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This year's theme was resilience and it was an appropriate one for most who took part in the Sir Peter Blake Regatta at the Torbay Sailing Club over the weekend.
Resilience is a skill every sailor needs, at whatever level, and it's something everyone has required in 2020. The conditions were mostly kind, with fine weather, although the winds were incredibly shifty which proved challenging.
For many, the Sir Peter Blake Regatta is the first major regatta they have sailed in and that was highlighted by the fact the Optimist green fleet was the largest of all the classes with 72 entries.
Overall, there were 335 entries across 13 classes and close to 400 sailors, which required a lot of organising by multiple people, including Yachting New Zealand staff.
"I know how much time the Yachting New Zealand regional support officers put into events like this to ensure they run so smoothly so I really appreciate their efforts," Yachting New Zealand chief executive David Abercrombie said.
George Lee-Rush (Wakatere Boating Club) added his name to an illustrious list who have won the Sir Peter Blake Memorial Trophy when he was judged to be regatta's outstanding sailor across all classes and all age groups.
Lee-Rush and Josh Schon were second in the 29er fleet, winning all three races on day 2.
Previous winners of the Sir Peter Blake Memorial Trophy have included Peter Burling, Jo Aleh, Sam Meech and Dan Willcox.
The Optimist open class, with 63 entries, was the closest fleet with only two points separating the top three. Cameron Brown (Wakatere) won the last race to edge William Mason (Wakatere) and Oli Stone (Kohimarama Yacht Club).
A new award was presented this year, with P Class sailor Sam Davies collecting the David Barnes Trophy for showing perseverance when his mast came unstuck but managing to massage his boat to the finish and then sail back to the shore despite offers of assistance.
Mike Kelly was awarded the Peter Montgomery Trophy for his outstanding contribution to the sport.
The Torbay Sailing Club were also attempting to achieve gold status under the Sailors for the Sea clean regattas programme.
You can find a full rundown of results from all three courses here.
- Photo: Yachting New Zealand.
