This is not your usual Race Officer’s Report. It doesn’t start with a commentary on the weather, the number of sailors or where they came from, not even the racing.
Instead, it starts by acknowledging the amazing moment on Saturday May 5th when this event, held at Lake Pegasus and hosted by the PRSC, was renamed to acknowledge the contribution Bruce Edgar has made to the sport and hobby of Radio Sailing.
Many of you will know the impact Bruce has had on Radio Sailing, not only in Christchurch, but also in Nelson, Tauranga and around New Zealand.
Following this – and a short briefing – it was time to go racing. The 24 sailors were split into two fleets. The breeze (although from a totally different direction than was forecast) allowed for a long first beat. That coupled with “inside out” gates meant fewer than usual incidents at the marks.
The breeze remained light, fickle and shifty throughout the day – challenging both the Race Committee and sailors alike. At the conclusion of the day only 3 ½ Races (7 flights) had been completed. With one more heat needed to decide the Gold and Silver fleets – it all hinged on the last qualifying heat to be held first thing on Sunday.
To round the day out – and to reward the sailors’ patience – a long 2 lap “all in and the RO will buy the Winner a beer” was held. I have never seen Erle Williams (a worthy winner) run for the pub so fast! A few beers were had – and a plan was hatched…. But more about that follows.
Sunday Morning dawned. The predicted Easterly had arrived…. From the West (!) and a course set up along the north side of the Lake. The final qualifying race was held, and the fleet quickly separated into the Gold and Silver fleets. The forecast was again for light and shifty winds – and one race each was achieved for the Gold and Silver fleets before the wind fizzled out.
While the Team waited for the predicted SW to change, an early lunch was held, and a course laid in preparation. It came! It went! It swung back to the West, the North and the East. No compass point was safe!
Finally, just minutes (seconds) before the time limit for the day arrived – a breeze settled in and second finals heat was got underway for the Gold fleet.
Congratulations to Rick Cassels-Brown for winning the inaugural 2025 IOM Bruce Edgar Canterbury Championship and Laurie Hope from Nelson for taking out the Silver Fleet.
A huge shout out to the Pegasus Team who provided flawless support – from Results to Mark laying, to hot cups of tea and everything else that goes in to making these events. Thanks also to Brett W (aka Wobbly) for your work as Assistant RO and for keeping me as calm and sane as possible.
Thank you as always for having me – bring on the Oceanias!
Paul Davies
Race Officer
But Wait…. There’s more…
Remember the plan that was hatched on Saturday after racing and the all-in race?
Well, on the way home to Paul and Sheila’s, PJ and I got to thinking about a race to honour Bruce. PJ mentioned how much Bruce loved to race – and to encourage others of all abilities to race – using various race systems, sometimes established, and sometimes innovative.
Ladies and Gents – we give you – “The Bruce Edgar Rabbit Run”.
Sailors were split into groups of four based on the results so far in the regatta, from last place through to first. Each group was given a 10 second start on the next group, and so on until the last start with the top 4 sailors together.
The format was simple:
“Sail numbers W, X, Y and Z can start when the countdown clock hits 50”
“Sail numbers S, T, U And V can start when the clock hits 40”
Etc etc
3 laps of the Course – first across the finish line is the winner.
It was a sight to behold! After tense racing and many places gained and lost – our eventual podium consisted of:
5th: John Levy (-50 seconds)
4th Erle Williams (scratch)
3rd: Alex Bruce (scratch)
2nd: Paul Johnson (scratch)
WINNER: Laurie Hope (-30 seconds)
A fitting tribute to a fitting man, and a fitting end to an excellent weekend of racing and camaraderie.
Place |
Sail No |
Skipper |
Design |
Club |
Total |
Disc |
Final |
Q1 |
Q2 |
Q3 |
Q4 |
F1 |
F2 |
GOLD FLEET |
|||||||||||||
G 1 |
NZL 71 |
Rick Cassels-Brown |
V12 |
Pegasus RSC |
18 |
6 |
12 |
2 |
1 |
2 |
6 |
1 |
6 |
G 2 |
NZL 22 |
Graham Roberts |
MB |
Tauranga RSC |
23 |
7 |
16 |
7 |
1 |
3 |
2 |
6 |
4 |
G 3 |
NZL 07 |
Paul Johnson |
V12 |
Pegasus RSC |
26 |
8 |
18 |
1 |
2 |
8 |
1 |
12 |
2 |
G 4 |
NZL 31 |
Alex Bruce |
V11 |
Otago RSC |
22 |
4 |
18 |
3 |
3 |
4 |
3 |
4 |
5 |
G 5 |
NZL 94 |
Jamie White |
V10 |
Cromwell RYS |
28 |
9 |
19 |
4 |
7 |
3 |
9 |
2 |
3 |
G 6 |
NZL 33 |
Lewis Avenell |
V9 |
Pegasus RSC |
31 |
10 |
21 |
8 |
5 |
10 |
4 |
3 |
1 |
G 7 |
NZL 00 |
Darryl Pender |
V10 |
Cromwell RYS |
27 |
5 |
22 |
RGP 3 |
5 |
1 |
3 |
5 |
10 |
G 8 |
NZL 28 |
Erle Williams |
V12 |
KKRYS |
27 |
4 |
23 |
1 |
3 |
1 |
4 |
9 |
9 |
G 9 |
NZL 19 |
Bruce Manning |
TBA |
Otago RSC |
29 |
5 |
24 |
5 |
2 |
2 |
2 |
11 |
7 |
G 10 |
NZL 291 |
Colin Cashmore |
V12 |
Kerikeri RYS |
44 |
12 |
32 |
12 |
4 |
6 |
1 |
8 |
DNF 13 |
G 11 |
NZL 03 |
Clyde Rogers |
V10 |
Pegasus RSC |
45 |
12 |
33 |
3 |
12 |
5 |
10 |
7 |
8 |
G 12 |
NZL 91 |
Robert Norris |
V11 |
Pegasus RSC |
49 |
13 |
36 |
2 |
DNF 13 |
5 |
8 |
10 |
11 |
Place |
Sail No |
Skipper |
Design |
Club |
Total |
Disc |
Final |
Q1 |
Q2 |
Q3 |
Q4 |
F1 |
F2 |
SILVER FLEET |
|||||||||||||
S 1 |
NZL 76 |
Laurie Hope |
V12 |
Nelson RSC |
30 |
9 |
21 |
7 |
4 |
9 |
8 |
2 |
|
S 2 |
NZL 51 |
Basil Hart |
V11 |
Nelson RSC |
35 |
13 |
22 |
5 |
DSQ 13 |
9 |
5 |
3 |
|
S 3 |
NZL 01 |
Laurie McArthur |
V11 |
Pegasus RSC |
37 |
12 |
25 |
12 |
7 |
10 |
7 |
1 |
|
S 4 |
NZL 90 |
Ric Proko |
V10 |
Pegasus RSC |
33 |
8 |
25 |
8 |
8 |
6 |
5 |
6 |
|
S 5 |
NZL 27 |
Wayne Avery |
Britpop |
Nelson RSC |
39 |
11 |
28 |
9 |
9 |
11 |
6 |
4 |
|
S 6 |
NZL 29 |
Chris Koskela |
V12 |
Pegasus RSC |
41 |
13 |
28 |
6 |
DNF 13 |
7 |
10 |
5 |
|
S 7 |
NZL 13 |
Daniel Cross |
V12 |
Pegasus RSC |
41 |
13 |
28 |
6 |
6 |
7 |
UFD 13 |
9 |
|
S 8 |
NZL 96 |
Neville Adams |
Tempest 2 |
Pegasus RSC |
42 |
11 |
31 |
9 |
6 |
11 |
9 |
7 |
|
S 9 |
NZL 02 |
Mike Cameron |
V11 |
Nelson RSC |
45 |
13 |
32 |
4 |
8 |
12 |
DNF 13 |
8 |
|
S 10 |
NZL 193 |
Brian Herron |
V10 |
Pegasus RSC |
43 |
10 |
33 |
10 |
10 |
4 |
7 |
12 |
|
S 11 |
NZL 35 |
John Levy |
D2 |
Nelson RSC |
52 |
13 |
39 |
10 |
11 |
8 |
RET 13 |
10 |
|
S 12 |
NZL 39 |
Greg Thomson |
MB3D |
Cromwell RYS |
60 |
13 |
47 |
11 |
DNF 13 |
12 |
DNF 13 |
11 |