Any of the 100 or so who attended the TYPBC Steve's Marine Centreboard regatta over the weekend would use ‘quality' to describe the regatta in one word – quality in every aspect, from the warm sunny conditions, which sucked in a typical sea-breeze and demanded intelligent sailing from the 57 competitors.

Peter Burling racing a moth.

Quality from the 12 centreboard classes represented, from the hi-tech carbon fibre, winged, hydrofoiling ‘Moth', at one end of the spectrum, to the venerable ‘P Class' at the other.

Nowhere was quality more present than in the competitor list which comprised no less than a 2008 Olympian, eight national champions and six New Zealand representative sailors.

Contributing to this and in a tradition that goes back more than sixty years, Hamilton Yacht Club came over the hill to direct their annual assault on the Zephyr and P classes.

In the Zephyr class, TYPBC legend Jimmy Gilpin, who hasn't sailed his boat for a year, staved off the challenge to win the event by three points from Hamilton's Rob Ebbert.

In the P Class the Hamilton squad of four girls and one boy, were too strong for the local sailors.

Hamilton's Annie Oxborrow won the event from Tauranga's emerging sailor, Josh McConnell by two points.

Mark O'Brien, also from Hamilton dominated in the ‘3.7' North Island Championship event class to win five of the six races.

While coming ashore at the end of day one, Jimmy Gilpin couldn't get his new knee over the side and crashed his boat.

Early the following morning, sailors from both sides of the Kaimais arrived to help with the repair.

For many of those on the water, the presence of Olympian Peter Burling, zipping silently through the fleets on his hydro-foiling moth quicker than you could drop your jaw, was awesome.

At the prizegiving, Jimmy Gilpin divulged the reason for Peter's appearance.

'He came to learn some tricks from the Zephyr sailors,” Jimmy told the crowd.

In response to a sceptical comment made privately, Jimmy said.

'Listen mate, no bullshit, but that group of 11 Zephyr sailors has probably 500 years of sailing experience.

'From all the regattas in the world Peter goes to, where would he find that amount of experience.”

For the detailed results of all the classes, visit www.yacht.org.nz/