bullet in the breezier final race to get 4th overall and the male youth trophy.

The ILCA7 result was more cut and dried, as Caleb Armit won every race. But it wasn't as one sided on the course where Dylan Forsyth and Matthew Rist pushed Caleb quite hard. Tim Pitcaithly was the eventual masters winner, after he and Andrew Dellabaca traded blows with the leading group. The rest of the masters were a step back to fill out the fleet.

Thanks again to Napier Sailing Club for a great weekend.

Mike Knowsley