Issue date
It's believed to be the largest multi-class centre board regatta in the world but it's not the only thing that makes the Sir Peter Blake Regatta so memorable for those who participate.
For many, it's the first major regatta they have sailed in and that's highlighted by the fact the Optimist green fleet is usually the largest of all the classes.
Last year 113 took part in the green fleet, helping bump the numbers up to record levels with 492 competitors in 460 boats. Close to 600 sailors and 500 boats are expected this year, which is a big jump from the first Sir Peter Blake Regatta, which started in 2002 with about 70 entrants.
This year's event will take place at the Torbay Sailing Club on December 1-2 and will feature some of the world's best sailors. Olympic and four-time world 49er champions and America's Cup winners Peter Burling and Blair Tuke will open proceedings and Volvo Ocean Race winners Daryl Wislang and Stu Bannatyne will be on hand for prizegiving.
Many youngsters will be hoping to get name on the Sir Peter Blake Memorial Trophy, which is awarded to the outstanding sailor of the weekend. Previous winners have included Burling (2005), Jo Aleh (2004) and Josh Armit (2015) and last year it was awarded to two sailors for the first time - Caleb Armit (Starling) and Josh Hyde (Optimist open).
The overriding objective of the regatta, though, is fun, along with other values that were important to Blake like the environment, team, leadership and taking on a challenge.
"Since that first regatta in 2002, we have tried to stay true to the ethos of the original concept," said Mark Orams, who is vice-patron at the Torbay Sailing Club and who was one of the individuals behind the first regatta, "That is to honour the memory of Peter, inspire children to be involved in the sport for life, learn about caring for the sea, adventuring and exploring and showing that it's possible to make a career out of the sport and other industries associated with sailing."
The club now want to develop the environmental sustainability message that Blake worked so hard to spread towards the end of his life. They started that with their 'war on straws' message last year and want to develop that this year with a concerted push against single-use plastics.
They will also use the special water-filling stations employed at the Auckland stopover of this year's Volvo Ocean Race,
"For us as a club and a regatta, we want to develop that sustainability and responsibility angle and provide some leadership for other clubs in New Zealand," Orams said. "We want to actually be living the values that Peter lived by."
