Auckland Championships 2016

Fine weather and breezes up and down the range tested a very close fleet for the 2016 Auckland Championships, sailed over two nights this week on the Waitemata.  Andrew Wills' game-plan aboard Feng Shui (1348) was to 'stay out of trouble' and the results might suggest that we was largely untroubled by the competition, posting a clean sweep of 5 bullets to take the Auckland Perpetual Trophy.

In reality, Feng Shui had to work hard for the win:  the racing was exceptionally close on every leg and at every mark and on a number of occasions, Feng Shui had to claw her way to the front from mid-fleet.

Early breakages sadly reduced numbers down to 10 competitors, but on the short course off Westhaven the mark-roundings were crowded - albeit largely orderly.  It was very encouraging to see fair play throughout, with boats doing their turns when required.

Phil Pryde's Split Decisions (914) made a welcome return to take second place overall with 4 top-three finishes, while  defending Auckland Champion, Lincoln Fraser had to be content with third place.

You can re-live the triumphs and disasters via TRACKING here.

Many thanks to the RNZYS Race Committee for an excellent series - and for their perseverance on Tuesday evening when a dragging anchor delayed proceedings. 

Results are here