Jack Tar Auckland Regatta - Day 2 brings carnage and champagne sailing

by Andrew Delves - RNZYS/Sail-World.com/nz on 19 Mar 2016 It was a windy day on both courses today as the Jack Tar Auckland Regatta got into full flight for all divisions, causing carnage for some and champagne sailing for the majority of the fleets.

Once again the A Division fleet had a spectacular day on the water in really blowy conditions, with nine 50+ footers taking to the water off Buckland’s Beach. Viento 2 has taken the early lead after a superb day on the water for skipper Connell McLaren. After winning the first race of the day, they backed it up by winning the second race and then claimed third in the final race to finish the day on top of the PHRF standings.

Yesterday’s Southern Cross Sprint Series winners Beau Geste were also back out there showing their skills today, notching up a third and two second place finishes to end up second on PHRF after the four races sailed today. Beau Geste took line honours in each race.

David Nathan's V5 was the other big winner in the top division, coming back from a slow first two races to snatch a third and a first to finish the day in third place on PHRF – a fantastic result for the V5 crew. Harry Dodson's Mayhem weren’t far off either, winning Race 3 which has left them in fourth heading into Sunday's racing. The line results see Beau Geste (1st), Viento 2 (2nd) and Mayhem (3rd) being rewarded for sailing the conditions beautifully.

Division B, also sailed on the PIC course off the Eastern Beaches, was dominated today by Steve Purton's Ice Breaker.

Ice Breaker comfortably won three guns and nabbed one-second place finish, leaving them first overall on PHRF and Line, well and truly making them the team to beat on Sunday. Kaimai Express, helmed by Wayne Eaton from Tauranga Yacht & Powerboat Club, had a stellar day – winning one race and also taking out two second place finishes which has placed them second behind Ice Breaker in the handicap standings. Division B is rounded out by Sun Fast 3600 Racing helmed by Josh Tucker, with two third places and one second, they sit third on PHRF.

The line results see Ice Breaker at the top, followed by Anarchy and then Bull Rush – both of whom are also very close to getting onto the PHRF podium and will be looking for some better finishes tomorrow to bump them up the order.

It was a tough day for the open multi hulls who shared the course with A & B Division, as only three of the entrants made it out to the course for today’s racing. Marwin Racing Team, a GC32 helmed by Flavio Marazzi from the Bay of Islands Yacht Club, are the clear winners of the day with three wins and a third place finish leaving them at the top. However, the day was marred by an unfortunate capsize for Simon Hull's Team Vodafone GC32, causing serious damage to their rig and meaning they had to be towed back home upside down. Mike Drummond's Excess is second after day one.

Dirty Deeds sailed by Clive Wright, and his crew leads the 8.5 multihull division class championships after winning the first race. However, they did drop off the pace a bit with a third and two fourth place finishes. Freedom is in second overall and Voom in third – with everything to race for on Sunday.

Division C started with a bang, literally, after Revolution managed to collect the committee boat Te Kouma. Luckily they were able to continue and find themselves in third spot after four races, with Rawhide in second and Perfect Alibi the ones to beat in first.

The Pacific Keelboat Challenge fleet was back into again off Bean Rock in what was another extremely tight day's racing. Sitting in first overnight, Chris Way (RPAYC) let his lead slip today allowing fellow Australian countryman Andy Kearnan (CYCA) to take the top spot before the last four races tomorrow.

The Royal New Zealand Yacht Squadron's Matt Bouzaid sailed well again today on his home harbour, holding down his third spot with two third‘s, a fourth and then a gun in the final race of the day to cement his position.

The Sport Boat division is the largest at this year’s Jack Tar Auckland Regatta (and it also the Class Championships for this division), with 14 starters heading out to Northern Leading beacon for what was an exciting day for spectators and sailors alike. The strong winds provided plenty of capsizes for these small little racers, but it’s Matt Godard's Badonkadonk who leads the day, with Sailing Gallery in second and Chris Hirst's Enigma in third.

With more wind forecast tomorrow and plenty of competition across all divisions, we’re set up for another screamer of a day at the Jack Tar Auckland Regatta 2016.

The Jack Tar Auckland Regatta will resume tomorrow at 0955hrs.

Results are posted at www.aucklandregatta.co.nz or www.rnzys.org.nz/rnzys-events/jack-tar-auckland-regatta