Elliott 5.9: Retro out to defend Elliot 5.9 South Island Championship

Retro will be defending the Elliott 5.9 South Island Championships at Lake Aviemore, this weekend © Elliott 5.9

Retro (Carla Bennett) will be out to defend the Elliott 5.9 South Island title that she won last year.

The Elliott 5.9 South Island Championship will again take place this Labour Weekend, 21 - 23 October 2022 Lake Aviemore, as part of the Timaru Yacht Club run Lake Aviemore Classic.

After a convincing win last year, and having just completed the highly competitive Traveller Series, Retro must again be in with a chance at taking out the title. However, a few boats are likely to provide some stiff opposition.

After having to miss last year's South Island Championship, Eagle (Mark Howard) will be heading down from Nelson with his sights firmly on the title.. Eagle has previously campaigned strongly in the highly competitive Elliott 5.9 Traveller Series and Mark will bring this experience along with a well set up boat to this championship event.

Shane Smith, sailing Boat 1, will also be hoping to be in the mix. Again, Boat 1 is a well performed and set-up boat. Boat 1, along with Magpie (Seamus Tredinnick) have been campaigning out of Naval Point Yacht Club over the winter months and have notched up some good results. Both these boats will be expected to be mixing it up with the likes of Retro and Eagle.

Other boats to watch out for will be Bob (Jo Patterson), Chop (Glen Hoban-Watson) and Brilliant (Kirsten Disse). While these crews are all new to the class, the competitive one design nature of the Elliott 5.9 always ensures close and competitive racing and any boat that is sailed well will be in with a chance at the title.

This is shaping as a very interesting and wide open championship. Much interest will focus on the performance of all of the crews as they also look toward the overall Southern Circuit and eventually the South Island based Nationals in March.

Full results will be available online elliott59.weebly.com/results.html and pictures online www.facebook.com/elliott5.9

For more information on the Elliott 5.9 Class Association visit www.e59.org.nz

A full list of previous Champions can be found online here elliott59.weebly.com/champions.html

About The Elliott 5.9

The Elliott 5.9 emerged in the early 1980’s as a high performing trailer yacht and continues to deliver competitive one design racing in a welcoming fleet of world-class sailors and novices alike. The boats started a revolution with their well-balanced and cost effective design, and quickly became the boat of choice for top club training schemes and a breeding ground for NZ’s America’s Cup, Ocean Race and Olympic champions. Sailed by a crew of three, the Elliott 5.9 remains a low maintenance sailboat with an efficient single spreader fractional rig, a well-balanced sail plan and practical deck layout. Whether sailing among mixed trailer yachts, sport boat fleets or in a one design setting, the 5.9 is celebrated for its responsiveness and outstanding value.