Romanza commanded another podium performance in New Zealand last weekend and, in another week, will enjoy some well-deserved Classic Christmas Cruising in the breath-taking Marlborough Sounds.
Below, Dougall Love provides a magnificent bird’s eye view from the cockpit of Romanza regarding her performance in the Royal Akarana Yacht Club’s Gold Cup Race No. 4 (Percy Jones Memorial) held on 12 December 2020 which has given them an “unassailable lead in the series”.
It was quite fresh and gusty with a maximum windspeed we saw of 34 knots.
The Race was 48nm anticlockwise around Waiheke Island, which is quite a large island known for its vineyards and ‘alternative’ lifestyle residents.
We started with our big asymmetrical spinnaker and changed down to our smaller one when the breeze started gusting up at around 20-25 knots.
We made good time with a fastest boat speed of 24.8 knots.
One of the Melges 40s that was in the monohull division was also running at about the same pace as us, which was impressive. However, the last half of the race was upwind and we put close to an hour on them on that leg!
We had a little 8.5 meter racing cat as our main opposition and they were very quick off the wind being so light. We eventually caught them once we were on the wind which is where we also fully appreciated the strength of Romanza in the fresh conditions and lumpy seas that caused them to break their forestay attachment and withdraw. By contrast, we had absolutely no damage or issues and it was rather like a picnic for the crew most of the race.
Winning Race 4 means we have an unassailable lead in the Series, both on line and on handicap now.
As you would expect, that was celebrated in style onboard Romanza after the finish. We even shared our rum with the crew from the 8.5m cat just to prove we’re good guys!!
From podium performances to classic Christmas cruising
So what do you do after recording another podium performance?
Dougall and Jas are headed 650nm south from Auckland to Nelson and the exquisite Marlbourough Sounds for some classic Christmas 2-handed cruising.
Everyone at Rapdio Trimarans wishes Jas and Dougall a very Merry Christmas and Happy New Year. Again, we thank you for sharing some of Romanza’s adventures and successes with us all during 2020.
Photo Credits
- Dolphins, Hamish Ivey
- Trampoline nets, Andy Eggett
- Tory Channel Marlborough Sounds, Wikimedia Commons
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