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The North Sails Young 88 Southern Champs were held recently in the spectacular Akaroa Harbour completing the big two weeks of Young 88 racing.
A solid 13-boat fleet came together to battle it out over the two-day regatta in conditions ranging from light airs and sunshine through to 30 knots and less than 100m visibility.
It came hard on the heels of last month's Young 88 national championships in Auckland taken out by Dean Barker and his crew on Danger Zone.
Harry Thurston finished third at the nationals on Undercover and travelled to the Southern Champs as defending champion.
He borrowed Eye Spy from new owner Pip McGregor for the regatta and also had a few different crew members from the previous year due to Covid-19.
The boat and crew got into its work as the regatta progressed, improving from third in the first race to finish with two wins. It meant they narrowly took out the title from Craig Edwards and Flying Machine with Richard Bicknell and Riot third.
The first day of racing brought an ominous forecast and challenging conditions with a building southerly and rain.
Race one was a chance for teams to iron out the creases with boats jumping the gun at the start, missing marks, and incurring penalties.
As the second race got underway, the wind built to mid-twenties gusting into the thirties and poor visibility. It became a game of who could find the marks and who was brave enough to hang on and put their kite up downwind.
All was going well for Thurston’s team at the front of the pack until a 'death roll' got the better of them just before the finish, handing the race win and an overnight two-point lead to Flying Machine.
A very chilly day two greeted all the teams. They layered up and went out for the battle that was to ensue.
Riot pulled out a solid win in the first race of the day followed closely by a fighting Eye Spy and Flying Machine. The racing was intense with lead changes in every race and boats throughout the fleet having much closer battles.
At the end of the penultimate race, Eye Spy and Flying Machine were tied on points at the top with Riot only two points behind.
The writing was almost on the wall from the start of the last race as Flying Machine was called OCS and Eye Spy were launched off the line, higher and faster than the fleet.
Despite the nerves, the Eye Spy crew kept it cool, calm and collected, executing a perfect race.
Many thanks to Young 88 Southern Fleet Captain Phil Folter and the Akaroa Yacht Club for a very well-run event and sponsors North Sails and Harken.
Thanks also to the volunteers on and off the water, especially the race management crew led by 23-year-old race officer Brett Armstrong.
The first skipper over 65 years award went to John Wilson on Medium Dry in fourth place with a youth sailor, Rupert Limbrick driving.
- Photo: Akaroa Yacht Club.
