BMW Auckland Regetta
BMW Auckland Regetta
Winds gusting over 30 knots tested
the competitors in the opening day
of the BMW Auckland
Regatta today and saw one of the hot favourites in
the
open multihull division capsize.
Frantic Drift, skippered
by Olympic sailor Dan Salter with Nathan
Handley and two
up-and-coming Olympic class sailors Blair Tuke and
Peter
Burling on board was flipped coming into the finish of the
opening race.
The yacht ended upside down in the
water. With help from two umpire
boats, Frantic Drift
was righted again. Nobody was injured and the
yacht was
soon under tow back to Westhaven.
"Conditions were
certainly testing," said regatta director Ross
Markwick
of the Royal New Zealand Yacht Squadron. "The sailors had
their hands full in gusty conditions, but we saw some
outstanding
displays of seamanship."
Racing comprised
a course from Northern Leading to Eastern Beach,
followed by windward leewards. Sixty yachts in nine
divisions are
competing in the regatta, which continues
tomorrow and finishes on
Sunday.
Three races were
completed today and the provisional results on
General
Handicap have the following yachts leading their
divisions:
A Div: BMW Yachtsport
B Div: Sure Thing
C Div: Azure
D Div: Cool Change
E Div: Tiago Iti
Open multihull: Taeping
8.5m multihull: Lucifer
Y88: Slipstream III
For full results, please see the event
website:
www.bmwaucklandregatta.co.nz
Racing this
weekend will take place off Northern Leading and Eastern
Beach and will comprise a mix of windward-leeward
courses and harbour
courses. 2010 BMW AUCKLAND
REGATTA
ENDS