The inaugural Lowry Bay 24 Hour Endurance race was held on 8 and 9 April. Three RPNYC boats, Testarossa, Wiseguy and White Cavalier took part.Race start was 12:00 on Saturday in light southerly conditions. Altogether 18 boats lined up on the start line. The first part of the race was a complete circuit of the harbour. After that it was a circuit from the start/finish line off the Seaview pier to Ward Island, Horokiwi, Petone and back to the start/finish line.
Light southerly conditions prevailed throughout the day. After sunset a sweet steady land breeze kicked in and held in throughout the night. The near full moon that was up until 5:00am was a bonus. The relatively short legs on the circuit kept the crews on watch busy. Overnight with 18 boats making their way around the circuit everyone had to be on their toes keeping a careful look out especially at the marks. Predictably the wind died on Sunday morning and we drifted to the end of the race. Several boats, including White Cavalier, dropped their anchors so as not to be taken backwards by the tide and lose distance.
The race was run as 1 division with the scoring being based on total distance traveled adjusted by handicap.
Testarossa took line honours and placed 4th on handicap. White Cavalier and Wiseguy placed 6th and 9th respectively.
The 24 hours was a lot of fun. The relatively short circuit we sailed overnight meant there wasn’t a lot of time spent sitting on the rail. It was good practice running watches and looking out for other boats that appeared like spectres out of the night. The favourable weather conditions were the icing on the cake for a great weekend.
Lowry Bay will be running the race again next year and it would be great to see more RPNYC boats participating.