The Hunter KZN Champs and the Flying Fifteen Nationals took place offshore Durban this weekend with the racing taking place in idyllic conditions. When the conditions were not idyllic there was no racing! Not a bad way to have a relaxed regatta.

A good-sized fleet of 12 Hunters and 12 Flying Fifteens took part in the regatta with both fleets fielding a good number of very competitive boats.

The regatta got underway on Saturday with race officer Dave Rushton making the most of a light easterly breeze to get in three good windward leeward races. The breeze was very light, never getting much above six knots, and the sea relatively flat although a small swell accompanied by some chop made conditions difficult, especially going to weather. With clear blue skies and bright sunshine the heat and sunburn were one of the bigger factors out on the water and there were certainly some very burnt individuals back in the club after sailing that evening.

Sunday produced a fresh westerly, which blew slightly harder than the forecast had predicted and kept the fleet on the moorings. It was touch and go as to whether racing could have taken place or not but ultimately the race officer's decision not to send the fleet to sea was in the best interests of the fleet on the whole. Certainly there would have been some carnage and there were definitely those who were happy not to have to pit themselves against the elements that day.

Monday brought with it the tail end of a westerly, which died away fairly quickly and then swung to the east. The breeze looked at one stage to settle and build from the north east but it never really happened and once again light weather racing was the order of the day. With the wind never really getting above six knots and the seas being quite flat it was definitely a day for the light weather specialists again. Another three windward leeward races were sailed before the fleet headed home.

In the Hunter class the battle at the front between Chris Frost and John Brookman was a tough one with Chris, on board a brand new boat from Fast Yachts in Durban, prevailing.

In the Flying Fifteen fleet Patrick Harris was fairly dominant winning five of the six races sailed to take first place from Peter Morgenrood.

Click on the PICTURES link below for a few pictures from the weekend while the full official results have been posted on the Sailing KZN site.

Meanwhile the top three places in each of the classes were as follows:

Hunter KZN Champs:
1st Chris Frost & Barry Hundley 16 Points
2nd John Brookman & Sara Fulcher 19
3rd Tony Cockerill & Jason Urbach 20

Flying Fifteen Nationals:
1st Patrick Harris & Jeremy Kriek 5
2nd Peter Morgenrood & James Kier 9
3rd Mike Wright & Darren Hinett 18