Bowing to traditions

The winning ways of Kiwi sailors mean next year's Auckland regatta will boast a series of classic yacht races, writes ROBIN BAILEY.

The New Zealand Herald Auckland Anniversary Regatta honours the traditions and history behind yachting as well as the excellence this country has achieved at the cutting edge of the sport.

And next year's regatta will provide a series of races that emphasise the determination of modern sailors to keep alive those traditions.

Earlier this month, six New Zealand M-Class yachts beat a fleet of Australian replica skiffs in a series on Sydney Harbour.

The Emmy Myth, sailed by Ted Miller, beat the replica skiff Australia (John Winning) in Heat 3 of the J.J. Giltinan Trophy Commemoration. That victory ensured the trophy will be defended in Auckland, with the final race as a highlight of the regatta.

The first Giltinan Trophy series was sailed on Sydney Harbour in 1938. The series was intended as a world championship, but the war clouds hovering over Europe meant the only internationals competing were from New Zealand. The races were watched by more than 10,000 spectators on ferries and from vantage points ashore.

The commemoration series this year saw two different types of yacht in action. The M-Class is a traditional clinker-built 18-footer that next year will have been competing in a strictly controlled one-design class for 80 years. The Australian replica skiffs retain the traditional gaff rig, with peak spinnakers, ringtails and other paraphernalia from another era.

The only thing the fleets have in common is that the boats are all 18-footers and made of wood. On the water, the Sydney regatta proved that the two classes are hugely competitive, with the Kiwis winning the series by the narrowest of margins.

The Sydney Flying Squadron and the Australian Historic Sailing Skiff Association have accepted an invitation to a re-match for the Giltinan Trophy next year. Details of the race programme are being drafted to fit in with the America's Cup defence programme.

Lunch on Te Mana a highlight of regatta day

Official regatta website