The cup holds a special place in New Zealand yachting history as the oldest piece of silverware sailed for under its original inception. It is the only remaining senior inter-provincial challenge competition still sailed for today since the inaugural races in 1921. It was up for grabs every year bar 1942-45.
The Shanks, with 29-year-old Ross, a joiner, as the skipper, etched their names on the cup five years ago in Napier.
"They [McNeill/Gilberd] were second that day," Colin said.
Son Ross attended Lindisfarne College in Hastings, so the Shanks pair have an advantage of knowing how the course behaves.
Colin has been sailing since he was 15 after a school friend took him for a cruise at the Wellington Harbour, on a windy and bitterly cold southerly day at Easter.
"I find the sea a real turn on. The joy of sailing is second to none."
He got his son into the P class and watched him graduate to lasers and other classes on the way to becoming an accomplished sailor in his own right.
It sits quite comfortably with Colin Shanks that his son is at the helm of the the high-performance, skiff-type dinghy while he dangles on the trapeze. "He's lighter and a lot more agile than I am, so I'm busy on the wire with my 18 kilo of extra weight."
He finds it a challenge at his age to keep up with the demands of the trapeze on their javelin, Rides with the Storm, but succeeds in "keeping the boat upright".
"When you get past the age of 50, everything becomes much harder every day," he said with a laugh.
David Brown and David Feek, on Trailblazer, are third on 16 points but it was bad news for Bay husband-and-wife contenders Susie and Marty Weeks.
Their boat was involved in a collision with another but the couple had not lodged a protest.
"They are out of the javelin race now because the boat is damaged," Napier club organiser Paul Redman said.
Antje Muller and Rob Cox, on Hot Gossip, are fifth on 25 points.
