waikiore

Lovely weather for those that went to the combined squadron weekend / Ponsonby/ Kawau event , it was great to see almost every crew swimming after Saturdays race.

Wow classics are growing everywhere, in Whitianga even the Lotus has a bowsprit... Be interested in your comparison to the Dragon. I recall her well at the Pardeys and later with Dan

It provoked a wry smile two Reactors only a boat length or so apart finishing one of the passage races, of the roughly five boats finishing those races -and I dont think the owners were spring chickens just keen yachtsmen.

Sadly it appeared even less entrants than last year, Rawhiti sailed smart to beat Ariki in the classics

Exactly

Both Italy and Sweden with Kiwi drivers

I think I saw Tiny Dancer (if built of timber) being burnt up the Mahurangi about ten years ago after being offered on Trademe free for about three months, certainly was a nice looking Harmonic if not that exact one, I assumed she had been the plug.

I witnessed a large no of people fishing in the Motukawao island HPA over New Year , How was anchoring around Port Fitzroy ??

No problem with autopilots for the two handed crews, though I do have an issue with all the maxi boats running engines 100% of the time.

I have seen similar after exhaust mixer failure caused a hydraulic -but would be most unusual in such low hours -and yes the Shibaura engines are rugged and long lasting.

Coromandel

The mighty rum bucket now on the rhumb line

P re your first paragraph on which group benefits from the commercial take- Iwi led organisations currently control 65% plus of all NZ quota . A fact not often understood.

While the commercial Snapper length is significantly smaller than the recreational, people will not respect the rules, and do Iwi have to comply with this new rule?

Le Bb is dead right Yellow Cedar and carbon go very well together , I have tested them and many other composites to destruction for some local designers years ago , and every one of us walked away amazed at how it stood up compared with very exotic laminates and foam cores