Classic Yacht Association Journal

ANDREW AITKEN ANDY ANDERSON BEACON MARINE COLIN & PATRICA CARRAN COLOURWORX ROY DICKSON DODSON JAPANESE PARTSWORLD DOYLE SAILS GRAEME EDWARDS GERALD FLYNN MATTHEW FLYNN GALBRAITH FAMILY DON GRAYSON HARKEN NZ PHILLIP HART HOPMAN FAMILY ICEFIRE LTD KZ RACE FURLERS LIGHTHOUSE MARINE EQUIPMENT LUCAS FAMILY MIKE MAHONEY STEVE MAIR MCKEOGH FAMILY MULCAHY ENGINEERING DAVID NATHAN NEW WORLD BIRKENHEAD PAGANI PORK CHOP RACING ANDREW REID SAVINGS WORKS JOHN & KATHRYN SINCLAIR SOUTHERN SPARS/ RIGPRO WASHTECH WESTHAVEN ROTARY WINDOWMAKERS HUGH L WRIGHT YACHTING DEVELOPMENTS ZHIK

SUPPORTERS One of our RNZYS Performance Programme teams comprised of Alastair Gifford, Max South and Frankie Dair jetted off to the United States of America in July on a quest to do the Squadron proud on the international stage with the hope of making it a three-peat of RNZYS victories at the US Grand Slam Series. This is their report:

The US Grand Slam Series is made up of four match racing events during August and early September held in Chicago, Detroit and New York.

As we all know in a Covid-19 world, plans change. To start with Alastair and Max joined the Mini maxi 72, Vesper, on the East Coast of America. They tasted immediate success as they combined with the rest of the Vesper team to win the East Coast ORC Championships.

Meanwhile, Frankie kept himself busy on the west coast winning the King of Spain Star class regatta while also getting involved with a Farr40 and various other boats. The team then linked up to train at Martha’s Vineyard in J70s to get back into the match racing mind frame. After training, the team got on the road and headed to Chicago for the first leg of the Grand Slam, the Chicago Match Cup.

They were joined by Gavin Brady and his daughter Rye. “We would like to say a huge thank you to Gavin for coming along and sharing his wealth of knowledge and wisdom. This helped us grow as a team.

“After a tight and competitive regatta, we managed to come away with a hard-fought win in the final 3-1.” says Alastair. This is the first major win for the team and they will look to carry the momentum into the remaining events.

Since then, the team has gone their separate ways again. Alastair and Frankie set off to Los Angeles to sail and work before attending the remaining three US Grand Slam events in Detroit and Oackliff, with hopes of winning the series. Meanwhile, Max has set off to Europe to join Beau Geste for the 20th anniversary TP52 regatta. “There is a lot more to come for us with more regattas, as a team, over both America and Europe in the next few months. We are trying to make the most of the opportunities in these complex Covid-19 times,” states Max.

“We would like to hugely express our gratitude to the RNZYS and all those involved in helping us make the most of these fantastic opportunities.”.

Three years ago, I joined the Mastercard Youth Training Programme (YTP) not really knowing what to expect as I had never participated in a training programme before. However, because I had previously done the Kawau Training Week years prior, I thought that this would be a good next step to further my overall understanding across all sailing areas.

The YTP would also give me a chance to meet like-minded people, and through hard work and training on the majority of my weekends, I believe being part of this programme has enabled me to achieve more than I could have imagined.

It is a programme that pushes you to constantly improve in many areas of on-water sailing, including match, fleet and teams racing as well as doing the occasional harbour course. We are also encouraged to develop our understanding of sailing trim, rules, tactics, boat handling, fitness, as well as on and off water communications.

All of the above is coached, tested, then recorded in a performance ranking chart that creates a healthy competitive environment between all of the programme sailors.

These rankings provide the basis for how we are chosen to sail both in national and international regattas. Unfortunately, this year due to Covid-19, most regattas have been out of the question. Previously, we have had the opportunity to compete right around New Zealand as well as in Sydney, Nouméa, Darwin, and China.

The programme has given us other opportunities in addition to enhancing our own sailing such as assisting with mark laying during the America’s Cup and learning to splice thanks to Harken. This year, I have also been fortunate enough that the RNZYS has allowed me to complete my university workintegrated-learning placement for my Bachelor of Sport and Recreation. This will involve learning more about Race Management in the Sailing Office and helping with the Learn to Sail Programme, both of which I am looking forward to.

From my personal experience, if you are looking for a way to carry on your sailing at a high level and make some friends while you are doing it, then I highly recommend joining the RNZYS Mastercard Youth Training Programme as it is a great next step.

Brooke Adamson YTP Member