At the Aon Yachting Excellence awards gala dinner held at the Royal New Zealand Yacht Squadron on Friday 18th November 2022, Tony and Nina Kiff received a Yachting New Zealand, supported by Boating NZ, Service Award for their services to yachting.

For the past 20 years the Opua couple have been organising and running one of NZ’s largest regattas, the Bay of Islands Sailing Week which runs each year in January.

The idea for the regatta came from Tony and Nina Kiff, and the event’s aim today is still just as Tony Kiff described it in 2003: “to offer sailors a yachting event for keelboats, trailer yachts and sports boats while showcasing the Bay of Islands as a magnificent sailing and holiday destination”.

It has done that many times over, although there have been many times the regatta has come under threat and would have discontinued if it wasn’t for the tireless efforts of Tony and Nina. In 2023 the Bay of Islands Sailing week will be celebrating its 20th anniversary and will again be hosted from the Opua Cruising Club 24th-27th January 2023.