The incredible record of a Tauranga bred sailor
by Roger Rushton 9 Mar 2021 06:31 UTC
Brian Petersen's new yacht, V5 (left) and his old yacht Ran Tan II (right) running downwind in the 2018 Jack Tar Auckland Regatta © Photo supplied
The incredible record of a Tauranga bred sailor, current owner of “V5”, a TP52 entered in the Farmer Autovillage Auckland to Tauranga Centennial Yacht Race starting at 0900 on Saturday 27th of March 2021 and past owner of Ran Tan 11, an Elliott canting keel 50’, sadly lost at sea after keel damage, Maverick 11, an Elliot 52 Schooner, and Dictator a Kevin Lidgard 40’.
The story starts when BP crewed on Triompe racing to Noumea in 1984 and on the delivery back, Triompe rolled over and sank with the crew escaping into a liferaft and were picked up by a Russian trawler. A little daunting for most of us but not for BP. Racing yachts was his forte.
In a Sydney to Hobart race on Swuzzle Bubble in 1993, the yacht rolled and was dismasted and BP was trapped under the water and had to release his harness to escape. He then had to swim for his life to get back on board. But for the quick actions of his crewmates and a powerful swim in wet weather gear, this incident could have cost BP his life.
BP relates that he is often asked about how many ocean miles he has raced or delivered boats and says it isn’t a stat that is important to him and he would rather look forward positively to the next race.
While BP has had many successes in a long and illustrious career, he cites the Sydney to Hobart in 2017 as a standout result on Ran Tan 11 achieving 16th on line with an all Kiwi crew in an incredible time of 1 day 23hrs 34mins 4secs. Brian says that they really had a dream run as they hit speeds Brian had never experienced before. They hit 32.6kts in a breeze topping out at 37kts and were really flying. They got to Hobart a day before they were booked into a Hotel and had to all crash on Ran Tan 11 for the night. Most of the yachts to finish ahead of Ran Tan 11 were Maxis, (100ft), twice her size so it was an incredible achievement.
BP says that he could not have gained the results and the enjoyment he has had without having top class crew around him and well prepared yachts. BP extends his thanks to all those people who have sailed with him over the years. He would also like to thank Altex Coating for providing the special speed advantage that comes with a very slippery anti foul, Petit Vivid on V5, last applied by Hibiscus Coatings in Jan 2019 and he reports that it is lasting well with just the odd touch up.
Ricky Collins, Sales Manager Australasia for Altex Coatings Ltd says they are proud to be a local co sponsor for the Auckland to Tauranga Centennial Yacht Race and look forward to introducing the latest marine products from the Company to the entrants over race weekend.
Brian's Racing Record:
Ocean Races
1 Transpac. (Los Angeles To Honalulu). 5 Sydney to Hobart. 1 Melbourne to Hobart east coast. 1 Melborne to Hobart west coast 1 Canary Is to St Lucia. 3 Melbourne to Osaka. (two handed). 4 Auckland to Noumea. 1 Whangarei to Noumea.1. Noumea to Mooloolaba. 5 Auckland to Fiji. 1. Auckland, Suva, Guam, Fukuoka. 2 Tauranga to Brisbane. 1 Sydney to Lord Howe Is. 1 China Sea race. 1 Whangarei to Port Vila.
Coastal Races
24 Coastal Classics. 17 Auckland to Tauranga. 5 Auckland to Gisborne. 2 Wellington to Gisborne. 1 Auckland to Nelson. 3 Sydney to Southport. 1. San Francisco to Los Angeles. 1 Nakhodka,USSR, to Muroran Japan. 2 Mooloolaba to Airlie Beach. 2 Round North Is. (2 handed). 1 Round North Is (fully crewed). 1 Toba Pearl Race, Japan. 1 Wellington to Nelson. 1 Wellington to Picton. 1 Wellington to Lyttleton. 2 Groupama Around New Caledonia. 1 SSANZ Anzac 250. 1 RAYC 350 Miler.
Regattas. 1 Japan Sea Series. 1 Kenwood Cup. 1 Japan Cup. 1.Pacific Rim Regatta. 1 NZ Keelboat Championship. 1 Southern Cross Cup. 2 Air NZ Regattas. 1 Hayman Is Big Boat Regatta. 3 Hamilton Is Regattas.
Delivery trips to or from all of the above race destinations including a trip to the Marquesas.