2012 New Zealand National Championships - Day 1
Day one of the 2012 New Zealand National Championships got underway on Thursday 8 March hosted by the Naval Point Club Lyttelton, New Zealand.
It's moving into autumn in New Zealand, but the sun is still shining, and the teams enjoyed great sailing conditions in a beautiful harbour formed from the crater of a long-extinct volcano.
Light! Lyttelton is known for a stiff north-easterly breeze coming down the long narrow harbour or intense but brief south-westerly squalls. So, predictably the regatta started in a light and dying south wester that tested the crews mentally rather than physically.
Working the shifts in a light SW saw the local Charteris Bay Yacht Club crew of Jayvee Buchanan/Matt Morrison first across the line in the opening race of the Championships. Race 2 started light, and was definitely a race of two halves - with the wind switching from 4 knots south-westlery to a 6 knots north-easterly half way through the race. Buchanan/Morrison saw their early lead trimmed back but kept their concentration up to finish first.
Race 3 was contested in a steady 6-7 knot north-easterly and won by Erica Dawson/Ellie Copeland from Murray's Bay and Wakatere Sailing Clubs in Auckland, and the winners of February's 420 ISAF Graded Sail Auckland Regatta.
Lyttelton is the port for the city of Christchurch, both of which were badly damaged in a series of earthquakes in 2010 and 2011. Shaken, but not stirred, the yacht club at Naval Point is one of the few entertainment venues still standing in the port and are proving great hosts for what's shaping up to be a really interesting regatta with twelve races planned over four days and weather forcasts ranging from light to heavy.
Racing continues through until Sunday 11 March, with 12 races scheduled.
Results after 3 Races
| Pos | SailNo | Crew | R1 | R2 | R3 | Pts |
| 1 | 51929 | Jayvee Buchannan/Matthew Morrison | 1 | 1 | 2 | 4 |
| 2 | 52577 | Erica Dawson/Ellie Copeland | 4 | 6 | 1 | 11 |
| 3 | 52358 | Sam Lee/Sam Thomas | 2 | 3 | 6 | 11 |
| 4 | 52297 | Layton Hern/Sam Herron | 3 | 4 | 5 | 12 |
| 5 | 52362 | Olivia Macky/Genivive Saunders | 6 | 8 | 7 | 21 |
| 6 | 54589 | Sam Barnett/Ben Caundle | 7 | 2 | 13 | 22 |
| 7 | 51926 | Charlotte Corston/Charles Corston | 9 | 10 | 3 | 22 |
| 8 | 52360 | Taylor Balogh/Mike Anderson | 8 | 5 | 9 | 22 |
| 9 | 52580 | William Linkhorn/Alex Wotton | 10 | 13 | 4 | 27 |
| 10 | 52576 | Josie Dawber/Ali Nightingale | 11 | 7 | 10 | 28 |
| 11 | 53928 | Amanda Norris/Cullen Leroy | 12 | 9 | 8 | 29 |
| 12 | 53920 | Taylor Burn/Oscar Rorvik | 5 | 11 | 15 | 31 |
| 13 | 5271 | Eliza Wilkinson/Ella Hyatt-Brown | 14 | 14 | 12 | 40 |
| 14 | 51641 | Russell Wilson/George Novis | 15 | 12 | 14 | 41 |
| 15 | 51849 | Rosa Hill/Emma Stenhouse | 16 | 16 | 11 | 43 |
| 16 | 51850 | Holly Harris/Fenella Bowater | 13 | 15 | 16 | 44 |
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Top Image: Jayvee Buchanan/Matt Morrison © Event Media
