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Tauranga is known as one of the most challenging places to sail and competitors at the Zespri AIMS Games got first-hand experience of it over the last few days.
Gusts in excess of 25 knots and bitterly cold temperatures made life difficult for many of the 80 competitors across the Optimist and Open Skiff fleets and that was before Tauranga's famed tidal flow came into the equation.
A large number of sailors carried a UFD on their scorecard for being over the start line early as they struggled to gauge the strength of the tide and one Optimist competitor even picked up four consecutive UFDs to start their regatta.
Despite all the challenges, the regatta proved an overwhelming success and was a welcome addition to the calendar after the last two were cancelled due to Covid-19.
"The kids had an absolute ball," said Yachting New Zealand regional development manager Kelly Mulcahy, who was on hand for the regatta. "One thing that struck me was that the kids were so excited to be at the regatta again.
"The AIMS Games always has a different feel to it and there aren't many occasions sailors get to represent their schools."
Murrays Bay Intermediate had their name etched on the AIMS Cup again as the top school.
They also had the top Optimist sailor overall, with Nathan Soper narrowly finishing ahead of Nelsen Meacham (St Kentigern School) and Aaran Begic (Murrays Bay).
It was just as tight in the overall girl's standings, with Bella Jenkins (Ponsonby Intermediate) finishing three points ahead of Charlotte Handley (Murrays Bay) and Greta Hutton (Murrays Bay) third.
It was a lot more clearcut in the overall standings in the Open Skiff fleet, with Keaton Lay (Kings School Remuera) finishing 18 points ahead of Harry Jameson (Taradale Intermediate School). Orlando Botha (Kingsway School) was one point behind in third.
Valentina Gladiadis (Whangaparoa College) took out the girl's Open Skiff title.
The winter blast that hit the country on Monday made life challenging for both competitors and race management, but they whipped through the races to get the children on shore as quickly as possible.
"Everyone loved the short races of about 30 minutes," Mulcahy said, "and on two of the days they were off the water by 1.30pm which meant they could go and support their school mates in other sports.
"The Tauranga Yacht and Power Boat Club did another amazing job organising the event and their toasty sandwiches were a huge hit. A special thanks to club manager Lynne Whittaker who played a leading hand in organising the regatta."
Yachting New Zealand's new coach development manager Kirsten Moratz was also on hand to take the sailors through a rules session when racing was delayed due to a lack of wind one morning.
It's fair to say every sailor would have gone home having learned a lot.
Results and standings from the sailing at the Zespri AIMS Games hosted by the Tauranga Yacht and Power Boat Club:
Optimist (59 boats)
AIMS Cup
1st: Murrays Bay Intermediate
Year 7 boys
1st: Nathan Soper (Murrays Bay Intermediate) 1 1 1 4 2 2 1 2 (32 UFD) 14 points
2nd: Matteo Barker (St Kentigern School) 4 2 3 (30 UFD) 5 4 12 5 11 - 46 pts
3rd: Ekhi De Jager (Hereworth School) 5 9 6 6 8 5 (18) 17 4 - 60 pts
Year 7 girls
1st: Charlotte Handley (Murrays Bay) 6 6 5 1 5 4 11 (15) 2 - 40 pts
2nd: Greta Hutton (Murrays Bay) 7 4 7 7 7 6 (14) 14 9 - 61 pts
3rd: Holly Robson (Bucklands Beach Intermediate) 14 6 11 3 13 12 (28) 24 17 - 100 pts
Year 8 girls
1st: Bella Jenkins (Ponsonby Intermediate) 3 3 4 (30 UFD) 3 3 4 3 14 - 37 pts
2nd: Jess Bettany (Murrays Bay) 12 8 8 14 13 11 17 (18) 16 - 99 pts
3rd: Beatrix Muir (St Cuthbert's College) 10 11 10 11 27 SCP 12 21 (28) 25 - 127 pts
Year 8 boys
1st: Nelsen Meacham (St Kentigern) 2 1 1 2 2 1 7 (13) 1 - 17 pts
2nd: Arran Begic (Murrays Bay) 1 2 3 (5) 3 2 3 1 5 - 20 pts
3rd: Arthur Rebbeck (Kristin School) 2 (30 UFD) 5 1 1 1 2 6 3 - 21 pts
Open Skiff (21 boats)
Boys
1st: Keaton Lay (Kings School Remuera) 1 3 (22 UFD) 1 7 3 1 1 2 - 19 pts
2nd: Harry Jameson (Taradale Intermediate School) 4 (22 DNC) 3 9 2 1 7 4 7 - 37 pts
3rd: Orlando Botha (Kingsway School) (22 UFD) 1 22 UFD 2 1 2 3 3 3 - 38 pts
Girls
1st: Valentina Gladiadis (Whangaparoa College) 3 (22 UFD) 5 5 8 8 11 9 8 - 60 pts
2nd: Paige Norris (Brookby School) (22 RET) 22 RET 22 RET 18 16 15 15 13 22 DNC - 143 pts
3rd: Olivia Frewin (Brookby School) (22 RET) 22 RET 22 RET 19 20 22 DNC 22 RET 22 RET 22 RET - 171 pts
