Event two of the Burnsco Elliott 5.9 Traveller Series takes the fleet north next weekend, with Marsden Cove Marina hosting racing on 13 and 14 June. As many as 12 boats are expected to line up, a meaningful increase on the numbers seen at the opening round at Lake Rotoiti. Bream Bay provides the racing ground, its open water and unobstructed reaches giving crews broad tactical scope and conditions that suit the class well.
Class president Stu Clarke believes the association is heading into this run of winter events in fine shape.
"The class is in really good spirits," Clarke says.
"We have got another good turnout on the cards for Marsden Cove and it's another really competitive fleet. The secret seems to be the one design racing with a fun social side and we can travel to really cool sailing locations."
The headline storyline of the weekend is the return of Shapeshifter and R&R, both absent from the Rotoiti opener. Their arrival sharpens the competition and sets up what amounts to a rematch of the National Championships contested earlier this year. Shapeshifter took the national title at those Nationals, with Revelry and R&R completing the podium. Northland's own Frivolous Fish is also expected back in the fleet, adding local knowledge to the lineup.
A number of the top teams may be sailing with changed skipper and crew combinations since they last faced each other. Aboard Shapeshifter, R&R, and Revelry, new partnerships could shift the order at the front of the fleet considerably.
For all that uncertainty, Revelry shapes up as the boat the rest must beat. Their Nationals campaign was exceptional, and they reinforced that standing with a strong showing at Lake Rotoiti in May, making them the clear benchmark the fleet is measuring itself against heading into Bream Bay.
Behind them, the chasing pack is deep and capable. Reggae Shark will be looking to build on the form they showed at Rotoiti, itself an encouraging return to racing after more than 12 months away from the fleet. Slam Dunk will be hoping for the kind of reliable conditions Bream Bay tends to produce, which could help them push back towards the front, while Razorback has been making consistent gains and will want to extend that progress across the two days of racing.
Zoot Allures carry genuine local expectations. Sailing on familiar waters, they finished a very impressive second overall at this venue last season and figure to be a real threat throughout the weekend. Add consistent podium contenders Bloodline and Dirty Circus to the mix, along with NYX and the youth development boat Class Act, and the 12-boat fleet has the depth to keep racing tight from bow to stern.
Clarke sees the quality of the competition as part of a broader trend within the class.
"The class continues to attract top national and world-class sailors. They are great to compete against, and they share their expertise, so we see this continued development right across the fleet that just continues to strengthen the class."
For anyone weighing up whether to step into the class, Clarke suggests the current moment could be an unusually good opportunity.
"We are in the unique situation at the moment that there are a couple of really well set up boats for sale at a good competitive price," Clarke adds.
"We don't normally have many boats on the market, so it's an awesome time for someone to pick up a boat if they want to join the Elliott 5.9 action."
Off the water, the weekend has been well organised. On Friday evening the fleet gathers at the Marsden Cove Fishing Club, giving crews a chance to reconnect before racing begins. Saturday night shifts to the Porthouse Bar & Eatery, where a shared meal will coincide with Super Rugby semifinal action on screen.
Racing across the two days is scheduled to include up to ten windward-leeward races. With a large fleet on Bream Bay, clean starts and sharp tactical discipline will be central to building the kind of consistent scorecard that wins a weekend like this.
The Elliott 5.9 has been part of the New Zealand sailing landscape since the early 1980s, when it arrived as a high-performing trailer yacht that offered something genuinely distinctive. Its well-balanced, cost-effective design quickly raised the bar, becoming a first choice for leading club training programmes and establishing itself as a production line for sailors who have gone on to compete at the America's Cup, the Ocean Race, and the Olympics.
Sailed by three, the boat is a practical, low-maintenance package built around an efficient single-spreader fractional rig, a well-considered sail plan, and a sensible deck layout. It competes across mixed trailer yacht fleets, sport boat divisions, and one-design classes alike. The 5.9 has endured for decades because of its responsiveness to the sailors aboard it and the outstanding value it continues to deliver.
