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A new centreboard venue has been added to the list of clubs taking part in the Ports of Auckland Anniversary Day Regatta on January 27.
The Manly Sailing Club will host the O’Pen Skiff and RS Feva fleets as part of the Anniversary Day regatta, which celebrates the founding of the City of Sails in 1840.
Manly join a further four venues around Auckland that will also host centreboard sailing events as part of the regatta.
The bulk of them will be located at Maraetai Sailing Club, where hundreds of junior and youth sailors are expected to take part in the NZIODA Auckland Championships, the final day of which coincides with the Ports of Auckland Anniversary Day Regatta.
Maraetai will host the Optimist, Optimist green and Optimist white fleets, along with the Starling and 29er fleets.
The Optimist fleets are expected to be by far the biggest component of the Anniversary Regatta in terms of participant numbers. It will also make this one of the biggest events on the Auckland racing calendar, second only to the Sir Peter Blake Regatta.
Sean McRae at Maraetai Sailing Club says incorporating the Ports of Auckland Anniversary Day Regatta adds another dimension for the young sailors taking part, giving them even more motivation to join in and compete.
“For the sailors, being part of the Anniversary Regatta means they’re participating in one of the oldest regattas in the world, which predates the America’s Cup, so there’s the prestige of winning.” he said. “Plus it’s another event where they’re up for awards and recognition, and it’s one of the only amateur sailing events I know of with cash prizes, so that’s something nice for the kids taking part.”
The Takapuna Boating Club are also expecting a large and diverse fleet for the Anniversary weekend championships, with 11 separate dinghy, kite and board sailing classes taking part. The Sea Scouts, Navy Crowns and Sunburst fleets will race at Narrow Neck Beach, while Tamaki Yacht Club will host the Laser, Mistral, Phase II and Finn classes.
Centreboard classes can enter the Ports of Auckland Anniversary Day Regatta via their host club. Full details of clubs and classes taking part can be found on the regatta website at www.regatta.org.nz.
The classics, keelboats and tugboats will compete in the inner Waitemata, and there will be passage races from Mahurangi, Kawau and Rakino, finishing at Westhaven. Entries for these events can be made online now via the website at www.regatta.org.nz/enter.
