16 DF65 and 14 DF95 sailors assembled at Awatea Lake in Parapraumu for the Wellington DF Champs. While the weather could not have been better – the breeze posed challenges for both sailors and the RO.
What little breeze there was made for some great racing, with the shifty light conditions providing many passing opportunities when the puffs were connected.
The local fleet was joined by sailors Chris, Toby, Billy and Peter from New Plymouth, as well as a cameo by Mike Ure from Auckland as he made his way south.
On to the Racing…
Day 1 – DF 65 Fleet
They say a picture paints 1,000 words, and here is the evidence:
This is the view at the end of the day – and it was also the view that welcomed sailors – plus the frost.
Faced with a very very light NE that hardly touched the lake – only 5 races could be completed. The fleet showed great patience and waited patiently until the time limit for racing expired waiting for any glimmer of a good sailing breeze
While not enough to award NZRYA Medals, Chris Wischnowsky showed the fleet a clean transom taking out first place. Dropping an uncharacteristic (but understandable) 9th, he recorded four 1st placings to be clear ahead from Mike Calkoen in 2nd (12 points) and fellow Taranaki club member Toby Lecher (14 points) rounding out the podium.
All in all a frustrating days sailing but held in good spirts. The weather was amazing and warm … while the sun stayed out. Fingers were crossed for the Sunday and the DF95 racing.
Day 2
The Team was again met with a glassy lake and clear skies. Luckily and right on time a sailable breeze of 2-4 knots appeared down Lake Awatea. 6 back to back races were held between 10am and 12, with short breaks between races to check for weed and tuning as the sailors needed it.
After a short break for lunch and hydration (water and coffee only!) it was back on the water. The afternoon was slightly more patchy and shifty but a further 6 races were completed by the 3.30pm cut-off.
Racing was again tight, with the variable pressure and increasing shifts really seeing some up and down results across the fleet, with constant passing lanes available for those who could read the shifts – it seemed like at one stage every sailor in the fleet was leading at the top mark… or was there or there abouts.
Once the 2 drops were taken in to account it was Mike Calkoen who retained the Wellington DF95 Championship title on a countback from Chris W from New Plymouth (27 points each). Graeme Perry took 3rd place on 35 points. Special mention goes to Chris Harmer who took out 3 races wins – and narrowly missed out on the podium.
Full results can be found on the Kapiti Radio Yacht Club here.
As always – a huge thanks to the Club for having me as your RO, to the other volunteers for your efforts, and of course the sailors for allowing me to do my job for you all.
Paul Davies aka PJD
The RO