Congratulations to Tim Adair for winning the 2012 Auckland Champs held at Howick Sailing Club, March 3,4. Tim showed the rest of the 110 boat fleet how to deal with tricky shifty conditions by scoring incredibly consistent results of (2),1,1,1. Cameron Moss finished 6 points behind in second with George Gautrey in third.
Regatta Report:
Severe weather warnings for much of New Zealand put paid to any thoughts of sailing on Saturday with the race committee making a wise decision to cancel the day’s sailing early on Saturday morning. The ensuing weather bomb reinforced that decision and called for patience until Sunday which promised excellent sailing conditions.
Sunday morning brought sunny, clear blue skies starting with 8-9 knots in an offshore, south-easterly breeze. Oscillating conditions rising to a medium breeze throughout the day called for head-out-of-boat awareness and kept the race committee on their toes not to mention the guys lifting and re-laying marks. Isaac McHardie created an early lead in the first race of the day which he held all the way around the track to win, closely followed by Tim Adair, with Cameron Moss and George Gautrey also making their mark early.
The 110 boats start line was the biggest this season and saw those with large fleet racing experience come to the fore. Race 2 started around noon under a black flag in 13-15 knots of wind with the incoming tide now creating a little chop. George had his early lead eroded on the reach and Tim crossed the line first followed by Cameron who was showing a welcome return to form throughout the day. Younger brother Henry Gautrey kept the family name afloat to take third place.
The third attempt to start race 3 got away under a black flag and young gun Oscar (Gunn) showed great speed to round the top mark first, closely followed by George. Oscar, George and Kim Buchanan rounded the gate in that order but were beaten in the final upwind leg to the finish by Tim’s skill and patience to take first with Leonard Takahashi-Fry second and Henry gaining another third.
With a drop due after four races, Tim had already won but the battle unfolded for the remaining top spots. By now the wind had moved south and dropped back to around 9 knots, rising again to 16-17 knots in the final upwind. This time it was Jack Rogers turn to lead the field early on although he too couldn’t hang on to Tim’s relentless form, completing his hat-trick for another first place. Isaac pushed Tim hard to the line but had to settle for second with Leonard in third. Cameron shone again to finish fourth and secure a second place overall.
Many thanks to Gerald Martin, the judges, and the race committee for setting true courses and giving the sailors opportunity to sail four fair races.
The Green Fleet also completed four races and of the 16 entries, our congratulations go to Ben Patterson on his win, followed by Grierson Fox and Jack Tripe.
The Howick team completed a fantastic regatta with Ian Chadderton’s unique banter at the prize-giving and spot prize awards.
Click here for full results
