Light morning winds built to afternoon sea breezes on all three race days, making the sailing both tactical and enjoyable. A total of 92 crews entered this year, including two divisions hosting their national championships: the 10-strong Flying Fifteen fleet and the hotly contested Sports Boat fleet.
In a first for the regatta, crews from the British Royal Navy and the Royal New Zealand Navy lined up against each other in Chico 40s following a team exercise to deliver the boats up the coast from Auckland. The UK’s Mako II, helmed by Lieutenant Emma Barry, triumphed over New Zealand’s Manga II, securing second place in their division and earning Emma one of the SheSails NZ Top Female Helm trophies. The division was won by local Opua boat The Racoon, a Shaw 550 helmed by Paul Smith.
The Flying Fifteen is the biggest one-design keelboat fleet in the world. The fleet offers tight-knit racing – one of the races during Bay of Islands Sailing Week finished within just one minute and twenty seconds.
More memorable performances across the fleets included domination from Shaw 7 Angry Dragon in the Sports Boat division, helmed by brothers Tom and Richard Kiff, also clinching their national title.
In the Mount Gay Young 88 division, Young Magic, helmed by Matthew Mason, secured a decisive victory with an almost clean sweep of the races.
In the North Sails Division A, the Bakewell-White 52 Wired claimed line honours. Mike Sanderson’s Shaw 35 Rehab won on handicap.
In the non-spinnaker division, it was Elliott 1850 Zindibar taking line honours.
Regatta Chairman Ian Clouston was pleased with how the week unfolded. “The feedback has been so encouraging. That’s exactly why we do this,” Clouston said.
Regatta organisers extend their gratitude to the sponsors who made the 2025 edition such a success.
Race results: www.bayofislandssailingweek.org.nz/results
