About the regatta: The 2023 Sir Peter Blake Torbay Regatta (2 – 3 December) is the 21st Edition of the iconic regatta that is held annually by Torbay Sailing Club. This year’s event is expected to have a huge turnout, with Burnsco “early-bird” entries at record levels. The regatta is proudly a youth-only regatta. Entrants must be under 19 yrs old on the 31st of December 2023. Entries are expected to exceed 400 sailors – easily the largest youth sailing regatta in New Zealand and in the Southern Hemisphere! As a regatta that is loved by young sailors around the country, the fleet with the youngest group of new sailors (typically 7-13yrs old) the Optimist ‘Green’ Fleet consistently has the highest turnout of any class entered, usually over 70 boats. “The Blake'' will be the first regatta for many of the entrants. The regatta team recognise this and make sure everyone has fun – the fleet have special briefings each day, the ratio of coaching and support boats is high and, flamingo, unicorn and swan inflatables are used as racing marks! Entries are open until 2200 hours on Tuesday 28th November 2023 – go.blakeregatta.org.nz/Enter. No late entries will be accepted. A Community event: An event of this size requires a huge community effort. Torbay Sailing Club is one of the smallest clubs on Auckland’s North shore with only 68 sailing members. The regatta has over 100 volunteers and puts over 60 support boats on to the water! It is only through the family of sailing that such an event can run for the enjoyment and benefit of all our young sailors. The club is hugely grateful to the volunteers and support provided by all the local sailing clubs and national organisations: Murrays Bay, Wakatere, Manly, Royal Akarana, Kohimarama, Yachting New Zealand and many others. Special appearance: This year, with the generous support of the NZ Sailing Trust, the team are proud to announce that Steinlager II and Lion New Zealand will both be at the regatta. Both boats were raced by Sir Peter Blake himself. Steinlager II is the iconic boat that Sir Peter sailed around the world in the 1989-90 Whitbread Round the world race, winning the race and every leg on it. Tickets are being sold to experience the racing up close from onboard Steinlager II, with ferry to and from the beach thanks to the amazing amphibious craft manufactured here in New Zealand by Sealegs. Tickets can be purchased for both Saturday and Sunday from the regatta website – go.blakeregatta.org.nz/Steinlager2Tickets. Prizes for everyone: The line-up of generous sponsors, including Albany Toyota, Barfoot & Thompson, Zhik, and Burnsco are once again providing a huge volume of prizes. The chances are high that sailors will be walking away with something at prizegiving after racing each day. The regatta is also supported by the wider sailing community by companies such as Sail One, NZ Sailing, Doyle Sails and North Sails who donate special prizes that are handed out to individual sailors throughout the weekend for displays of resilience, perseverance, friendship and sportsmanship – winners get medals, prizes go to sailors who shine in other ways. The premier trophy, however, is the Sir Peter Blake Memorial Trophy. Many sailors will be hoping to get their name added to the long list of legendary sailors who have won it before – sailing greats such as Pete Burling and Jo Aleh. The trophy is awarded to an outstanding sailor from the weekend. It is not necessarily the winner of any particular race or fleet but a sailor who shows potential and all round capability. The Trophy has been a significant indicator of future talent with many of the previous winners going on to the Olympics, Americas Cup, SailGP and other great achievements across the sailing world. Keep your eyes peeled as you could bump into any one of them, or other greats from the sailing world, at the event! Technology: The regatta is also continuing to push the edges of regatta technology with a new version of the event App available to download on both iOS and Android. The app not only allows you to keep up to date with on-water activity and results, it also allows the on-land team to track volunteers, support boats and keep in touch with attendees (and their parental support crews!). Simply search Sir Peter Blake Regatta in the App Store or Google Play. Be sure to allow notifications to keep up to date with the regatta action! The Sir Peter Blake Regatta is also proud to be trialling the new RegattApp event management platform, which is used for event registration and supports the ability to have fully electronic sign-on and sign-off to accurately track sailors. Merchandise: For those who have entered, limited edition regatta merchandise from Zhik is available to purchase online for collection at the event. The full range can be found on the regatta website – go.blakeregatta.org.nz/Merch. Orders close 17th November. Socials: Follow the Sir Peter Blake Regatta on social media: - Facebook: https://go.blakeregatta.org.nz/Facebook - Instagram (@blakeregatta): https://go.blakeregatta.org.nz/Instagram Media resources: - Event Logos: https://go.blakeregatta.org.nz/eade5c - Event Promotional Poster: https://go.blakeregatta.org.nz/6f6841 - Media Briefing Pack: https://go.blakeregatta.org.nz/06b80d - Notice of Race: https://go.blakeregatta.org.nz/NOR For more information, email the regatta committee – [email protected] ![]()
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