Battle of the bridge

The Royal New Zealand Yacht Squadron's Bridge to Bean race announces major sponsor as preparations ramp up.

19 November 2020

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Preparations for the inaugural Bridge to Bean are ramping up, with organisers expecting the event to be very popular in 2021.

The Royal New Zealand Yacht Squadron has announced that Barfoot & Thompson have signed up as naming rights sponsors for the event, making it the ‘Barfoot & Thomson Bridge to Bean’.

Barfoot & Thompson Managing Director Peter Thompson is very happy to be behind what is going to be a brilliant event for all ages.

“We are extremely happy to be supporting this really unique and exciting event. I used to be a dinghy sailor myself and I would have loved to take part in something like this when I was a youngster.

“Seeing hundreds of dinghies and foiling vessels on the start-line under the harbour bridge and then racing their way up the harbour to Bean Rock is going to be a sight to behold, and I am thrilled that Barfoot & Thompson are right behind this event. I encourage all dinghy sailors – young and old – to get involved.”

 

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There are also two more great organisations throwing their names behind this event in the form of sponsorships, including Doyle Sails who are now the official sail maker, and VMG Clothing who are the official clothing supplier. As part of VMG’s official clothing supplier sponsorship, a cool event t-shirt has been created which all competitors will be given, as well as an official event bib to wear on the water for the race.

Entries for the event are already rolling in. As an extra incentive, anyone who enters and pays before Friday 11 December will go in the draw to win two exclusive once in a lifetime experiences to be onboard the RNZYS VIP viewing boat during the Prada Cup with hospitality included.  

The B2B race committee, led by experienced Race Officer Colin Lucas, had a great afternoon on Thursday 8 October holding a trial run for the inaugural race to put the course to the test. Half a dozen dinghies (Optimists, Starlings and a Laser) joined in from RAYC and Panmure Boating Club, in warm N-NE light conditions.

Barfoot & Thompson Bridge to Bean Committee Member Nic Finlayson was stoked with how the test unfolded.

“With over 300 dinghies expected for the real race it’s important for us to make sure our safety strategies are in place, splitting the fleets into different groups and different sections of the bridge for the start, and marshalling the smaller boats down the course.

The course looks like it will work in both N – NE breeze, and anything from S – SW – W as well. There were lots of smiling faces on the day, with the Opti’s hitting their target speeds, a tidy 45 minutes from the Bridge to Torpedo.”

 

rnzys.org.nz

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