Issue date
Lake Taupo Yacht club hosted Sailability sailors for the 6th time and elicited a field of 12 sailors in both the Hansa Liberty and 303 classes.
Competitors from Auckland Napier, Rotorua, Wellington and Waitara arrived on a sunny Friday evening. With collaboration and cooperation everyone managed a quick and efficient set up. Boats were rigged, launched and moored at Taupo wharf by 7pm.
Saturday morning dawned bright and registering a chilly at 4 degrees at 7am. The lake was glassy and calm.
Briefing took place at 9.45am and indications were to expect delays to the start of racing.
The AP flag was lowered at around 11am and The Sailability fleet left the dock shortly thereafter. 6x Liberty’s and 4 x 303s were towed out of the river to do battle.
Our races were sailed in rotation with the Starlings and the Optimist fleets.
On Saturday we completed 3 races in light winds with the 3rd race being over a shortened course to get it completed.
At the end of the day the Liberty fleet rankings were Annabelle Tye leading on 6 points, John Buchanan on 7 points and Dennis Hebberly on 8 points.
In the 303s Katy Kenah held a comfortable lead over Paul Freeman, Don McGowan and Bob Knox.
On Sunday morning similar conditions prevailed for the first 2 races but the winds picked up late morning for the final 2 races of the regatta.
Final places in the Liberty fleet were John Buchanan 9pts, Annabelle Tye 10pts and Dennis Hebberly 20pts
Mackenzie Louise Kench earned a creditable 5th in her 1st regatta.
The 303 fleet was won by Katy Kenah, 2nd place was Paul Freeman and 3rd was Bob McGowan.
The Taupo Yacht club was as welcoming and supportive as always and made it a positive and pleasant experience for all Sailability competitors and their supporters. Sailability wishes to offer a big thank you to the ROs for challenging courses in the variable conditions. We look forward to returning with a larger fleet of Sailability competitors in 2017
