Burgess Regatta

45 sailors, 39 boats, 13 schools represented. Not a bad turn out for these interesting times we live in. The wind let us down. A fitful and unreliable easterly played favours with the fleets. Some sailors seemed to be able to find more ladders than snakes, and others had the opposite experience. Last years winners and perennial favourites Hamilton Boys High School came in second this time, well beated by the St Peters team which boasted 1st Starling, 1st Bic, 2nd Open, 3rd Open, 4th Open to get a combined score of 116.9 points. Overall the day was a test of calmness, careful boat trim, staying in the the spots of wind when they appeared, and avoiding the park ups at the marks. The furthest travelled came from Mercury Bay, and despite the long haul there was hardly a cross word when the car keys went missing leaving 3 boats without access to their centreboards. Fortunately the AA were not too busy, so before the first warning signal for racing, the car had been opened up (it is amazing how they do that), and the keys found inside. Look out for the google drive link with a selection of photos from the day on the HYC Facebook page (thanks Sheridan). The handicapper had an interesting day trying to manage a fleet with 3 P Class, 2 Micron 3, 2 Topaz Race, 1 Feva XL, 1 Sunburst, 1 Fusion. Light and variable winds tend to make a nonsense of a handicappers best efforts because the larger boats don't really get a chance to get moving. Tomorrow and the next day are the HYC Burnsco Regatta. It would be great to see some of the Burgess sailors stick around for our club regatta (especially if we get just a bit more breeze).

John B