Wanaka Safari

by linda — last modified 2007-06-20T16:00:17+12:00

Light winds and hot sun greeted the six keen skiffs. Saturdays snail pace racing was cutshort for some exciting singlehanded skiff sailing which provided the highlight of the weekend.

Great weather, fun racing and comfortable accomodation at the Pairman Hotel made for an unforgettable weekend.

Many laughs were had both on and off the water. Saturdays single handed races provided a great spectacle for the crews to laugh at the skippers kite skills. And the skippers to laugh at everything the crews did. Especially the swimming. Overall results Crews 3 swims - Skippers 0. What do we really need them for???

Wins in the crewed races over the two days were shared about pretty evenly with close racing and even closer finishes.

Saturday

Rigup... look at Meridian Energy's new maxi kite... wait... eventually a bit of breeze wafts down the lake.

Race 1. Very light shifty and variable breeze saw MAD4IT bolt off to a commanding lead. Meridian Energy, Subwooofer and Chemical Weapon eventually hauled them in with Meridian Energy ultimately winning by just under a metre from Subwoofer. Closely follwed by Chemical weapon, with MAD4IT safely in fourth.

Race 2. A quick on the water conference and a shorter course was selected. MAD4IT again bolted off. This time though they managed to hold off challenges from the fleet.

Impromptu Single Handed Sprints

Another on the water conference decided it was time to spice things up a bit with 4 single handed races (two each for skippes and crews). The crews were then thrown into the warm waters of the bay and left to swim ashore, leaving the skippers ready to battle in the first of four races for singlehanded supremacy.

Race 1. MAD4ITs lightweather speed and Bevans boat handling, showed again that the acid hulls are hard to beat in the light. Winning well from Subwoofer and The Weapon.

Race 2. swap to crews..."whats the trick with the kite?"... MAD4IT again shows great speed, with Lance winning. Some of the crews provided ample amusement with their sailing antics and bumper car impressions at the bottom mark.

Race 3. Back to the skippers who've now had a chance to think through their technique, didnt help much, but the kite drops were all a lot better this time around. Again MAD4IT trucks past up wind and wins.

Race 4. Another chance for the crews who've also had a chance to think things through. Again MAD4IT performs well.

Aftermatch BBQ

Chef Lance and his merry band of helpers cooked an excellent meal before the lads went off to town to check out the nightlife.

Sunday

The day of the Combined Dunstan/Wanaka regatta is fine, hot and still. There appears the promise of some breeze, but how much???

Race 3. A good sized trailer yacht division and a couple of Javelins and A Class cats line up with the R's for a drifter. 1 triangle looks like enough given the breeze. As expected MAD4IT trucks off upwind. The Weapon and Meridian Energy chase down the reach with Subwoofer gaining. The breeze just picks up at the wing mark allowing Chemical and Subwoofer to sneak through inside. A very tight twin wiring lead into the bottom mark trips up Meridian who fall into windward with the big kite. By this time we're in amongst the very slow moving trailer yacht fleet who are converging on the bottom mark. Paul and Jason manage to lead into the mark, weave through the confusion, and hold off Sean and Dan up the beat for the win.

Race 4. Regroup.... about the same amount of breeze. Its a standard triangle, windward leeward, triangle course. First beat is the same as usual with MAD4IT taking off again. The breeze is shifty and patchy and racing is pretty close. Up the third beat MAD4IT, having just been overtaken by Chemical Weapon's Sean and Dan tack just too close to shore, and hit the bottom. They retired having taken on water. The rest of the race is pretty uneventful although the 3 leading boats are all very close. The Weapon sails well to win, with Meridian Energy just behind and Subwoofer a close third.

Thanks to the Wanaka Yacht Club for the excellent hospitality and BBQ lunch. We're looking forward to coming back sometime.

The lads would all like to thank Meridian Energy Dave for providing such excellent squadron accomodation.

Those Rs who stayed behind missed a great weekend. They never learn.