You are here: okdia.org > reports & results > new zealand results > nationals 20

New Zealand, 2020 Northland Championship

Whangaruru SC, Oakura

26 - 27 September

By Simon Probert.

Fotos on Flickr

12 sailors gathered in Oakura for the 6th edition of the OK Northland champs this year, with other sailing regattas and school holidays meaning a few regulars had other commitments.

Travis and Rob and the crew at the Whangaruru SC provided their usual warm welcome for the sailors and this year were also joined by an enthusiastic group of Farr3.7 sailors.

The forecast was for warm sunny conditions with a 10-15 Knott Northerly wind that would build during the day and a scary wet forecast for Sunday, so the race committee made the smart decision to stack the racing on Saturday and both classes completed 6 races as and decided to call it a day so no racing on Sunday meant everyone could enjoy the night on Saturday.

Race 1 was won from start to finish by Thomas Olds charging off the pin end and (setting the tone for the day) picking up a nice left hand shift and that was all she wrote. Rod was second and Probie in 3rd.

Race 2 and Rod reversed the finishing order with what became the order of the day, start well and dominate the left side of the short first beat. If you could get round first then catch a few waves on the long downwind it was a big advantage. Thomas took 2nd from Perrow.

Race 3 saw Probie get his revenge and lead from start to finish by owning the boat and keeping Thomas and Rod pinned in the left. Hoogenboom came through for 3rd.

Race 4 and the breeze was building in a few rain squalls and Rod and Perrow had legs on everyone, again dominating the left to lead all the way round. It was a close battle with one small mistake by Rod at the final turning mark allowing Perrow through for the win with Probie in third.

Race 5 was a copy of race 4 except this time Perrow had the advantage at the top and although pushed hard by Rod won by a few lengths with Probie in third again ahead of tiring fleet.

Thankfully race 6 saw the breeze ease back to 10-12 knots and everyone rest their legs a little. Once again it was the Perrow and Rod show with Perrow taking the honours and Rod in second with Thomas remembering what to do and finishing 3rd.

Final results were Rod as Northland champ from Perrow by 1 point and Probie in third followed by Thomas 4th, Hoogenboom 5th, Sean Cleary on his first trip North in 6th, Phil R and Mike Shannon tied for 7th. Dean Coleman in 9th, Phil Coveny & Tony Bierre tied in 10th and Guppy another welcome newcomer in 12th.

Stunning weather, a steady warm northerly wind and even warmer welcome from everyone in Oakura made another classic Northland champs. It’s a fantastic event on the OK calendar in an awesome location and treasured by the fleet. Hoping for better numbers next year.

2020 Northland Championship - Results
#Helm NameSailNoR1R2R3R4R5R6TotalNett
1Rod DavisNZL 592212222119
2Mark PerrowNZL 5264341111410
3Simon ProbertNZL 5653413341814
4Thomas OldsNZL 5461255632216
5Dave HoogenboomNZL 5637537553225
6Sean ClearyNZL 4786786463729
7Dean ColemanNZL 56851179784736
8Phil RzepeckyNZL 5749668974536
9Michael ShannonNZL 53688948124937
10Martin DouglasNZL 5861012101010116351
11Tony BierreNZL 55012913121196653
12Phil CovneyNZL 5691110111112106553
13Graham LambertNZL 4751313121314147965

DNF, DNC, DSQ etc : 14pts