Sails crowd the water at the start of the island racing event during Bay of Islands Sailing Week 2024. Photo: Supplied / Jacob Fewtrell
New Zealand's biggest multi-day keel boat regatta gets underway in the Bay of Islands today, with just under 100 vessels and more than 500 sailors set to take part.
Founded in the early 2000s by a couple who missed the regattas they had grown up with in England, Bay of Islands Sailing Week has since morphed into one of the top events on the country's sailing calendar, with the racing starting tomorrow.
Fans of the event include legendary sports commentator Peter Montgomery, who became a household name during the 1995 America's Cup final.
"Bay of Islands Sailing Week has been my special regatta in New Zealand really since its inception, and it's taken on a life of its own now," Montgomery said.
"It's quite outstanding. The location is brilliant, but also the way it's run with volunteers from right across the Bay of Islands. It attracts a fleet like nowhere else in New Zealand."
While the setting was key to the regatta's popularity, with more than 140 islands dotting a sparkling bay, Montgomery said the regatta's spirit and camaraderie also set it apart.
There was one other thing he loved about the regatta.
"The beach party … Going to one of these magnificent islands, where all the sailors get together the way it used to be in the 70s and 80s," he said.
The event, which is headquartered in a marquee village next to Ōpua wharf, was first held more than 20 years ago.
It was founded by Tony and Nina Kiff, who came to New Zealand by yacht a decade earlier.
When they missed the regattas they used to enjoy in England, such as Cowes Week and Falmouth Week, they resolved to hold their own.
The racing yachts Sassinate and Menace duel during last year's Bay of Islands Sailing Week. Photo: Supplied / Jacob Fewtrell
Nina Kiff said the idea came to them, like many of the best plans, during a smoko break at work one day.
"There was no big sailing event in New Zealand so we thought, well, we need to do something here to have a week-long regatta with lots of classes. And so that's how it happened."
"People were a bit dubious to start with because nothing had ever been held like that before. We had no money, we had no sponsors. Tony and I didn't really know how to go about it. So we enlisted a friend for help, who was an event organiser, and decided to go ahead in January 2003," she said.
"By the time the sailing started, we still didn't have any sponsors. We didn't have any money in the bank, other than $500 from each of the four sailing clubs in the Bay. So we really did wing it, but we thought if we don't do it, it'll never happen."
The first grant, from the Far North District Council, landed while the first race was underway.
Despite the tight funding, the first Bay of Islands Sailing Week was a success with 39 entries.
Race official Megan Kensington - who has officiated at the Olympics and the America's Cup - said the event now typically attracted about 100 boats.
That had dropped slightly this year to 96, which she put down to economic conditions and last weekend's Sail GP races, which made it hard for Auckland boaties to get to Ōpua in time.
Kensington said this year's races would take place on three courses with vessels competing in ten divisions.
The 40-foot racing yachts Sassinate and Carrera jostle for the lead during last year's Bay of Islands Sailing Week. Photo: Supplied / Jacob Fewtrell
The inner windward/leeward course, which catered to smaller boats, doubled as a national championship.
The island course would depend on weather and wind direction, but would make its way around many of the islands between Russell and Cape Brett and was always spectacular.
Finally, the outer course catered to the 40-foot and Young 88 racing boats.
Despite working as a race official around the world, Kensington always came back to the Bay of Islands.
"It's a beautiful cruising ground. It has very clear water for racing and in the summer we get a beautiful northerly sea breeze coming in the afternoons. So it is a really fabulous place to sail," she said.
Nina Kiff said Bay of Islands Sailing Week was a family-friendly event for sailors of all ages.
Past crew members had ranged in age from nine months to well into their 80s, she said.
Ōpua-raised Rebecca Gmuer-Hornell, now 25, said she had been competing on the family boat with her father since she was nine years old.
"This year we've done a lot of work to our boat, so I'm excited to see how we go. I sail overseas for a job all year round but this is by far my favourite regatta, because it's sailing with my mates on home soil and you just can't beat the Bay of Islands."
Registration opens at 2pm this afternoon, 21 January, at event headquarters next to Ōpua wharf.
Three days of racing starts on Wednesday with the famous beach party on Urupukapuka Island on Thursday night and prizegiving on Friday.
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