One of the organisers, Dave Lewis, says the day before the regatta was due to take place was perfect, with little wind and sunny skies, but the weather office had forecast rough weather the following day.

Nine of the 71 yachts to take part in the regatta pulled out on the strength of that forecast, but the following morning it was clear that the weather was indeed packing up. They made the decision to cancel the event at 5am, despite a contingency plan to entertain guests on land at Kawau Island, when they couldn’t guarantee that the Quick Cat ferry would be available.

He says the cancellation was heartbreaking because of the amount of work it took to organise the event, but when the weather deteriorated further in the afternoon at the time the racing would have started, they knew they’d made the right decision.

Dave says they’ll be back in the race at the same time next year, and says he’d like to thank all those who had volunteered as sponsors for the event.

Money raised from last year’s regatta was used to assist Warkworth Wellsford Hospice, Westpac Rescue Helicopter, Spirit of New Zealand, Outward Bound and to provide a Unitec scholarship in the print and packaging industry.

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