Issue date
Napier turned on fine weather and light winds for the third regatta of the Elliott E5.9 Traveller Series which saw five different race winners across the 10 races completed.
Tight racing in the one-design fleet was again a feature, with multiple lead changes in any given race.
R+R (Craig Satherwaite, Richard Bearda and Gen Richardson) again proved to be the most consistent and led after day one and well into day two. However, they didn't start the last three races and this provided the opportunity for other boats to claim the overall result.
The consistent Slam Dunk (Stu Clarke, Stu Malloy and Cam Horne) eventually took the overall win with Napier boat Bloodline (Gavin Earle, Gareth Howard and Mike Fenwick) showing improved form to slot into second ahead of R+R.
Other race winners included Carla Bennett who has recently taken over ownership of Retro. They followed their win in race eight with a strong second in race nine to clearly mark their potential as they settled into the new boat.
The ever-present Dave Cochran sailing Zoot Allures picked up two race wins to slot into fourth overall while the Napier Youth Team on Magpie, sailing four-up as part of the crew weight trial, were unlucky to miss out on a race win.
Having led at every mark, they relinquished the lead on the final leg. This young crew clearly benefited from the tight racing provided by the one-design fleet and it is pleasing to see that plans are underway to see if they can compete in the next Traveller Series event.
The Napier Sailing Club provided outstanding facilities and the race team was well led by PRO Andrew Kearney. Andrew’s team did a great job getting all 10 races away in what was potentially marginal conditions, with light and shifty winds a feature of the weekend.
The whole fleet also enjoyed the social side of the regatta with a meal at the club restaurant on Friday night and a BBQ burger night on Saturday while watching the rugby on the big screen. As always, it was good to see supporters and family joining crews for these off-water social gatherings.
There is currently very strong interest in the Elliott 5.9 class with a total of 19 boats competing in this year's Traveller Series.
On top of that, any boats on the market are selling well and the class has welcomed a number of new crew into the fleet. With 15-plus boats expected at Bucklands Beach for the next Traveller Series event, this should be one of the strongest and competitive Traveller Series events for some time.
Next Events:
Aug 15-15: Traveller Series # 4 - Bucklands Beach Yacht Club
Sept 25-26: Traveller Series # 5 - Sandspit Yacht Club
Results and standings from the Elliott 5.9 Traveller Series at the Napier Sailing Club recently:
1st: Slam Dunk - 1 4 2 4 3 2 3 5 OCS 1
2nd: Bloodline - 6 1 4 7 4 4 2 4 4 2
3rd: R+R - 2 2 1 1 2 1 1 DNC DNC DNC
Full results here and pictures here
For more information on the Elliott 5.9 Class Association visit www.e59.org.nz
