Perfect - Bay of Islands Sailing Week

Aussies take the major trophies but Kiwis get the acclaim for a great regatta. By Roger McMillan.

Two boatloads of Australians made the trip across the Tasman for the 8th Bay of Islands Sailing Week in January. Both groups say they’ll be back next year, and will be encouraging others to make the journey.

As the name suggests, the Bay of Islands is a huge indentation in the north-east coastline of New Zealand’s North Island, littered with 144 tree-clad islands and containing dozens of secluded anchorages.

The regatta is run from Opua, which is the major port for cruising boats clearing into NZ. It handles more than 80% of all arrivals at the major new marina which can accommodate 235 boats. However there are four other significant towns on the bay, including the nearby Pahia, where most of the visiting crews stay, Kerikeri, which was the site of the first white settlement in the country, Waitangi, where the treaty with the local Maori was signed in 1840 and Russell, New Zealand’s first administrative capital.

The area and the regatta remind me of Airlie Beach in the Whitsundays. Like Airlie, the regatta is run by yachties for yachties, the social side is as important as the racing and the beer tent does good trade every evening when the crews come ashore.

Divisions for everyone

There were nine different divisions contested in 2010. Division A contained the big boats, from the Farr 50 Sababa to Alan Brierty’s Sydney-based RP 65 Limit. The entrants were then categorised by size and speed in groups of between eight and ten boats, down to Division E which was made up of boats less than 30 ft.

Being a Kiwi regatta there were obviously a large number of Kiwi designs, including Davidsons, Elliotts, Youngs, Shaws, Whitings, Rosses, Farrs and even an old Spencer.

For those who preferred to sail around the islands rather than going up and down the bay, there were two passage divisions grouped on speed rather than size. This was the first year that Passage Division had to be split, with a total of 22 boats sailing one long race a day while A-E Divisions sailed two windward-leewards in the morning and a short passage race in the afternoon.

Another first was the inclusion of a multihull division. This might have to be split next year too, as G3, the massive 18.3m French-designed trimaran owned by Simon Hull was so fast that the time limit for the division had to be extended. She was more than twice as fast as the slowest multihull, and was lapping the back-markers almost every race.

Finally, there was an eclectic collection of sports boats, including the trapeze-equipped Shaw 7, Orange Peeler, which managed to win the division despite regular and dramatic capsizes in the breezy conditions.

Brierty Rules

There were some very high-quality boats in A Division, but the hardware was eclipsed by the calibre of the sailors. Auckland-based Queens Council, Jim Farmer, called in Dean Barker and most of the crew from Emirates Team New Zealand’s America’s Cup team to help him sail his brand-new Botin and Carleek 52 Georgia. Not to be outdone, Sydney-based Western Australian Alan Brierty hired former NZ and Japanese America’s Cup skipper, Chris Dickson, to helm Limit. The boat was fresh from winning the Rolex Trophy on Sydney Harbour in December and the crew were keen to get into action after an early withdrawal from the Sydney-Hobart on Boxing Day owing to rig problems.

These two boats weren’t going to have it all their own way, though, with another modified TP52, Rob Bassett’s Wired, also keen to mix it at the front end of the big fleet.

Limit’s extra length proved decisive in the battle for line honours, but the duel between Georgia and Wired was as close and exciting as big boat racing can get. At the first mark during the first race, Wired approached on port with Georgia coming in equally fast on starboard. For a moment it looked as though Wired would make it, but Barker found some extra boat speed and slammed the door. Too late to duck Georgia’s stern, Wired completed her rounding, causing Georgia to bear away. Bassett immediately sailed past the mark and completed his 720 penalty before popping the kite to resume the battle.

So it continued all regatta and even Barker was forced into occasional errors that allowed Wired to sneak ahead. However another classic situation was observed at the last mark of the second passage race. Both boats were sailing very fast under shy kites in 20 knots of wind with Wired three boat lengths in front. More than 400 metres from the mark, Georgia executed a copybook spinnaker drop. An instant later a strong gust caught Wired’s crew unprepared and while they struggled with the drop the boat was pushed below the mark. Barker calmly executed a perfect rounding and raced away to the finish line.

I was reminded of a David Dellenbaugh Speed and Smarts column in the December 2009 issue of Sailing, where he wrote that a late drop is “high risk, low reward”.

While there were personal battles like that of Georgia and Wired going on throughout all divisions, at the front of the fleet Alan Brierty was having it all his own way. He was first across the line in every race, and took out IRC, PHRF and General handicaps for a clean sweep of A Division trophies.

Alan is a larger-than-life character, with his dreadlocked hair and ever-present cigar. His friendly stirring of the Kiwis began at the pre-race briefing after PRO Ray Haslar had announced a game of beach cricket  would be held during the beach party on Roberton Island. “Are we Aussies allowed to bowl under-arm,” Alan enquired at question time.

However, the piece de resistance was his performance on the final evening. By the time prizegiving started most crews had been “adequately served” and when Brierty stepped onto the stage to accept his fourth trophy, the cries of “speech, speech” were too loud to ignore.

In a few short sentences he had the crowd eating out of his hand, modestly giving credit to his crew for the victories, thanking the organisers for a superb regatta “in the most fantastic place in the world to go sailing” and pointing out that there were in fact more “sheep-shaggers” on his boat than Australians so it was almost a Kiwi victory anyway. Alan finished by saying he’d be back next year with more Australian boats, and judging by the cheers he received from the locals they will be very disappointed if he isn’t.

Borrowed boat

The other Australian crew competing was from Royal Prince Alfred Yacht Club. Richard Hudson and Rob McClelland borrowed Ray Haslar’s Davidson 10.6 Jive Talkin’, which Ray couldn’t sail because he was running the regatta.

After a slow start, the combined Aussie-Kiwi crew got the yellow boat up and running and managed to finish third in IRC in B Division.

Like Alan Brierty, both Hudson and McClelland were positive that they would be back next year. They praised the organisation, the hospitality and the “magnificent” venue, saying they’d thoroughly enjoyed every race of the regatta.

In addition to the Australians, four other “foreigners” put their names on the noticeboard as potential crew, and all got a place on a boat for the whole event.

Aussie options

There are a number of ways Australians can compete in this excellent event. For those at the “sharp end” of competition like Alan Brierty, it’s not a major undertaking to sail your boat across. The distance from Sydney to Opua is 1200 nm. Ray Haslar has made the journey in Jive Talkin’ 12 times to compete in the Sydney-Southport race and at Hamilton Island, and he says it generally takes around six days to cross at this time of year. Bigger boats would do it in five days.

The Bay of Islands Sailing Week is held in the third week of January. It is followed by the Auckland Anniversary Weekend Regatta a week later, and Sail Auckland in early February. Auckland is an easy 120 mile coastal cruise south with several picturesque bays and harbours to enjoy along the way.

Another option is to crew on top Kiwi boats. Following the success of Richard Hudson’s charter of Jive Talkin’, Ray Haslar is keen to put Australian crews in touch with Aucklanders who own competitive boats but don’t make the trip up to Opua because of a shortage of crew.

He says that the Aussies could fly into Auckland and sail up the coast with the New Zealand owners, and the Kiwis could return the favour by flying into Sydney or Brisbane and sailing Aussie boats up for Airlie Beach and Hamilton Island race weeks. Anyone interested in exploring the idea can email Ray at haslar@xtra.co.nz.

The final option is chartering. This would probably suit club racers who currently sail production boats. There are three main charter companies in the Bay of Islands and while the boats are set up for cruising, owners could bring spinnakers with them or could compete in the non-spinnaker divisions. Boats available include Sun Odyssey, Beneteau and Dufour.

Bay of Islands clashes with Victoria Week, so on the eastern seaboard it is most likely to appeal to people from Queensland and New South Wales. Air New Zealand flies up to five times a day from Sydney and two to three times a day from Brisbane, linking with their 40 minute flight from Auckland to Kerikeri. Food, alcohol and accommodation, bought in NZ dollars, are very cheap.

What makes this regatta special?

With more than 10 different Australasian regatta weeks competing for boats and crew, organisers know they have to put on something extra to attract the numbers.

The Bay of Islands organisers have the same advantage that Airlie, Hamilton Island and Port Lincoln have – a superb venue. There is also a good chance of fine weather in late January and an excellent chance of good winds. This year the sky was cloudy but the temperatures were comfortable in the low to mid 20s. Winds were a consistent 10-12 knots in the morning, building to 15-20 knots in the afternoon on a low swell.

This is a regatta run by sailors. Ray Haslar is the principle race officer, giving up the chance to sail on home waters to put something back into the sport he loves. He points to the fact that there wasn’t a single protest as evidence that he and his fellow volunteers are getting it right. He has also had numerous requests from owners to extend the regatta beyond its current three days, but says it is probably best to “leave them wanting more”.

So Bay of Islands Sailing Week is well run, has competitive divisions for every shape and size of boat, in a superb location, with perfect wind for fast racing. From an Australian perspective, it also provides exceptional hospitality. At the race briefing the Aussies were specifically welcomed with a loud round of applause from the Kiwi sailors. At the prize giving they were thanked for attending, and again roundly applauded. Despite all the sledging that goes on, they genuinely want more Aussies to compete and go out of their way to make them welcome.

Jim Farmer says that Hamilton Island and Bay of Islands are the two best regatta weeks in the world. It’s worth sailing at both of them to see if he’s right.

Bay of islands sailing week will be held from January 18 to 21, 2011. Event website is www.bayofislandssailingweek.org.nz. Airfares were provided by Air New Zealand (www.airnewzealand.com.au) and accommodation by the Salt Water Lodge in Pahia (www.saltwaterlodge.co.nz), which offers affordable, back-packer style rooms ideal for visiting crew.

All the results from BOI Sailing Week.

Division A. IRC, Limit finished on 10 points, three ahead of Georgia with Wired (30) in third. On general handicap Limit again triumphed ahead of Andy Ball’s Sunfast 52 Sea Harmony and Boyd Smith’s Robinson 56 Bare Essentials. On PHRF Limit completed the clean sweep ahead of Wired and Sababa, David Nathan’s Farr 50.

Division B was won by Geoff Martlew’s Ross 12m Pretty Boy Floyd on general handicap, followed by Rob Shaw’s Shaw 9m Karma Police and Bullrush, the Elliott 12 of Anthony Robinson. In PHRF, the finish order was Karma Police, Deep Throttle (Justin Ferris) and Bobby’s Girl and in IRC it was Bobby’s Girl, Revs (Chris Hornell) and Jive Talkin’ (Richard Hudson).

Division C was won on general handicap by Paul Collins’ Elliott 1050 High Voltage on 21 points, ahead of Stephen Miller’s Farr 1020 Hicky Burr (23) and sister ship Hard Labour (Cameron Thorpe) on 31. High Voltage also won PHRF, with the Young 99 Mr Wolf second and Hicky Burr third.

Division D was the biggest division with 14 boats. Winner under general handicap was Max Newport’s Loomes 10.8m Rock n Roll, ahead of Andrew Reid’s First 34.7 First By Farr and the Young 88 Heartlight owned by Roger Sims. In PHRF First By Farr took the honours, ahead of Andrew Walker’s SR 26 Mercenary and Heartlight.

Division E comprised seven little boats, which also enjoyed some close tussles. General handicap was won by Mike Sherwood’s 7.55m Dale Sunday Special, followed by Chris Browne’s Davidson 28 Top Knot and the Whiting 29s Candela (James Duke) and Nexus (Cees Romeyn). Only four boats contested under PHRF, with Marara (Terry Dunn, S&S 10.23) first, Screw Loose (Martin Clark, Ross 780) second, Nexus third and Frivolous Fish (David Krebs, Elliott 5.9) fourth.

John Graham’s beautiful Warwick 50 Fez and Murray Walbran’s Beale 42 Cruise Control were the fastest in Premier Passage, with Fez taking two races and Cruise Control one. Third was John Faire’s Elliott 12.1 Terminator with three thirds. On general handicap, it was Nev Campbell’s Atkinson 12.2 Kantime on six points, ahead of Cruise Control (8) and Fez (13) while Kantime also took PHRF with four points ahead of Cruise Control (6) and Kelvin Mulcare’s modified Mt Gay 30 Fun-n-Games (8).

The Passage division had a healthy 12 entries. Dale Fenton’s Farr 1020 Mesmerise took line honours with two firsts and a third, ahead of Kerry Mair’s Ganley 17m Vision and Roy Goodwin’s Elan 40 Royale both on nine. General handicap was won by Vision, with Royale second and Blue Newport’s Lotus 10.6 Valentine third. In PHRF, the Farr 10.6 Charisma of Nelson, owned by Ian Wood, was first ahead of Mesmerise and Gambler.

In the Sports Boat division the Shaw 7 Orange Peeler (Grant McInnes) was able to clean-sweep line honours. On handicap, it was Monkey Business, the Shaw 6.5 of Mathew Goddard that took the trophy on 22 points, two ahead of Orange Peeler and three ahead of third-placed Team Sex, the Magic 25 helmed by Anne Hirst.

In Multi Hull Division, G3 was followed by Putiki Express and Exodus.