Barfoot & Thompson Bridge to Bean prep ramping up

Over 300 dinghies are expected to line up for the inaugural Bridge to Bean race © Andrew Delves

Preparations for the inaugural Barfoot & Thompson Bridge to Bean are ramping up superbly, with plenty of exciting developments and hard work being done behind the scenes towards what is going to be a very popular event in 2021.

The Royal New Zealand Yacht Squadron are thrilled to announce that Barfoot & Thompson have signed up as naming rights sponsors for the event, making it the ‘Barfoot & Thomson Bridge to Bean’. Barfoot & Thompson are already a heavily involved partner of the RNZYS and this sponsorship of the Bridge to Bean is set to further enhance this relationship and shows their keen involvement in local club sailing.

Barfoot and Thompson Managing Director Peter Thompson is very happy to be behind what is going to be a brilliant event for all ages –

“We are extremely happy to be supporting this really unique and exciting event. I used to be a dinghy sailor myself and I would have loved to take part in something like this when I was a youngster! Seeing hundreds of dinghies and foiling vessels on the start-line under the harbour bridge and then racing their way up the harbour to Bean Rock is going to be a sight to behold, and I am thrilled that Barfoot & Thompson are right behind this event. I encourage all dinghy sailors - young and old - to get involved!”

There are also two more great organisations throwing their names behind this event in the form of sponsorships, including Doyle Sails who are now the official sail maker, and VMG Clothing who are the official clothing supplier. As part of VMG’s official clothing supplier sponsorship, a cool event t-shirt has been created which all competitors will be given, as well as an official event bib to wear on the water for the race.

Entries for the event are already rolling in and we encourage all clubs and sailors to spread the word and get your entries in as soon as you can. As an extra incentive, anyone who enters and pays before Friday 11th December will go in the draw to win two exclusive once in a lifetime experiences to be onboard the RNZYS VIP viewing boat during the Prada Cup with hospitality included. Winners drawn on Tuesday 15th December. These experiences cannot be bought! Enter the Barfoot & Thompson Bridge to Bean online now HERE

The B2B race committee, led by experienced Race Officer Colin Lucas, had a great afternoon on Thursday 8th October holding a trial run for the inaugural race to put the course to the test. Half a dozen dinghies (Optimists, Starlings and a Laser) joined in from RAYC and Panmure Boating Club, in warm N-NE light conditions.

Barfoot & Thompson Bridge to Bean Committee Member Nic Finlayson was stoked with how the test unfolded -

“With over 300 dinghies expected for the real race it's important for us to make sure our safety strategies are in place, splitting the fleets into different groups and different sections of the bridge for the start, and marshalling the smaller boats down the course. The course looks like it will work in both N - NE breeze, and anything from S - SW - W as well. There were lots of smiling faces on the day, with the Opti's hitting their target speeds, a tidy 45 minutes from the Bridge to Torpedo!”

The Barfoot & Thompson Bridge to Bean committee are also working on a fantastic prize list to entice entries and plenty of fun on the day, the list of which will be announced in the coming weeks.

There is now a Barfoot & Thompson Bridge to Bean Facebook Page and Instagram account, which we encourage you to like and follow for updates leading up to the event.

Bridge to Bean Facebook HERE

Lastly, we have created a fantastic event poster that we encourage all clubs and organisations to display around their clubs and help spread the word. The poster is attached with this release or can be downloaded from the RNZYS website HERE.

The RNZYS and Barfoot & Thomson Bridge to Bean committee encourage you all to get involved in this inaugural edition of the event that is being dubbed an on-water version of Round the Bays, an event that is also part of the RNZYS 150th celebrations.