.png){kind=logo}
Charging into the wind foiling scoreboard on day three of FOIL Bay of Islands was weekend newcomer Thomas Crook who swept the scoreboard with six wins to make his presence known in the 10-strong fleet.
Despite missing the first day of racing, the AON Fast Track squad member from Auckland is now sitting in fifth place overall, dropping two of his DNC's from yesterday.
“It was a bit glassy this morning, but the beautiful Bay of Islands breeze came through and made for great racing this afternoon, and I’m enjoying the good vibes of the regatta,” he says.
Closely chasing Crook in the 10-strong gold fleet was Liam Herbert who donned the yellow leader’s bib for the day’s racing, with Ben Rist and Stella Bilger in 2nd and 3rd.
There’s a tight tussle for 2nd and 3rd across in the silver fleet with Russ Evans and local BOI sailor Alin Misescu separated by just two points while Devan Pickmere continues to lead the pack.
A short window of wind forecast for the afternoon was longer than expected, with six races completed between 2pm and 4pm, in 7-10 knots of breeze, followed by the Corners Cup.
In the kite foiling division current NZ champion Lochy Naismith’s clean record has been disrupted only once by female national champion Justina Kitchen who snatched the lead in race five of the day.
Naismith sits comfortably in first place with 10 points, while points are tight between Kitchen and Andrew Robertson for 2nd and 3rd.
Light winds for made racing particularly challenging for the six-strong fleet of wing-foilers, with Auckland sailor Sean Herbert retaining his yellow leaders bib with a solid performance, followed by Travis Gillbanks and Brad McEvoy.
A close battle between WASPZ sailors Toby Clarke Storm Douwez leave the pair separated by five points heading into the final day tomorrow.
At the evening dinner Race Officer Chris Fewtrell thanked foilers for persisting throughout the light breeze.
“Big ups to the kiters who were keen to come out for the corners cup. We knew the breeze was dying but wanted to fit in the Corners Cup and it was great to have some keen participants after a pretty tiring day of racing,” he said.
