Williams masters wind for win

What have Piracy, Alchemy and Guano got in common? Or, come to that, Sticky Fingers, Blue Tack and Shamrock?

If you were sailing in Sunday's Meridian Aviemore Classic on the Waitaki hydro lake you would know. These were just a handful of the 80 or so trailer yachts that competed in New Zealand's largest event of its kind.

Blue skies and a brisk westerly breeze graced the Timaru Yacht and Power Boat Club-organised (TYPBC) race, making for a close contest.

The fastest yacht home was Reprieve, an Elder 780 skippered by Otago Trailer Yacht Squadron's Richard Hawkins, which did the two-laps-of-the-lake triangular course in 2 hours 45 minutes.

However, Hawkins was pipped on the podium by Vince Williams of Naval Point, Christchurch, who's Noelex 22 Piracy had the fastest time on handicap.

"I'd like to thank my crew, John Stalker and Chris Price, who can gybe and tack like nobody else," Williams said.

Ivan Stevenson, Rear Commodore of TYPBC's Trailer Yacht section, said it was the second year in succession Williams had won.

"That's been done before but if he can do it again next year that would be a first. He's one of the top guns."

Hawkins, a two-times rating winner himself, said vying with such talent was one of the attractions, but the Classic catered for all classes of yacht and helmsmen.

"It's a great social occasion and it's good to get together with most of the top yachties in the South Island.

"But whoever comes here always finds someone to race with, whether you're at the back or the front of the fleet. That's what's so good about it."

And that was true of Sunday's race as TYPBC's Charlie Orton won a closely fought four-way battle towards the rear of the fleet to take the Bill Burgess Memorial Trophy for fastest small yacht home with a time of 5hrs 10 mins, corrected to 3hrs 21mins on rating.

Stevenson said Orton felt "a bit embarrassed" about the win in light of his role as results officer for the weekend.

"But I saw Charlie out there belting round in that northwesterly with the best of them."

Sunday's conditions – with a 10-15 knot warm westerly – were some of the best in the race's 21-year history.

"This time last weekend when we were setting up it was 6 degrees with a strong southeasterly up here.

You didn't even want to look at a lake, let alone sail on it."

- Herald correspondent

- © Fairfax NZ News