P Class: Tauranga Cup will go down to the wire at Plimmerton
by Richard Gladwell, Sail-World.com/nz 7 Jan 2023 16:42 NZDT
The 39 boat P Class fleet are contesting the Tauranga Cup - Plimmerton BC - January 2023 © Roger Johnston
The winner of the 2023 Zhik Tauranga Cup is expected to be decided between three competitors, who are separated by just four points, with two races to be sailed at Plimmerton Boating Club.
Kohimaramara Yacht Club's Oli Stone won the Zhik sponsored Tanner Cup, earlier in the week, and leads the 39 strong Tauranga Cup fleet.
His main competition is expected to come from current Auckland Champion, Will Mason (Wakatere BC) and Blake McKinnon (Murrays Bay SC and Buckland's Beach YC).
If he can maintain his lead and win both the Tanner and Tauranga Cups, Stone will join an elite group of New Zealand sailors who have won "the double". Most have gone on to develop into top international sailors at an Olympic, America's Cup or World Championship level.
There is however a strong chance that no racing will be possible with Wellington about to be buffeted by the strong winds and rain, that have hit the upper half of the North Island.
Predictwind is forecasting winds of 25kts gusting into the high 30's from the South. Officials may be able to get racing complete by moving into the near landlocked Porirua harbour, which gets the fleet away from the wild Cook Strait.
The three races sailed on the penultimate day got a taste of what is to come with winds of 20-25kts hitting the fleet with several competitors opting to tack around marks, rather than take the risk of gybing in the testing conditions.
Stone's advantage has been his downwind speed, and consistency on the leaderboard - with his worst place being a third. He has won three of the seven races sailed, placing him in a handy situation if two competitors finish with equal points and a tiebreaker has to be applied to determine the series winner.
Will Mason had the misfortune to suffer gear breakage before the start of Race 7, and copped a maximum point score. However if the full nine races are sailed then the sailors are allowed two discard races, and Mason will be able to drop that score and a fifth place.
Third member of the trio is Blake McKinnon (Murrays Bay SC and Buckland Beach YC), who has two wins from seven races, and his discard place is a fourth.
If racing proceeds, then the outcome will be decided by who beats who on the water, rather than the overnight leader carrying a points buffer into the final day.
For full results sailwave.com/results/ZhikTaurangaCup2023.htm