By Phil Folter – Young 88 Association

April 9^th - 11^th saw the getting together of fifteen Southern Young 88s; 1 Wellington, 2 Akaroa, 1 Auckland crew and 11 from Christchurch, converging in the Te Ana Marina Lyttleton for the Southern Champs with Naval Point Club as the Organising authority.

The results speak for themselves; Akaroa boat “One Way” with ex team New Zealander Harry Thurston helming and a bunch of his friends “helping” (in his words) showed the fleet a clean pair of heels. Boat speed off the line and great crew work made their skill obvious and  hard to beat a 1^st place discard as a result! It is worth noting that One Way has pedigree and was the winner of the first two Young 88 National Champs in 1986 and 1987 helmed by another Harry …… Dodson.

In second place Flying Machine with Craig Edwards and crew, defending the trophy for the 4^th year in a row.

Third place went to First Class with Rick Halifax sailing a blinder with a crew that are one hundred percent supportive of the boat.

Another boat doing very well, was the winner of the Gold Card Trophy (over 65 helming / owner) was Full Circle with Southern Fleet Captain Phil Folter on the handlebars.

There was a big build up this year with a strategy of fleet evolution not revolution and a focus on sail measurement being encouraged by the national body. This proved interesting, and the unveiling of under sized sails may bring about some new purchases in the near future.

Safety and basic rule checks were also completed. The new South Island deputy measurer Aaron Duncan was happy with what he saw. In saying that he needs a big thanks as this was his first involvement with the class and he is happy to come back.

Friday evening was registration and meet and greet where every boat was welcomed to the occasion.

Saturday was predicted 25 knots plus at 9am with increasing velocity and reality delivered. Race Officer Bill Ruske postponed for a couple of hours just to confirm the trend. 1pm saw us still in similar conditions. Consensus was delay to morning when weather was to be better.

An offer from local on water judges (thanks Milton Bloomfield) saw an impromptu session on rules to fill in the afternoon.

Sunday saw the day became a cracker. The plan was 5 races, and it was nailed.

Wind and sun, the ingredients for great racing appeared right on time for a 10am start. The day stayed light and shifty making racing challenging.

In conclusion, the whole fleet in the South has shifted up a gear. There should be some immensely proud owners of their crew and support teams. Special thanks to the sponsors and volunteers for helping to make another great event.

Results