Race Day Summaries

LYALL BAY

Lyall Bay  |  13 February 2010

Type: National Surfcross

High tide: 11:30

SUMMARY

Round 5 National Surfcross

19 Race teams from the upper half of the North Island, one from Hawkes Bay and one local hit Wellington for 2 days of racing centred on Lyall Bay. The Wellington round of the national champs is always very social with most staying in central Wellington. Being true athletes they were able to master the bars of Courtney Place as well as the water at Lyall Bay.

Unfortunately the Wellington weather on race day did not make for good racing. Winds were offshore blowing at 30-40 knots gusting to 55 which also meant no surf. The few Wellington spectators who endured these unpleasant conditions watched flat water racing only mixed up by the effects of the strong winds on the boats during the leg back to shore. The wind did result in some race places being won or lost affecting boats as they cornered. Top contenders Jungle Coffee spun out under the wind and Goodyear was the only boat to flip under tight racing conditions on D Buoy. At the end of the day placings were mixed and it was the top 3 boats of Smuggler, Novo and Black Pepper who took out the day. The racing was filmed for TV but the strong winds prevented the use of a helicopter for those optimum shots.