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2029 OK Dinghy World Championship — proposed dates
Napier Sailing Club has set out the proposed dates for the 2029 OK Dinghy World Championship, along with the full build-up programme leading into it — headlined by the 2028 Interdominions at the same venue exactly a year out. Sailors here and overseas now have a clear runway to plan around.
All dates below are proposed and remain subject to final confirmation, but they are firm enough to book flights, freight and leave against.
The 2029 World Championship
The championship is proposed for Monday 26 February to Sunday 4 March 2029 at Napier Sailing Club, with registration opening over the preceding weekend of 24–25 February. The Monday combines late registration, the practice race and the opening ceremony, before racing gets underway on the Tuesday at two races per day. A lay day falls on Friday 2 March — ideal for a run up Te Mata Peak or a day in the Hawke’s Bay vineyards — with racing resuming over the final weekend and prizegiving following the last race on Sunday 4 March.
| Date | Day | Schedule |
|---|---|---|
| 3–4 Feb 2029 | Sat–Sun | Hawke’s Bay Invitational |
| 15–18 Feb 2029 | Thu–Sun | Napier Art Deco Weekend |
| 20–22 Feb 2029 | Tue–Thu | NZ Nationals / Interdominions |
| 24–25 Feb 2029 | Sat–Sun | World Championship registration |
| 26 Feb 2029 | Mon | Registration, practice race & opening ceremony |
| 27 Feb – 1 Mar 2029 | Tue–Thu | Racing — 2 races per day |
| 2 Mar 2029 | Fri | Lay day |
| 3–4 Mar 2029 | Sat–Sun | Racing — 2 races per day, prizegiving Sunday |
Sail the lot: the Hawke’s Bay Invitational and the NZ Nationals / Interdominions both sit inside the three weeks before the Worlds, so sailors arriving early can get a full programme of tune-up racing on the actual championship waters.
The road there: 2028 Interdominions
The serious build-up starts a year out, in February 2028, when Napier hosts the Interdominions alongside the New Zealand Nationals — ten races across four days from Tuesday 22 to Friday 25 February. The Interdominions is a trans-Tasman contest between Australia and New Zealand at heart, but the regatta is open to everyone, and international entries are genuinely welcome.
For anyone thinking about 2029, this is the trip to make. It is the same club, the same race area and the same time of year, with a full week of warm-up sailing in front of it: NSC club racing on Saturdays through January, the Hawke’s Bay Invitational on 12–13 February, and Napier’s celebrated Art Deco Weekend from 17–20 February, immediately before racing begins.
| Date | Day | Schedule |
|---|---|---|
| 15, 22 & 29 Jan 2028 | Saturdays | NSC club racing |
| 12–13 Feb 2028 | Sat–Sun | Hawke’s Bay Invitational |
| 17–20 Feb 2028 | Thu–Sun | Napier Art Deco Weekend |
| 22 Feb 2028 | Tue | NZ Nationals / Interdominions — 3 races |
| 23 Feb 2028 | Wed | NZ Nationals / Interdominions — 2 races |
| 24 Feb 2028 | Thu | NZ Nationals / Interdominions — 3 races |
| 25 Feb 2028 | Fri | NZ Nationals / Interdominions — 2 races |
Why Napier
Hawke’s Bay delivers reliable sea breezes of around 10–18 knots through the January/February season, daytime temperatures of 23–28°C, and a club that has run the OK Dinghy Worlds twice before, in 1994 and 2002. Add New Zealand’s oldest wine region, the Art Deco city itself, and direct flights and port access for boats and containers, and it makes for a championship worth building a season around.
Full details, venue information and the complete schedule are on our dedicated Napier 2029 page.
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