Racing at Lake Rotoiti over the weekend of 2–3 May delivered one of the most compelling starts to a Burnsco Elliott 5.9 Traveller Series in recent memory, and those who had braced for a light-air disappointment were left pleasantly surprised. The pre-event forecast had flagged soft conditions and cast genuine doubt over how much racing would be possible. The lake had other ideas. Saturday lost some momentum when the breeze died during Race 2, but it filled back in with enough conviction to see five races completed before the fleet headed ashore. Sunday offered a touch more pressure before fading away in the early afternoon, and Adrian and his race team squeezed every last opportunity from the conditions to get all 10 races away. It was a tremendous effort from the BOPTYS officials.
Words by Gareth Howard.
What will define this regatta in the memory of those who were there is not the conditions but the racing itself. Six different boats took race victories across those 10 starts, and the overall title was never settled until the very end.
Dirty Circus were the undisputed story of the opening day. They cut through the fleet with real authority, held the lead at the end of Saturday, and then reinforced their position by winning the first race on Sunday morning. For a period it seemed entirely possible they would put the regatta beyond reach. Lake racing, though, has a way of finding out those who dare to relax, and as the tactical demands of freshwater sailing piled up in the closing races, the results slipped from their grasp and the fleet closed in. They finished fourth overall, but given the calibre of the opposition and the conditions they navigated, they will carry genuine confidence into the rounds ahead.
Revelry turned out to be the crew with the patience and precision the event demanded. Through Saturday they stayed measured, keeping themselves in contention without quite hitting the front, then raised their game decisively on the final day. The clinical, grinding consistency that tends to win lake regattas proved exactly that once again. Becs Costello, her husband Ben Costello, and Richard (Bicky) Bicknell worked together to peel the lead away from Dirty Circus and hold it all the way to the finish. The victory carried particular meaning for Becs, as this was her maiden Elliott 5.9 event. Regular crew member Zib Campbell had stepped aside for the weekend, lending support from one of the support craft instead. The win also arrived on the back of strong recent form, with the crew having finished second at the highly competitive Nationals.
Second overall went to Bloodline, though they had to earn it the hard way. Heavy scores in certain races had to be weighed against two race wins on day one and three solid podium finishes on Sunday, and that balancing act proved just enough to hold off Reggae Shark in the closing stages. Reggae Shark, with Michelle Bain back at the helm in a much-anticipated comeback regatta, looked every bit as sharp as they had before the break. Third place was a thoroughly deserved result and signals clearly that they will be a force to reckon with as the series unfolds.
Just off the podium, NYX put together the most eye-catching case for future contention. Ollie Davidson steered the youth boat to a race win, a second place, and five fourth-place finishes, a set of results that marks them as a genuine threat to the established order. Zoot Allures rounded out the top five, once again showing a particular affinity for lake racing, while Slam Dunk, Class Act, and Razorback each produced moments of real brilliance in what many observers rated as one of the most competitive mid-fleet battles seen in recent memory.
| R1 | Revelry leads off with a gun. Dirty Circus second, Reggae Shark third. Bloodline score a costly ninth in difficult conditions. |
| R2 | Reggae Shark takes the win ahead of Revelry. The dying breeze bunches much of the fleet, six boats sharing fourth on the results sheet. |
| R3 | Dirty Circus fires their first gun. Zoot Allures second, Bloodline third. Revelry slip to sixth as the lead changes hands. |
| R4 | Bloodline strike for their first win. Slam Dunk second, Dirty Circus third. NYX suffer a ninth to make their early tally costly. |
| R5 | Bloodline back-to-back. Dirty Circus second. They head into day two on 12 points, six clear of Bloodline in second. |
| R6 | Dirty Circus takes their second gun of the series. Bloodline second, Class Act third. Revelry fourth and still very much in touch. |
| R7 | NYX announce themselves with their first race win. Reggae Shark second. Dirty Circus drops to seventh — the door opens. |
| R8 | Zoot Allures takes their sole win of the series. NYX second. Dirty Circus eighth; their title hopes effectively over. |
| R9–10 | Revelry closes it out with back-to-back wins. Clinical consistency across the series proves the decisive factor. NYX and Zoot Allures finish level on 40 points in an extraordinary mid-fleet tie. |
| Pl | Boat | # | R1 | R2 | R3 | R4 | R5 | R6 | R7 | R8 | R9 | R10 | Pts | Ttl | Dsc |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Revelry | 42 | 1 | 2 | 6 | 6 | 3.5 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 24.5 | 30.5 | 6 |
| 2 | Bloodline | 90 | 9 | 4 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 8 | 7 | 3 | 2 | 31 | 40 | 9 |
| 3 | Reggae Shark | 48 | 3 | 1 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 2 | 4 | 5 | 3 | 33 | 38 | 5 |
| 4 | Dirty Circus | 08 | 2 | 4 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 7 | 8 | 6 | 8 | 34 | 42 | 8 |
| 5 | Zoot Allures | 43 | 7 | 3 | 2 | 4 | 6 | 6 | 9 | 1 | 2 | 10 | 40 | 50 | 10 |
| 6 | NYX | 16 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 9 | 9 | 8 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 4 | 40 | 49 | 9 |
| 7 | Slam Dunk | 00 | 6 | 4 | 8 | 2 | 3.5 | 7 | 5 | 5 | 7 | 5 | 44.5 | 52.5 | 8 |
| 8 | Class Act | 56 | 8 | 4 | 7 | 8 | 7 | 3 | 6 | 6 | 10 | 7 | 56 | 66 | 10 |
| 9 | Razorback | 41 | 5 | 4 | 9 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 4 | 9 | 8 | 6 | 60 | 69 | 9 |
The Elliott 5.9 one-design fleet continues to draw sailors of the highest calibre, and the class has taken particular encouragement from the strong performances of female skippers and crew alongside the ongoing development of the youth teams working their way through the fleet.
Away from the racing itself, the weekend had plenty going for it. On Friday evening the fleet gathered at the Okere Falls Store for burgers and beers, the ideal way to set the tone before racing began. When the final gun fired on Sunday, the Bay of Plenty crew added a bonus sausage sizzle to the prizegiving and rounded off the contest in style. Attention now turns to Marsden Cove in June for the next stop of the Burnsco Traveller Series. If the parity on show at Rotoiti is any guide, the 2026 title is genuinely up for grabs.
