GWE entered a boat in the Karl Majurey Architects (KMA) team in the 33rd running of the GIB® Architects’ Regatta on the Waitemata Harbour, on Monday, 24th February. The regatta was hosted by the Royal NZ Yacht Squadron.
The KMA team consisted of two very different boats. Karl and 3 others were on the 6.7m long Pied Piper “Beep Beep”, being the smallest boat in the fleet. GWE’s entry was the “Lady Nada”, a 13.3m Catamaran with a 15 crew of staff and friends.
Sailing conditions were perfect, with the sun shining and 10-15 knots of southerly wind coming in just before the “Mark Foy” handicap start. Conditions allowed the boats to reach down the harbour, rounding buoys of Mechanics Bay, Devonport, Northhead and Orakei Wharf before heading back to the finish by the Harbour Bridge.
Racing was very close, with some of the mark roundings being a little close for comfort. “Beep Beep” led for the first half of the race but slowly got overhauled by the bigger boats, while “Lady Nada” got a bit stuck in the middle of the pack and couldn’t break free and get some clear air. Both boats ended up finishing mid-fleet.
The crews from all the boats headed back to the RNZYS function rooms to enjoy the prize-giving, drinks and dinner, generously provided by the race sponsor, GIB® (Winstone Wallboards Ltd).
A great time was had by all and the GWE team is already talking about entering a boat in the 2021 Regatta.