Posted By: Jonathon ••••••DATE: April 21, 2010

NZ Opti Nationals - Whitianga (Green Fleet 88 entries)
Well we finally got there, it seems like it has been a long time coming.
Day 1
Started with next to no wind and the biggest swell I had ever seen (around 2-3 metres). We headed out on to the course but after sitting around for about two hours they sent us in for lunch and to wait for some breeze.
A light sea breeze filled in after lunch so we headed back out.
We got two races in with the biggest problem being trying to find the top mark in the swell. I got a 4th and a 3rd to finish the day in second place overall.
Day 2
Same as yesterday no breeze in the morning so we just stayed ashore and waited. We raced two races today in similar conditions to yesterday. I won the first one and got a 5th in the second. Overall I had slipped to 3rd on 13pts with the two girls Grace and Kerensa tied on 12pts.
Day 3
A day of wind shifts and big upsets. We sail a triangle course but ended up hard on the wind before the wing mark and flat running on the other reach with a reach when we should have been on the wind to the finish. I picked up a 10th, 26th and a 3rd. But Grace had a 43rd and Kerensa picked up a 27th and a 15th. Scott McKenzie sailed extremely well only adding 7pts to his score all day to lead the regatta. With 7 races completed we were now entitled to drop our worst race so the scores stand at Scott McKenzie 18pts, Me 26pts, Grace Hawtin 31pts and Kerensa Jennings 37pts.
Day 4 (Last day)
Scott's day to have a bad result with a 44th in the last race. Lucky for him he was able to drop it and pick up his previous worst a 7th from day 1 to finish the regatta 1st on 30pts. I had a 10th and a 2nd today to finish up 2nd overall on 38pts, 3rd Grace Hawtin 43pts and Kerensa 4th on 48pts. My club mates Sebastian Jones and Joseph Gibb-Pearson finished 6th and 9th overall. Joseph had a really good last half to the regatta with a 4/6/2/10 result for the last 4 races.
I will be moving to Open for next season so we will see how I go. The Nationals next year are to be held at my own club, Wakatere on the Northshore in Auckland NZ.