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win. Saunders was a beneficiary of Steele’s pursuit of Egnot-Johnson, which allowed him to sneak past a couple of times and claim some important points that surged him into second place overall for the regatta – with Steele ending up in third.

For any yacht club that may have been enough sailing for one month, but not for the RNZYS in our 150th year. The much anticipated Doyle Sails Winter Series enjoyed two superb races in May, with the first taking place on Saturday the 8th. This season the series consists of a huge 100+ entries spread across 11 divisions, ranging from the fast 40R division right through to the majestic classics.

The opening race lived up to the hype, with chilly temperatures, periods of rain and a solid 15-20 knot breeze as the fleet made their way around the track, providing perfect conditions for winter series sailing. Kites were in full flight downwind and boats were nicely heeled on the up-wind stretches of the course.

One highlight in the results included Icebreaker and crew taking the handicap honours in the tightly fought 40R division. Icebreaker with new owner Matt Cole on the helm, beat out the other nine boats to take an

Adding to the early winter action, the RNZYS also hosted the Harken Young 88 Nationals, which followed hot on the heels of the Southern Champs in Lyttleton a week prior. Both events featured a quality fleet of 15 boats, challenging conditions, world class talent, and much fun on the water and off.

The pundits could not agree on the favourite. Would it be three times winner Zane Gifford and the talented crew on Raging Hormones, Team Dean Barker with Jeremy Lomas on the helm on Dangerzone, Nick Gillies and “Team North” on Waka Huia, or Jonny Bell’s heavyweights from the South with John Cutler on the helm of Undercover?

The opening day’s forecast looked fresh but manageable and Race Officer Celia Carson kept the fleet in the “home paddock” south of Rangitoto for a bit more shelter. The breeze built beyond expectation with sustained gusts well over 30 knots.

impressive win in their first outing.

V5, Kaizen, Hysteria, Juniper, Right Angle, Team Sex, Pink Cadillac, North Cert Servers, Attitude and Ariki were the other winners in their respective divisions on race day one.

Two weeks later and we were back into it with Race Day Two of the series, this time in light airs, which made for some very congested mark roundings, great viewing if you were watching from the safety of the media boat, but a bit more hectic if you were in the thick of it.

Proving how close each division really is, and the quality of yachts and sailors taking part, there was a new winner on handicap in every division compared to race day one. Carrera, Wired, Pacific Sundance, No Worries, Princess, Terminator, Crazy Train and Gypsy were the victors - with the MRX, Young 88 and Sport Boat divisions completing three windwardleeward races instead.

Based on the first two races, the remaining seven races in the series are going to be exciting.

All in all, sailors were most definitely the winners in our RNZYS 150th May ‘month of madness’, we can’t wait for what the rest of the year will bring.

Team Barker had a ball winning the 2021 Harken Y88 Nationals

Discretion got the better of valour and AP over A went up. Next day’s forecast promised lighter and more variable conditions, so we headed out to sea, north of Rangitoto. The breeze moved around enough to keep the volunteers busy, and the crews challenged.

Team Barker felt the need for speed so flicked the afterburner switch with Dangerzone posting five firsts, one second and a discard of fifth. “It was great to be back racing in the Y88 class again after so long,” said Barker. I was very fortunate to be able to pull together a number of the guys that I have done so much sailing with over the years, and have a huge amount of fun racing what is still a fantastic and rewarding one design class.

“Even better, to have my daughter and her boyfriend racing with us, even, though I am sure they would be a bit surprised at the banter on board the boat! I am looking forward to racing the boat over the winter."

At the Squadron prizegiving. Commodore Aaron Young made a dedication and a toast in honour of his grandfather and class designer, Jim Young who passed away last year.

First on line went to Dean Barker and crew on Dangerzone. Second and the Tanaka cup for first owner driver went to Nick Gillies on Waka Huia. Third went to Zane Gifford on Raging Hormones.

First Corinthian crew (no pros aboard) and first mixed (at least two of the opposite gender) went to Paul McWilliams on War Machine. First on handicap went to Leigh Miller on Voodoo. The Taylor Trophy for sportsmanship went to Richard Ellis and crew on Inner Circle (boat number one) recognising their persistence, fun and rapid improvement. LIVESAILDIE Photos

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