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Pegasus Radio Sailing Club commodore Paul Johnson says Sunday’s racing finished with the lake looking so good, and everyone sitting around talking about how wonderful the competition had been over the past three days.
‘‘There was such a fantastic environment there, with everyone helping each other out despite being involved in some very close championship heat battles.
‘‘It was also wonderful how the people of Pegasus came down and watched us in action. A huge crowd showed up on all three days and was rewarded with some really close and intense race action by the skippers,’’he says.
The 36 competitors, included a couple of Australians, who were sailing the international standard one metre RC yachts on two circuits the club had laid out on Pegasus Lake.
The boats are all the same length and same weight, so it is down to the skill of the operator as to how they read the wind and the competition.
Starting on Friday and Saturday morning with qualification races, the 36 strong field was divided up into three grades based on results for the following day and a half of competition.
North Shore Radio Yacht Squadron member Ian Vickers (NZL71) eventually came out on top in the regatta after being pressured all the way by second placed Sean Watts of Perth (AUS171), and Pegasus club member Rick Cassels-Brown (NZL92) of Rangiora.
Pegasus club member Darryl Pender (NZL 11) was fifth overall and Chris Koskela (NZL29) of the Christchurch Model Yacht Club was placed12th in the top gold group.
Another Pegasus member Robert Norris (NZL96) won the Bronze section, 11 points clear of the field with a dominant run of race wins.
Commodore Johnson says it was great to see all the 11 local skippers in action. ‘‘There has to be special mention of member Darryl Pender who was racing in only his second ever competitive regatta, making him the highest placed first timer ever at the national IOM championship.’’
The club’s next event will be the National DF95 championship held over the weekend on November 12/13.
