Mon, Sep 6, 2021 2:10 PM

Women’s sailing regatta cancelled

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Peter Jones

What was predicted to be the biggest-ever Waikawa women’s sailing regatta has become the latest victim of the COVID lockdown levels.

It was announced today that the nationally-significant Evolution Sails Women’s Regatta will not go ahead this year.

Nearly 200 crew had registered for the increasingly-popular annual event, which was originally scheduled for September 18-19, 2021. The two-day regatta’s registration list included Olympians, global circumnavigators and Sydney-to-Hobart veterans, plus newcomers to sailing.

David Grigg, Waikawa Boating Club rear commodore sailing said, “It’s still difficult to grasp that the biggest-ever version of the women's regatta has been hit by lockdown. But in the grand scheme of world events, it's easy to find some perspective”.

Female sailors, both experienced and novice, from 11 regions, stretching from Fiordland to Northland, had signed up for the weekend of racing, with more than 80 percent of registrations coming from outside the region.

“Through the decision-making process to cancel or postpone, it has become very clear that the Evolution Sails Women's Regatta is firmly entrenched in September on the national sailing calendar and that's where we need it to stay, so cancelling is the best option,” explained David.

Waikawa BC development officer David Hancock underlined the economic impact for the region.

“That’s more than 500 guest nights Picton and Marlborough are going to see cancelled. Food and beverage orders are cancelled and the sailors certainly enjoy a wine and a gin. T-shirt sales won’t happen, donations to guest speaker organisations are off and the local juke box hire is also going to miss out,” he said.

Main sponsor Evolution Sails have indicated a desire to continue their support in September 2022 while the club’s army of volunteers will get started early in the New Year to make it happen.

Forthcoming major events for the Waikawa BC include the start of the Versatile Offshore Series on September 25, the Giesen New Year Regatta on January 8-9, 2022 and the Evolution Sails Women’s Regatta on September 17-18, 2022.

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