News & Events

O'pen BIC also racing at the Louis Vuitton Pacific Series! February 2009

04 February 2009. The Louis Vuitton Pacific Series, currently being held in Auckland, New Zealand, is not only a competition for the world's match racing elite as Auckland's finest junior sailing talent are also racing in a fleet of O'pen BICs!
The New Zealand Herald Junior Pacific Series got underway last weekend. A total of 40 sailors, all aged 15 years and under and selected from the region's yacht clubs, are competing in a series of races held inside the Viaduct Harbour to decide the 20 that will compete in the finals to be held on February 12th & 13th.

Each race is five laps of a short and fast course, located right in front of the public inside the Louis Vuitton Pacific Series race village. Due to the relatively variable wind conditions inside the village, the racing has been very exciting with the lead constantly changing.

Regatta organiser Sarah Bilkey said the sailors took a little while to come to grips with the fast, planing hull and capsized often. "All of them have gone through Optimists and some through the P Class and Starlings, so they're used to a more stable hull. But even when they capsized, they were all still smiling... It's amazing how quickly they had them righted."

The overall winner of the Louis Vuitton Junior Pacific series will get their own O'pen BIC, plus bragging rights with an 18th-man spot with one of the international teams in the main series' final.

Many thanks go to the Kohimaramara Yacht Club for the organisation of the New Zealand Herald Junior Pacific Series. For a selection of some great photos, please click on the following link.

The O'pen BIC... pure ENERGIZED sailing!