Crew: Tunch, Murray, Jamie, Geoff.
After a wonderful week cruising from Wellington through the Pelorus Sounds, we enjoyed a relaxing day in Nelson tidying up the boat — catching up on jobs, airing things out and getting Halo back into good order, ready for racing.
At 1600 hrs we all converged on the Tasman Bay Cruising Club (TBCC) clubrooms to collect our registration packs and find out our division allocations and handicaps for the regatta.
Day 1 – Black Spot Rum Invitation Rum Race – Friday 16 Jan
The briefing for the evening Rum Race was held at 1630 hrs, where the course was announced: start line in the harbour between Pile 6 and the Nelson Yacht Club, Boulder North (p), then finish at the committee boat just outside The Cut. Start time was set for 1800 hrs.
A steady northerly of around 10 knots had settled in, which we were pleased to see as it meant we could hoist our new No. 1 genoa for the first time.
As expected, the local club boats got away ahead of us at the start, their familiarity with the harbour giving them an edge. Halo started close behind Grenadier as we worked our way out through The Cut.
Once we were clear of The Cut we turned onto port tack near Pole 0 and continued up the Boulder Bank. We gybed around the Boulder North mark at 1835 hrs and then headed back down wind.
We hoisted the medium reaching kite, with the reaching strut holding the guy well out. Halo came alive, regularly seeing speeds over 7 knots and occasionally touching 8, but despite the pace we still couldn’t quite reel in Grenadier.
We crossed the finish line at 1854 hrs, securing fourth place on handicap — a solid result to kick off the regatta.
We docked Halo back in her berth and then joined the other crews at the clubhouse for a well-earned beer and prizegiving.
Inside, the big screens were showing the race tracker for the Wellington to Nelson race, which kept everyone entertained as we followed the progress of the boats still on passage.
Day 2 – Long Harbour Practice Race – Saturday 17 Jan
Saturday was to be a long harbour race for the cruising divisions. We converged on the clubrooms at 0930 hrs for the briefing. Introductory speeches were given by Regatta Director Trevor Morrison, Alex on behalf of the major sponsor Nelson Marina, and then Tam, the Race Officer, ran through the race details.
The committee boat would be Coo-ee, with Tam on board, and the finish boat — flying a blue flag — would be Transition, also displaying a blue flag. The race was nominally scheduled to start at 1100 hrs.
It was then back to Halo to prepare the boat. With light winds forecast, under 5 knots, we packed away the heavy genoa and rigged the old lightweight No. 1. Race control advised over Channel 77 that there would be a delay to racing, so we cast off and motored out into Tasman Bay.
The fleet then spent the next few hours drifting around waiting for wind. Jamie and Tunch even managed to squeeze in a few rounds of backgammon while we waited.
Eventually a light breeze arrived and the course for the Cruising Divisions was announced — out to MV Vega and back again. Vega is the new name for the decommissioned Interislander ferry Aratere, now anchored in the middle of Tasman Bay awaiting her final voyage to India to be scrapped.
Division 2 finally got away at 1420 hrs. We worked our way slowly towards the start line on starboard tack. Brix, a Young 88, and Grenadier both ducked below us on port tack as we crept towards the pin end of the line.
We held on for a few minutes, but soon noticed that the boats which had started on port tack behind us were getting a better lift. Deciding not to miss out, we tacked over to join them.
In the light 5-knot breeze we were now enjoying a good lift, with only Satellite Spy and Brix sailing above us.
After about an hour on that tack, making around 4 knots, the wind veered from NW to N and we began to get knocked. Two more tacks were needed before we were finally able to round Vega at 1604 hrs.
Up close the ship looked absolutely huge from where we were. It was touch and go whether we would clear the massive bow — Phil on Grenadier, close behind us, reckoned our mast missed it by only inches!
Then it was a broad reach back towards the finish line and we hoisted the medium spinnaker.
In hindsight, we might have been better off with the maxi spinnaker, as Grenadier, Expresso and Tamerlane were slowly gaining on us.
At 1745 hrs the famous Nelson sea breeze arrived. The sudden south-easterly, building to around 15 knots, hit with a vengeance and caught us a little unprepared. We quickly dropped the kite and hoisted the genoa.
With our light, baggy No. 1 up we were soon well overpowered. Grenadier, clearly better prepared for the wind change, sailed past and crossed the finish line about two minutes ahead of us..
Day 3 – Long Harbour Race – Sunday 18 Jan
The race briefing got underway at 0930 hrs with the announcement of the Wellington to Nelson race results. Nelson boat Kayimai won on line honours, while Gucci took out the PHRF win.
We also learned that, as a result of the previous day’s racing, Brix would have their handicap revised and be moved up into Division 1. That left just five boats in our division — the four EBYMBC boats plus Ambar.
A solid breeze was forecast for the day, around 15 knots from the ESE, gusting to 20.
After a hearty breakfast cooked by Tunch, we rigged the small No. 3 jib and tucked a reef into the mainsail in preparation.
Team Expresso were looking very smart in their team uniforms — clearly taking the prize for best-dressed on the dock.
We cast off at 0920 hrs and headed out through The Cut to locate the committee boat Coo-ee.
The course was announced as: Start – The Glen Outer Mark (p) – Finish. After a short delay our division finally got away at 1025 hrs.
We made a good start in around 15 knots of breeze, launching on starboard tack about a boat length behind Grenadier.
Tamerlane and Expresso were both sailing well and managed to overtake us as we held on to the same tack up the Boulder Bank towards The Glen.
There was some confusion over which side the top mark was to be rounded. Halo rounded correctly to port at 1248 hrs.
We then set off on a broad reach back down the Boulder Bank, chasing Expresso and Grenadier towards where we believed the finish mark was located.
Ambar, the big 38-footer, cruised past us looking very impressive.
We eventually spotted the finish boat, Transition, well to the right of our course and bore away to sail dead downwind, with the genoa poled out.
There was further confusion at the finish, with two red marks positioned near Transition, leaving some doubt as to which one was the correct pin. Both Grenadier and Tamerlane, ahead of us, had to turn back and recross the line. Fortunately, we chose the correct pin and crossed cleanly.
Back at the prizegiving that evening it was announced that Halo had won on handicap. We were duly awarded a prize — a tin of antifoul paint.
Day 4 – Nelson to Torrent Bay – Monday 19 Jan
At the 0900 hrs briefing the Race Officer provided more detail on the course and sailing instructions for the day’s race across Tasman Bay to Torrent Bay. Ambar withdrew from the day’s racing, leaving just the four Wellington boats in Division 2. The start was scheduled for 1100 hrs.
With a moderate south-easterly breeze forecast, we rigged our new No. 1 genoa and cast off from the marina at 1020 hrs.
We chased the other boats out to the start area where the committee boat Coo-ee was positioned, arriving just in time before the gun. We were off — and it was a great start for Halo, first over the line.
We poled out the genoa and settled into a downwind run. With the breeze gusting over 20 knots, it felt like the safer and more comfortable option.
We were sailing well, making speeds of up to 7 knots SOG. The wind was pushing us west of the fish farms in Tasman Bay, while most of the fleet chose to sail higher and head east.
When the breeze dropped to around 5 knots we hoisted the medium spinnaker. The boats that had gone east of the fish farms were still enjoying better pressure and began to surge ahead of us.
One big problem soon became apparent. On the chartplotter I had saved the fish farm marker waypoints from last year, but as we closed in it was obvious the markers were no longer in the same positions. We suddenly realised we were heading straight towards the middle of the farm. Oh dear.
We were forced to gybe left and continue further west until we could safely round the south-west corner of the farm.
We finally entered Astrolabe Roadstead, west of Adele Island, at 1445 hrs. As we rounded the sandbar mark we noticed a yacht anchored in the shelter — it was Bruce Jones aboard Sea Beagle, cruising the Abel Tasman. He managed to snap a couple of photos of us as we transited the bay. Thanks Bruce.
As we emerged from the shelter of Adele Island we were suddenly close-hauled into around 20 knots of breeze as we worked our way up to clear Hapuka Reef. We then rounded Pitt Head and sailed into the entrance of Torrent Bay, passing the finish boat Mighty Quinn.
We were the last boat to arrive — but we made it. Woo hoo!
The anchorage was already crowded with regatta boats, but we managed to find a spot to drop the hook. After one attempt we decided to move and eventually settled into a better position closer to the main beach. Grenadier and Tamerlane anchored nearby as well.
With the boats secure, it was finally time for some rest and recuperation — capped off with a well-earned, refreshing swim.
Then it was time for the BBQ beach party. We rowed the dinghy ashore, with Bill from Tamerlane kindly giving us a tow in his super-duper motorised dinghy.
The club put on the sausage sizzle, we supplied our own drinks, and a great time was had by all.
Sober driver Bill then helped ferry us back to Halo. Tunch cooked a late supper, we set the anchor alarm, and sat back to enjoy a glorious sunset.
Day 5 – Torrent Bay to Nelson – Tuesday 20 Jan
Romeo Division were first away in the morning, racing up to Tonga Island and back. The Cruising Divisions had just one race scheduled — the run back to Nelson.
Race control advised it was blowing around 20 knots out in the bay, so we packed away the No. 1 genoa, hoisted the No. 3 jib and tucked a reef into the mainsail.
Halo and Expresso were first over the start line at 1000 hrs, both launching on starboard tack.
Out in the bay the southerly was actually under 10 knots and we found ourselves under-powered. We lost a bit of time shaking out the reef and changing headsails to our new no. 1 genoa. We tried a couple of tacking angles before finally committing to follow Rattler and Wild Blue well to the east. Part of that decision was tactical, but it also kept us well clear of the fish farms that had caused us grief the day before. Expresso and several others tacked away to head south instead.
Before long the wind began to build, gusting up to 24 knots with a decent sea on the nose. It was very pleasing to see how well the new genoa handled the conditions, coping with the wind and waves with aplomb.
At about 1130 hrs I worked out that we could turn right and be on the layline for the North Cardinal finish. We gybed and settled onto a heading of 145° magnetic, with the sea state immediately becoming much more manageable.
We were sailing well and could see that the boats further west had fallen into a hole and were drifting. By around 1300 hrs it was our turn, as the breeze faded to under 5 knots. We changed down to the light genoa and also set the spinnaker as we crept our way down the bay. Progress was in the right direction, but at times painfully slow.
As the afternoon wore on we began to hear over the VHF that boats were retiring from the race — first Expresso, then Tamerlane, and eventually Grenadier.
We battled on, knowing that if we could simply finish the race we would win our division.
At about 1650 hrs the northerly died away altogether, before swinging abruptly into the south. The Nelson sea breeze had struck again. We dropped the spinnaker and found ourselves close-hauled in around 20 knots, punching towards the North Cardinal. With little energy left for another sail change we pressed on with the old, baggy genoa and were well over-powered.
As we closed in on the finish we could see Coo-ee, and it was clear we would need one final tack to cross the line. It was a very messy affair, but we eventually made it across to a welcome toot from Tam aboard Coo-ee — more than seven hours after we had started.
We dropped sails and motored Halo back to her berth at Nelson Marina. Four rather weary lads then made their way to the clubhouse for the results. Unsurprisingly, Halo was declared the winner of the day’s race — “last man standing,” someone quipped.
The real surprise came when it was announced that Halo had also won the regatta in our division, and we were presented with the beautiful trophy. Well done Team Halo!
Our thanks go to the Tasman Bay Cruising Club for running another excellent regatta, and to the Race Officer, committee boat crews, volunteers, and sponsors who made it all happen. From great racing to memorable shoreside events, it was a thoroughly enjoyable week both on and off the water.
Halo Log Book 