The fleet is growing… so where are you?

It’s getting exciting!  Fleet numbers are starting to swell with 35 entries in. There are good fleets developing in the Island Racing and Young 88’s Divisions and the Sports Boats and E Division are going to see some good competition.

But what’s going on in B Division?  In what’s normally one of our most fiercely contested divisions – home to the hottest, most highly spec’d 35-40 footers – we have just Alegre entered so far. Will Clockwork Racing be back to defend her PHRF title? Will Sassinate be vying for line honours again? Will we see the freshly relaunched Rehab making a return to her home turf?

Get your entries in to BOISW – Only the BEST big boat regatta in New Zealand!

It’s a tough year – can you help?

We’ve always worked hard for Bay of Islands Sailing Week to be a fun and laid-back regatta that’s as much about spending time with friends and family as it is about competition out on the water. But this year – as hard as it is to say – we really need your help.

It’s been a tough few years for our regatta (and we fully appreciate it has been for events, businesses and people in general) with Covid restrictions, weather events and now it seems the teeth of recession starting to bite. Sponsorship is well down on previous years, and while we’ve slashed our operating budget wherever we can, there are many expenses that we just couldn’t run a regatta without.

That’s why we’re taking the unusual and difficult step of asking for your help. It’s not expected nor required, but it would be immensely appreciated if you can help by…

• Making a donation – of any amount – to our 2024 regatta operating expenses account:
  Bay of Islands Sailing Week
  12-3102-0061414-01
  Reference: Donation
• Contacting us if you’re interested in – or refer anyone who may be interested in – corporate sponsorship. You can find out more and download a sponsorship pack here.
• If nothing else, we’d really appreciate your entry this year more than ever, so if you haven’t yet, please do enter now.

Rest assured we will put on a regatta one way or another, but with a little extra help we can make it just as awesome as ever before!

Enter NOW to go in the draw for a $499 Gill Jacket!

Like Christmas, the early entry deadline seems to quickly sneak up on us, so we urge you to get your entries in ASAP.

Early birds who sign up and pay their regatta entry fee by 31st December will go in the draw to win a fantastic top-of-the-line Gill Offshore sailing jacket from Burnsco in Opua 🥳, while those who don’t enter in time will be hit with an additional late entry fee of $100 on top of their normal entry fee. 😭

And if you needed any more reasons, your early entry will help our volunteer race management crew plan the regatta better, to give you the best BOISW experience. So don’t leave it any longer – get your entry in now.

Be Quick to Book a Marina Berth!

If you haven’t booked your berth for BOISW 2024 yet, the race is on!

Bay of Islands Marina have just been in touch to say all Bay Week entrants who were on the waitlist have now been allocated a berth, which means they’re under pressure to release the berths they’d normally hold for regatta boats to the general public.

That means GET IN QUICK if you want to be sure of securing a berth for the regatta!

Call 09 402 7124 or fill in the Book a Berth form here

Help keep our Beaches Beautiful! Join the Bay-Wide Beach Clean

As part of our commitment to running a Clean Regatta, we’ve partnered with Ocean Mind Project for a Bay-Wide Beach Clean on 10 December.

We’d love it if anyone in the BOI could come along and help keep our beautiful beaches free from rubbish. We also know a lot of you are in Auckland or further afield, so if you can’t make it in person, we’d encourage you to ‘take three for the sea’ wherever you are on the day – simply pick up 3 bits of plastic or rubbish from a beach or waterway near you, dispose of it responsibly in the nearest rubbish bin, and you’ll be making a welcome contribution to the health of our oceans.

Even better – send us a pic of your cleanup and we’ll rustle up some spot prizes and run a draw for those taking part!