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The Young 88 national championships are set to be the biggest in a decade with 18 boats entered - including some of the country's most seasoned sailors and brightest rising stars.
The regatta takes place this weekend (March 16-17) and will be hosted by Bucklands Beach Yacht Club.
"Entry numbers serve as a bellwether for the health of the class and things are looking good with 2024’s 18 entries the best seen since 2014," class association president Mike Leyland said.
But while the fleet is big and will likely be competitive, they will all have their work cut out to beat Dangerzone.
The Harry Thurston-helmed boat has been unstoppable so far this year, winning all three major events in 2024.
This includes the Bay of Islands Sailing Week in January, the Young 88 Auckland championships in February and the North Sails Young 88 Southern Championships at the start of the month.
Dangerzone is also the defending champion heading into the weekend, after comfortably beating Karyn Drummond on Flash Gordon at last year's nationals.
Drummond returns on Flash Gordon, attempting to claim national honours for the first time since 2015, while Sally Garrett and crew are on a roll after winning the Flying 15 national championships in Wanaka in February. Garrett has borrowed James Hall’s class champs boat Split Decision.
Flash Gordon will attempt to win a first nationals since 2015. Photo / Live Sail Die
"We also have plenty of recent refurbs with unknown pedigrees like John and Will Cobb’s Grey Goose and Mark Nicholl’s Fatal Attraction," Leyland added.
Also in action at the weekend will be 20-year-old Josh Hyde (Sweeney Todd), fresh from winning a second consecutive Youth International Match Racing Cup with his Waitemata Racing crew, and the ever-improving Babe (Gavin Haslip).
According to Leyland, some crew members are still wanted to fill last-minute gaps for the nationals.
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