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They "bicker like old ladies" and have been the focus of competitors' scrutiny for much of the past decade, yet Craig Satterthwaite and Bart Bearda remain a seemingly unstoppable force in New Zealand sailing.
The Auckland pair have been one of the most dominant domestic sailing duos in recent times, winning nine of the last 10 national titles in the Elliott 5.9 class - all aboard R+R - a run interrupted partly by a mathematical mishap at the 2023 edition.
They stormed to victory by 11 points at this year's event at Marsden Cove; winning six consecutive races to move to within one victory of double-digit crowns.
It's a winning streak that has even Satterthwaite scratching his head.
"I guess, looking from the outside, one reason [for the success] could be that we've always tried to sail our boat as flat as possible even though people might say that's just because Bart and I are both fat," Satterthwaite chuckles.
"Seriously, though - there are no secrets. People have been crawling over our boat and measuring it for the last eight or so years."
They have owned R+R since 2013, when the boat was "basically just hull and decks", Satterthwaite says.
"Bart and I made the mast and we put it all together. They're pretty simple boats and when we first launched R+R, there were a few control lines that were different, but these days they're all pretty similar.
"We have had some really good crew over the years, too. Matt Kelway has won a couple of titles with us, and Matt Mitchell has been with us from the start and has three wins. David Rolfe sailed with us this year. He's an old mate I raced around the world with on Swedish Match in the 1997-1998 Whitbread Round the World race when we were nippers."
Craig Satterthwaite (centre, left) and Bart Bearda (centre, right) after winning the 2024 Elliott 5.9 national championships. Photos / Supplied
A close working relationship with North Sails has also helped.
"It took us a year or so to get organised, but we've been lucky to have really good sails. We were some of the first to have access to North's 3Di [composite sail technology] and it has changed the way we sail. Where, previously, we were tuning the rig the whole time according to the conditions, we're now probably doing about half as much," he explains.
"Others have started catching up, partly because North Sails now have a pretty comprehensive tuning guide from us, which is available to everyone."
It hasn't stopped Satterthwaite and Bearda from going on a run that has been unrivalled in the popular class. Since 1985, only three other 5.9s have won more than three national titles – with Zoot Allures and BRZO on four each and Slam Dunk on five.
A glaring omission on R+R's list of accolades is the defeat to Nick Bastow's Shapeshifter at last year's nationals at Queen Charlotte Yacht Club.
Shapeshifter won the title by a single point in the last of 12 races.
"It was a very shifty venue, and we just missed a couple of shifts while Nick and his crew sailed really well," Satterthwaite says.
"We had actually thought we were tied with them but, as it turns out, I couldn't count, and we had lost by one point."
R+R has won nine of the last 10 national champs. Photos / Supplied
His friendship with Bearda started in the early 1990s when they were introduced to the Elliott 5.9 as part of the Royal New Zealand Yacht Squadron's youth programme.
They both sailed professionally - including in several America's Cups, round-the-worlds, and Sydney to Hobart races - before deciding to join forces again in the one-design trailer yacht when they had "had enough of travelling the world sailing boats".
"We wanted to spend more time with the family and have a life and R+R became a hobby for Bart and me,” Satterthwaite says.
"We're really good mates. We both live on the North Shore, and we love to catch up and have a good chat. We bicker like old ladies on the boat and we're always trying to wind each other up but it's great fun."
They changed the boat's name a few years ago after establishing their respective businesses - Satterthwaite owns Kitchen Link and Bearda NZ Rigging.
"The boat used to be called Rough & Reddy, as we both have red hair and some people may have called us a bit rough back in the day," Satterthwaite laughs.
"I've got a kitchen manufacturing company and Bart has a pretty high-quality mast-making facility and we felt like we needed to change our tune a bit now that we're pretending to be businessmen."
Both have been impressed with the quality of the Elliott 5.9 class in recent times.
"It comes and goes but at the last nationals, there were a couple of pro athletes and other guys scattered through the class who have heaps of experience, and who have been sailing those boats for years.
"They know how to make those boats go fast and this year there were five boats who were as fast as us for maybe 98 per cent of the time. It was just that one or two per cent that we needed to beat them by."
They're hoping to maintain that same edge at what could be their last national champs next year.
"We're still enjoying the class, but my daughter told me the other day that our 10th win will be our last nationals," Satterthwaite says.
"We'll have to see about that."
