23 March 2021
MEDIA RELEASE
Yacht racing returns to Marlborough Sounds this weekend.
With the America’s Cup safely in its cabinet, attention can now turn from Auckland to this weekend in Marlborough Sounds and the first of the other big yacht races of 2021.
The Waikawa Boating Club has been hosting big crowds in their club rooms for the live America’s Cup racing but now suddenly, the conversation in the clubhouse can turn to its own racing. Club Manager, Lisa Delaveau, says ‘Now the America’s Cup has been sorted out, the first of our four big racing events can get started. Since the racing in Auckland has finished, the entries have flooded in and energy has turned to the Race to Tarakohe, which leaves this Friday’.
Delaveau says, ‘The Club has four big racing events during the year, The Race to Tarakohe, Women’s Regatta, Wine Race to Wellington and the New Year Regatta. These events bring in sailors from all over the country and particularly the women’s regatta in September.’
The Race to Tarakohe fleet starts from Motuara Island and will sail overnight to the finish line in Tarakohe, Golden Bay. Sixteen boats have entered the 85 mile overnight adventure which leaves Queen Charlotte Sound, north around the top of D’Urville Island and down into Tasman’s Golden Bay.
Included in the lineup is Wellington based Ben Spencer, owner & skipper of ‘Crewless’, a 30 footer designed in France and built in Tunisia, especially for single handed sailing. Size certainly isn’t everything with Crewless having won closely fought races against much bigger boats including a Volvo 70 in the Coastal Classic and a 50 footer in the Marlborough to Wellington Wine Race.
Ben has been trying to get ‘Crewless’ to the Tarakohe race for the past three editions but weather and COVID have managed to get in his way. This year the weather and pandemic have cleared for a Cook Strait crossing to the start line. Spencer says, ‘the mission of getting to the race, across Cook Strait, is as much an attraction to the race as the race itself.’
While Spencer will be sailing the boat on his own from Wellington to the start in Queen Charlotte Sound, he’ll be racing with another crew member who is flying up from Christchurch for the event.
Fri 26 March – Race to Tarakohe
Sat-Sun 18-19 September – Evolution Sails Women’s Regatta
Fri 15 October – Wineworks Race to Wellington
Sat-Sun 8-9 January 2022 – Giesens New Year Regatta
ENDS
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