Her love of the regatta was not even dampened by an incident in 2010 - when she was concussed during the event.
Her boat collided with another, leaving the then 13-year-old with concussion and a nasty bump on the head.
But Ms Mackay said the incident did not put her off the sport.
"You don't expect to get injured [in sailing], so in a way it was kind of funny," she said. "It didn't stop me from competing."
The regatta was a firm fixture on the Napier resident's calendar until she was about 16 when it clashed with other international events that sailors of her age would compete in instead.
However, she said it would be sad if this was the last year for the regatta.
"It's quite a shame," she said.
Ms Mackay also worried the loss of the regatta could hurt the numbers of those becoming involved with sailing in Hawke's Bay.
"Its a bit of a shame there's not many young people involved [in sailing]," she said. "There's a lot of people out and about this time of year who would see it going on, and when you see it going on and understand what its like, parents want to give their kids a go doing it.
"You need to show people what they'd be going into, and without that regatta they might lose that chance."
Instead, Ms Mackay said more people should appreciate sailing in Hawke's Bay, and give the sport a go.
"A lot of people shut their eyes to what's here, I don't think people realise how lucky we are here."
And she should know - over the course of her career Ms Mackay has competed around the world.
Now, her sights are firmly set on the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo.
Watching the Rio Olympics last year made Ms Mackay and her sailing partner "eager to get to the top, and show people what we can do".