Auckland Optimist and Starling titles: Everyone's a winner at marque sporting event
by Richard Gladwell/Sail-World.com 8 Feb 2022 15:06 NZDT
8 February 2022
Wakatere BC - Green Optimist fleet and Starling Auckland - February 7, 2022 © Richard Gladwell / Sail-World.com / nz
The Auckland Championships for the Optimist and Starling single-handed classes were completed Monday, with only a day and a half of racing, instead of the three days prescribed in the pre-regatta documents.
The total entry for the event at 180 boats was about double that originally expected - with young sailors obviously very keen to resume competitive racing after two years of COVID lockdowns. New Zealand is still under severe event controls - which have have proved to be unworkable for most major sporting events.
The staging of the Optimist and Starling regatta was a standout, proving while some innovative thinking may be required, there is no reason for sailing events to be cancelled. If necessary, venues can be switched to an area that offers easier logistics.
The event was organised against dire predictions of 50,000 or more positive COVID cases for New Zealand over the regatta period. Less than 200 cases eventuated each day of what had been touted as a weekend of COVID crisis.
Ironically the COVID Minister admitted the day before the regatta that he was very sceptical of the case forecasts. However, fortunately, regatta organisers had weeks previously resolved to press on and damn the COVID torpedoes.
They were, with some difficulty, able to stage a COVID-compliant, highly successful, and much-needed event for the young sailors and their supporters.
Delayed start
Strong winds, rain and a relatively large surf combined to prevent any racing until halfway into the regatta, which was scheduled to get underway on Saturday 5th February. It was part of Auckland's Anniversary Regatta, which officially took place on the previous Monday.
In the Open Optimist fleet, five races were sailed on Sunday, with a further four on Monday to complete a nine race, one discard series.
Wind and rain delayed the start of racing on the final day. Fortunately, the surf which had caused so much strife on the first two days, eased overnight with a wind change to a more sheltered direction.
The wind varied 10-17kts from an easterly direction on the three-race areas - from 065-085 degrees. Despite some light spots in the pressure, the breeze was more consistent on the final day than Day 2.
Racing was held in the Course B area for the 36th America's Cup, subject to both strong tides and the influence of Rangitoto Island, the 650yr old volcanic cone that dominates Auckland's skyline. The combination of wind and tide tested the young Optimist and Starling sailors, just as they had the world's best a year earlier.
After being on tied points overnight with top female helm Tessa Clinton, William Mason put the hammer down on the second day, winning two of the four races and placing second in a third. The top three overall, William Mason (WBC), Will Leech (Charteris Bay YC), and Oli Stone (Kohimaramara YC), dominated the final day of racing in the 60 boat Open fleet.
On a tricky day, when consistency paid a big dividend, these three, except for one race, all turned in impressive top-five placings in the 12 races they sailed between them.
The Auckland Championships are the first major championship for the Optimists in 2022. The close battle between the top three overall is a pointer to the Toyota NZ Nationals to be sailed at Napier Sailing Club over Easter. Tessa Clinton started the final day with a handy fourth place but placed outside the top ten in the last three races to slip back to finish fourth overall. But based on her first six races, she will also be one to watch in Napier at the Nationals.
Nelsen Meacham (WBC) is also expected to be in contention at Napier. He made it difficult for himself on the first day with a couple of starting infringements, costing him maximum points - however, he came back with three wins from the other seven races, which is an excellent strike rate.
Host club Wakatere BC dominated the overall results, with WBC sailors taking seven of the top ten places overall. Whether that was genuine class or home waters advantage will be resolved at the Nationals in Napier in mid-April.
Canterbury's Will Leech is the #1 ranked Opti sailor in the country, determined based on placings in several regattas. He was one of several Charteris Bay sailors who made the trip north from the South Island. They were well rewarded with a podium place in the Open Optimists and two spots on the winners' podium in the Starling class.
The Optimist regatta was sailed in conjunction with the Starling class, who will also be sailing their Nationals alongside the Optimists at Napier SC this Easter. The experience gained by the South Island sailors will be a confidence booster for the Nationals at Napier in two months.
Starling sailing lesson
Tom Pilkington (Wakatere BC) turned the 47 boat Starling event into a one-sided affair, winning four of the nine races sailed and successfully defending his Auckland Champion's title, by a big 24pt margin.
Behind him were two Charteris Bay YC sailors, Miro Luxford and Charlotte Palmer, the top female sailor in the series.
But unlike the top three in the Open Optimists, double-digit scores seemed to be the order of the final day. Overall winner Tom Pilkington (13yrs) scored, 11th and 18th places, when the breeze increased in the final two races, and his lighter (44kg) weight worked against him. But Pilkington had done enough and achieved his series win off an amazing effort in the first seven races of the series, when he won four of the seven races and placed second in two others.
His rivals may have taken a day longer to acclimatise to the vagaries of wind and tide at Wakatere - re-proving the old maxim that it is difficult to win a regatta on the first day, but very easy to lose it.
Behind Pilkington, the leaderboard was tighter than the Open Optimists, indicating that while the Aucklander will go into the Nationals as favourite, his rivals have a good shot at the national title if they sail more consistently and avoid the points-table damage of double-digit places.
Development fleets
The Development fleets attracted good support, allowing these sailors in their first year or two of regatta competition to pick up some racing skills and confidence before moving into the open fleets.
Lewis Snape (Kohimaramara), Rhys Money (Howick) and Theo Lloyd (Kohimaramara) took the top three places in the 15 strong Optimist White fleet.
Ben Sly (Murrays Bay BC), Beatrix Muir (Royal Akarana YC) and Jeffrey Chenglin Du (Royal Akarana YC) finished on top of the leaderboard for the 46 boat Optimist Green Fleet.
William Colman (Torbay), James Anderson (Kohimaramara) and Oliver Lu (French Bay) formed the top group in the nine-boat Starling Development fleet.
Ashore the COVID measures required the separation of the fleets, and three prizegiving ceremonies were held simultaneously in three fenced-off zones in club grounds and surrounding Woodall Park.
Consistent with Wakatere's gold certification from Sailors for the Sea for their sustainability efforts at the 2019 Symonite OK Dinghy World Championships, it was no surprise that a young Wakatere club member Marcus Hilder designed and made a total of 72 3D printed medals for the three prizegivings.
The medals are made of PLA (polylactide) - a renewable, natural raw material like corn. The starch (glucose) is extracted from the plants converted into dextrose by adding enzymes. The lanyards on the medals were upcycled from Emirates Team New Zealand.
The accolades go to the organisers, supporters and sailors for being able to stage and participate in a major regatta. It would have been too easy to acquiesce to the horrific COVID case predictions and compliance requirements and flag away what proved to be a highly successful event.
Given the liberal sprinkling of America's Cup surnames through the entry list, it is maybe not surprising that the Championships showed a bit of self-belief can help overcome the impossible. From this regatta, sailors of all families should have learned a lesson from the event that will carry over into future America's Cup and Olympic sailing careers, and life generally.
For full results click here