The weather has been on the chilly side but the food's great and the view can't be beaten.

Better yet, if Anchor AIMS Games sailors Oliver Rayner, Jessica Redpath, Naiomi Ferrissey and Dougal Clarke sleep in, they'll have nearly 80 fellow competitors providing a wake-up call each morning.

The quartet have found a novel solution to Tauranga's supposed accommodation crisis - they're freedom camping in vans at the Sulphur Point yachting venue for the intermediate-aged championships.

"We stayed at a friend's house last year but this year we're camping and although it's cold, it's so much fun," says Murrays Bay Intermediate Year 8 student Naiomi.

"Everything's here - you don't need to worry about waking up early because all the other crews are really noisy when they get here each day."

Naiomi and schoolmate Jessica are staying with their respective dads Mike and Simon, with the latter picking up cooking duties. Saturday night was nachos, eaten on the beach at sunset with the best view in town, Mauao standing guard across Tauranga Harbour.

On Sunday he went for pearler potatoes and tortellini, with a vegetable bolognese and parmesan.

"My dad doesn't cook - he only knows how to make baked beans and potatoes," Jessica adds. "Guilty!" her dad Mike concedes from across the campsite, which has wetsuits and lifejackets strewn on lines, drying in the blustery southerly.

When the Aucklanders arrived, they found they had camping company; Dougal and dad Dave arriving from Highlands Intermediate in New Plymouth, while Oliver and mum Karen headed over the hill from Berkley Normal Middle School in Hamilton.

Oliver was immediately the recipient of some Tauranga hospitality - the strong first-day winds left him ill-equipped until Aquinas College sailor Gabriella Carter came to the rescue with a more suitable sail.

And the campers were quickly adopted by the hosting Tauranga Yacht and Powerboat Club.

"The good thing is the club have given us a swipe card, which we can use to get into the club for showering and going to the toilets," Simon said. "We came down early and helped out with a few things and they were really awesome in return."

Among the slight drawbacks of their housing solution are local freedom camping rules, which mean they have to change sites every two days, while the southerly-induced frost which blanketed the city this morning proved made things uncomfortable.

But the strong winds came into play later in the day, with Naiomi in particular revelling in the sou-wester. She picked up a fifth-placing overall in the second race of the day and finishing second in the last race, hoping to go one-better than the runner-up finish she achieved last year.

"It was really windy and really awesome - it was all about hiking, staying strong and not letting the boys pass you, which was my aim for the day. All the people here are so nice and the sailing conditions mean you can extend out of your boat and just send it, basically. It's such a nice feeling - you get a real work-out."