2022 P Class Tanner Cup - Day 1

It was a slip, slop, slap kind of day in Auckland for Day 1 of the Cassidy Construction P Class Tanner Cup, with the temperature gauge almost off the chart - a perfect summers day to kick off the regatta at Murrays Bay Sailing Club. The Tanner Cup is the inter-provisional regatta where sailors represent their region. For this event, there are 18 sailors in the fleet. The Tauranga Cup, which is the National Championship, starts on Friday, with 53 sailors ready to race. Live Sail Die resident expert Cameron Dunn, who is also the Commodore at Murrays Bay, was watching the action unfold as the sailors settled into their rhythm. It was a challenging day for some, especially in Race 2 where there was seven UFDs. Ouch. Three races were completed as per the schedule with a different sailor taking the gun for each race. Sitting in the top three are those three sailors, William Mason, Joe Leith and Oli Stone, with Joe and Oli sitting on equal points (9) after those three races. Post-race, Cam chatted with North Harbour representative Blake McKinnon, currently sitting 5th overall, who said he had a bit of an "up and down" day. When asked about an "incident" Blake said that he wasn't sure if he was in the wrong, so did some turns regardless. "Oh yeah, I think I did mostly the best I could, finished the day with some good results with no horrible races," said Blake to Cam after the racing. Blake's dad, Grant "Grunta" McKinnon, who was watching from the sideline descried the day as... frustrating! "It was frustrating!!! The difference between this and the Auckland Champs, which was his first outing in a big fleet in the P, is that everyone has qualified to be here. So you've got the best sailors lining up," said Grunta. "I'm glad I wasn't sailing - I couldn't pick any of the shifts out there!" continued Grunta. Racing continues and wraps up tomorrow for the Tanner Cup, with racing getting underway at 1200 hours. The PredictWind forecast is showing 10-14 knots from the south west at race time for the final day of Tanner Cup racing. Top 5 After 3 Races 1. William Mason (North Harbour / Wakatere Boating Club) 1, 2, 4 - 7 2. Joe Leith (North Harbour / Murrays Bay Sailing Club) 6, 1, 2 - 9 3. Oli Stone (Auckland / Kohimarama Yacht Club) 5, 3, 1 - 9 4. Nathan Soper (North Harbour / Murrays Bay Sailing Club) 4, 4, 6 - 14 5. Blake McKinnon (North Harbour / Murrays Bay Sailing Club) 5, 3, 7 - 15It was a slip, slop, slap kind of day in Auckland for Day 1 of the Cassidy Construction P Class Tanner Cup, with the temperature gauge almost off the chart - a perfect summers day to kick off the regatta at Murrays Bay Sailing Club. The Tanner Cup is the inter-provisional regatta where sailors represent their region. For this event, there are 18 sailors in the fleet. The Tauranga Cup, which is the National Championship, starts on Friday, with 53 sailors ready to race. Live Sail Die resident expert Cameron Dunn, who is also the Commodore at Murrays Bay, was watching the action unfold as the sailors settled into their rhythm. It was a challenging day for some, especially in Race 2 where there was seven UFDs. Ouch. Three races were completed as per the schedule with a different sailor taking the gun for each race. Sitting in the top three are those three sailors, William Mason, Joe Leith and Oli Stone, with Joe and Oli sitting on equal points (9) after those three races. Post-race, Cam chatted with North Harbour representative Blake McKinnon, currently sitting 5th overall, who said he had a bit of an "up and down" day. When asked about an "incident" Blake said that he wasn't sure if he was in the wrong, so did some turns regardless. "Oh yeah, I think I did mostly the best I could, finished the day with some good results with no horrible races," said Blake to Cam after the racing. Blake's dad, Grant "Grunta" McKinnon, who was watching from the sideline descried the day as... frustrating! "It was frustrating!!! The difference between this and the Auckland Champs, which was his first outing in a big fleet in the P, is that everyone has qualified to be here. So you've got the best sailors lining up," said Grunta. "I'm glad I wasn't sailing - I couldn't pick any of the shifts out there!" continued Grunta. Racing continues and wraps up tomorrow for the Tanner Cup, with racing getting underway at 1200 hours. The PredictWind forecast is showing 10-14 knots from the south west at race time for the final day of Tanner Cup racing. Top 5 After 3 Races 1. William Mason (North Harbour / Wakatere Boating Club) 1, 2, 4 - 7 2. Joe Leith (North Harbour / Murrays Bay Sailing Club) 6, 1, 2 - 9 3. Oli Stone (Auckland / Kohimarama Yacht Club) 5, 3, 1 - 9 4. Nathan Soper (North Harbour / Murrays Bay Sailing Club) 4, 4, 6 - 14 5. Blake McKinnon (North Harbour / Murrays Bay Sailing Club) 5, 3, 7 - 15