Leander 1999 Day 1 - 25 Feb 1999

11:30 saw the start of the Invitation race, the first race of the regatta. Moderate conditions saw competitive racing, and for some the pressure was all too much with a few swims at the top mark. Total Trust did a great job of capsizing on the mark, taking a boat or two with it. The rest of the race was a hard fought affair, with the lead changing constantly. The eventual winner was C-Tech, followed by Design Source then Chemical Weapon to make up the top three.

Races one and two of the Leander Trophy were held in similar conditions in the afternoon. Once again, the racing was highly competitive. The Canterbury boys shone through in race one, with four boats in the top six (Chemical Weapon, Acid Rock, Dirty Dancing and 92 More FM). The Weapon eventually took out this race, followed closely by Macca and Kenny in Design Source.

Race two saw Dan Leech and Jason Griffen (Acid Rock) come through for another excellent third (their second running), to break a North Island hold on the top three. C-Tech took this race out, followed by that Wellington stalwart, Stephen Hogg (Stage Coach) in second. Fourth place for the 'Weapon was enough to give Sean Milner and Steve MacIntosh the outright lead after day one, receiving the yellow jerseys. The evening was a relatively quiet affair, with the annual meeting of the New Zealand R-Class Association being held.