Tsunami doesn't deter sailors in final of 2010 BMW Auckland Regatta

The final day of the BMW Auckland Regatta saw some tight battles around a picturesque Hauraki Gulf course today as the front-runners battled to confirm their positions while those still in contention sought to unseat them.


Photography: Ivor Wilkins

In two divisions, the outcome was already sealed and the leaders knew they had done enough in the first two days of racing to ensure they

could not be dislodged. These were Higher Ground (Brian Trubovich) in B Division and Azure (Phil Douglas) in C Division.

Photography: Ivor Wilkins

In the face of tsunami warnings following the devastating earthquake in Chile, the start of racing was delayed for an hour, but in the event there was no further impact on the competition. In Division A, it was all on between Power Play (Ian McBurney) and BMW Yachtsport (Mark Brown), with just 3pts between them. The tightest battle was in the Open Multihull Division, where the top three boats, Taeping (Dave

Andrews), Exodus (Matthew Flynn) and Timberwolf (Tim Willetts) were all tied up on 13pts each, with Taeping clinching the overall win after the last race. A similar situation existed in Division E, where Gladiator (Jeremy Scott) and Tiaoga Iti (Craig Anderson) were tied on 13 pts each, with Candela (James Duke) just half a point further back. Tiaoga Iti came through in the end to top their leaderboard.

Photography: Ivor Wilkins

After the completion of the nine-race schedule, the top three places in the various divisions are as follows (based on provisional results in PHRF for Divisions A-E and General Handicap for the multihulls and Line Honours for the Young 88s):

A Div: Power Play (Ian McBurney), Bullrush (Ant Robinson), BMW Yachtsport (Mark Brown)

B Div: Higher Ground (Brian Trubovich), Pacific Sundance (Bernard Hide), Notorious (Christiaan Arns)

C Div: Azure (Phil Douglas), First By Farr (Andrew Reid), Max Headroom (Phil Yuil/Ross Ardern)

D Div: Cool Change (Gary Kirkland-Smith), Cadibarra 6 (Stephen Davies), Grunty Chicken (Grant McKinnon)

E Div: Tiago Iti (Craig Anderson), Candela (James Duke), Gladiator (Jeremy Scott)

Open multihull: Taeping (Dave Andrews), Timberwolf (Tim Willetts, Exodus (Matthew Flynn)

8.5m multihull: Lucifer (Laurie Jury), Creepy Crawler (Ryan Taylor), Attitude (Shane Bellingham)

Y88: Dangerzone (Grant Turnbull), Slipstream (Phil Robertson/Don Greenaway), Panama Jack (Stefan Goldwater)

Source: Sail-World