YBQ Issue3

CUP

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START LINE

Eduan Roos

@YachtingNewZealand

@YachtingNewZealand

CONTRIBUTORS

Cris Brodie, Kathy Catton, Rod Davis, Ian Gardiner, Wayne Holdt, Kate Howse, Robin Marsh, Suzanne McFadden, Kirsten Moratz, Kelly Mulcahy, Hayden Whitburn.

EDITORIAL

Eduan Roos

eduan@yachtingnz.org.nz

ADVERTISING

Angela Jordan

angela@yachtingnz.org.nz

YACHTING NEW ZEALAND

4 Fred Thomas Drive, Takapuna, Auckland 0622

YBQ is published quarterly by Yachting New Zealand.

A big year for sailing, at home and abroad

The next few months will be some of the most important and exciting for sailing in this country for some time.

Hot on the heels of Christchurch outdoing itself for the second SailGP event on New Zealand waters, preparations for the America’s Cup in Barcelona are starting to reach fever pitch, and selections for the 2024 Paris Olympic Games are being finalised.

The battle for the Auld Mug will include the firstever Women’s America’s Cup – another significant step in creating more attractive pathways for females in the sport, while the Paris Games are set to be the first in history to achieve numerical gender parity among its competitors.

Olympics – with further announcements imminent.

One of those sailors is Tom Saunders, who will make his Olympic debut after campaigning for the last 12 years.

His story (on page 11) is one of inspiration that, hopefully, will see another good-news chapter added in Marseille in August.

We also catch up with a handful of other athletes’ efforts to gain selection and we bring you the latest in what is shaping to be an enthralling battle in Barcelona, as Emirates Team New Zealand lift the lid on their preparations for the 37th America’s Cup.

The Voice of the Participant survey has also opened and, as the name suggests, it is an opportunity for everyone involved in sailing and boating to have their say.

It’s the first time in two years Yachting New Zealand is participating in the survey, having implemented much of the feedback received in the 2021 round.

As is the case with most sports in the country, growth, diversity and retention remain important issues facing yachts clubs and class associations from Bluff to Taipa.

You can access the latest Voice of the Participant survey by clicking on this link or scanning the QR code above.

We value your feedback on the things that deserve scrutiny and celebration.

Speaking of the latter, in this edition of YBQ we introduce the first five sailors to be named to the New Zealand Team for the

Things don’t get much more exciting than the edge-of-yourseat finish in the Sydney to Hobart race late last year – one of the most dramatic in the event’s history.

On page 20, Kiwi Tony Mutter shares what it was like aboard LawConnect during the match race to the line against fierce rivals Andoo Comanche.

We also talk to New Plymouth teen Reija Treacy Wolnik about her epic three-week transatlantic journey with her grandpa, we document Canadian Jill Oakes’ remarkable 13,000km trek to compete at the 2024 Flying Fifteen national championships, and we pay tribute to one of the unsung heroes of our sport – Joyce Talbot.

There’s plenty more from all corners of our sailing community and we hope you enjoy this issue as much as we did putting it together.

As always, please let us know of any stories we should be sharing.

Happy reading!

Cover photo: America’s Cup

EDITOR

TOP MARK TOM’S

TURN

Saunders finally lands Olympic spot as first sailors named 8

Photo: NZOC

ON TOP OF THEIR GAMES

Meet the first five sailors selected to represent NZ at the 2024 Olympics.

Ayoung and exciting initial sailing squad has been named to the New Zealand team for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, with five sailors selected to compete in four sailing classes.

Tom Saunders, Micah Wilkinson, Erica Dawson, Veerle ten Have and Josh Armit were officially selected at a function at Wakatere Boating Club

on Auckland’s North Shore earlier this month.

Of the initial sailing selection, only Nacra 17 duo Wilkinson and Dawson have previous Olympic experience, with the pair having competed in the mixed multihull at Tokyo 2020.

Further crews will be considered for selection to the New Zealand team following a series of upcoming competitions.

Armit and ten Have will represent the country in windfoiling, which is set to make its debut in Marseille, where the Olympic sailing competition will be held.

It’s the first time since Barbara Kendall in Beijing in 2008 that New Zealand will have a female windsurfer at the Olympics.

“Representing New Zealand on the biggest stage is incredibly exciting and it took me a few days to process the news,” says ten Have.

“Making the team is only one step, however, and now it’s all about performing in Marseille.”

Ten Have, 23, has established herself among the leading female windfoilers in the world, despite only sailing in the class for a little over two years. She won bronze at last year’s season-opening World Cup in Spain and finished sixth at the Olympic test event in Marseille in July.

“Being a part of the New Zealand Team and seeing the level of support around the athletes is awesome,” she says.

“We won’t be in the Olympic village

2024 PARIS OLYMPIC GAMES

in Paris with many of the other New Zealand athletes, but I can already feel the sense of togetherness among the group and that is something we will all be relying on to lift our performances.”

Twenty-two-year-old Armit, meanwhile, enjoyed a breakthrough season in 2023, finishing in the top 10 in several key European regattas, with his seventh at the combined sailing world championships in The Hague in August a highlight.

“It’s a really cool event,” says Armit. “We’re flying above the water now with these foils and I just love the speed and freedom of it, it’s a really exciting sport.”

While ten Have and Armit are relatively new to their classes, Saunders

has been one of the world’s leading ILCA 7 (formerly Laser) sailors for much of the past decade.

In 2021, he became only the second Kiwi and the first since Nik Burfoot in 1994 to win the class world championships with his triumph in Barcelona.

Saunders, whose brother Jason represented New Zealand at the 2012 and

2016 Olympics, will make his Olympic debut in Marseille.

“There’s a definite sense of pride and relief to be selected after three Olympic cycles – 12 full years of campaigning,” the 31-year-old Tauranga sailor says.

“To be part of a bigger team and to represent our country along with top athletes from other sports is very special and something that I will be embracing.

Tom Saunders, Micah Wilkinson, Josh Armit, Erica Dawson and Veerle ten Have been included in the New Zealand team for Paris 2024. Photos: NZOC

Winning a medal is what we’ve been working toward for a long time, and I know I have the potential to get on that podium in France.”

Wilkinson, 28, and Dawson, 29, have been sailing together since 2019 and had their first taste of the Olympics in Tokyo, finishing just outside the top 10 despite Dawson breaking her leg in a training accident only a month out from the showpiece.

Like ten Have, Dawson is juggling two

while ten Have is the only female in the youth team.

“So far it’s been really good but our full focus is on the Nacra at the moment and then after the Olympics we’ll head to Barcelona and get sailing which will be pretty cool,” Dawson says.

“Micah has been super supportive, and we both believe that the skills I learn on [the Women’s America’s Cup AC40] are going to help me on the Nacra, and vice versa.”

VIDEO

New Zealand Olympic Committee chief executive Nicki Nicol extended her congratulations to the sailors.

“We’re really pleased to have named these exciting athletes to our Olympic team,” Nicol says.

“It’s great to have a mix of youth and experience in this initial squad, and we look forward to growing this team with further selections in the coming

New Zealand has a proud Olympic sailing legacy, having collected 23 medals since the first won by Peter Mander and Jack Cropp at Melbourne in 1956.

Sailing at Paris 2024 is due to get underway in Marseille on July 28th and conclude on August 8th.

SELECTION

Tom Saunders’ selection for the Olympic Games has capped a remarkable comeback after results in 2023 fell short of his lofty standards.

The ILCA 7 veteran, a former world champion in the class, failed to make an international podium last year, with fifth at the Princess Sofia Regatta in Spain in April his best result.

He admits his 11th at the combined world championships in The Hague in August, where teammate and training partner George Gautrey won bronze to secure a country spot for New Zealand at the Games, was a low point.

“I had rarely felt so disconnected from the sport as I did that day. I felt defeated,” Saunders says. “But something told me to pick myself up. It’s not how you fall, but always how you get back up.”

Veerle ten Have will be the first female Kiwi windsurfer at the Games in 16 years. Photo: Sailing Energy

CAPS SAUNDERS’ COMEBACK

Saunders did just that – and put himself in pole position to be picked for Marseille ahead of Gautrey – by finishing fifth at the 2024 ILCA 7 world championships in Adelaide in February.

He secured the result with a sixth place in the double-points medal race for his third consecutive top-five placing at the event.

Saunders ended the regatta, the second of two Olympic selection trials, eight points ahead of Cypriot Pavlos

‘The support I’ve received from Mike, Dan, friends, family and the Yachting New Zealand team has been unbelievable.’

Tom Saunders

Kontides (sixth) but couldn’t overhaul Britain’s Michael Beckett for the bronze medal.

Australian Olympic champion Matt Wearn won gold, with Norway’s Hermann Tomasgaard taking out silver.

Gautrey, whom Saunders had been vying against for the sole spot at the Olympics, finished 15th overall after suffering an early penalty and a black flag in his penultimate race.

His third place in the final gold fleet race of the world champs was a turning point, Saunders says.

“For most of the week, I felt like I was working for every point, like I was struggling to convert races while the top three [Wearn, Tomasgaard and Beckett] made it look effortless, and all deserve to have a world title.

“But I kept fighting and really dug deep in that last race. That was a big moment and the emotion with my coach Mike [Bullot] there was awesome. He’s been with me every step of the way. Along with Dan [Slater], they have been a critical part of my campaign.”

Saunders had shown signs of returning to form by finishing second only to Wearn at the Australian national championships a fortnight earlier.

“The support I’ve received from Mike, Dan, friends, family and the Yachting New Zealand team has been unbelievable, so I was grateful for this moment,” Saunders says.

“Naturally, I’m disappointed to miss out on a medal but I’m proud to have put together a solid week, and I am looking forward to the rest of the year.”

Tom Saunders’ fifth place at the ILCA 7 world championships in Adelaide secured his spot in the team. Photo: Down Under Sail

INTO THE UNKNOWN

Kiwi skiff crews struggle with alien conditions at world champs as Olympic Games edge closer.

Before Jo Aleh and Molly Meech can race for Olympic glory in Marseille, they know they must first win their race against time.

And, with the Games now only four months away, the Kiwi 49erFX pair admit they have their work cut out following a somewhat disappointing performance at the world championships in Lanzarote.

Despite some positives, Aleh and Meech finished 12th overall at the event, which also doubled as the last of two Olympic selection trials, with a string of inconsistent results – varying from a bullet in their regatta opener to 23rd in their penultimate gold fleet race in conditions which were very different to what they are used to.

They were too slow to

adjust to their surroundings, while too many mistakes also proved very costly, Aleh says.

“It was a challenging week overall as Lanzarote is a pretty unique place to sail, and the racing was probably trickier than we would have thought compared to our build-up here. We made a few too many errors and because it is such a tight fleet, you get punished for them.”

There were good signs – the duo fell only 13 points short of what would have been their second medal race in three international events – and their second since teaming up in the skiff in early 2022.

They finished sixth at the combined world championships in The Hague last August, a result that secured a country spot in the class at the Games.

“We had a lot of good moments, and have definitely made some good gains over

The 49er and 49erFX world championships were sailed in challenging conditions off the coast of Lanzarote. Photos: Sailing Energy

locked in first place even before the medal race, with Bart Lambriex and Floris van de Werken (Netherlands), and Diego Botin and Florian Trittel (Spain) in second and

“We’re looking forward to getting back into it at home and hopefully bring our A-game to [the French Olympic Week regatta in] Hyeres,” McKenzie says.

VIDEO

often a big underlying swell mixed with some weird chop on top.”

capsizes summed up our regatta.”

They finished some way behind France’s Erwan Fischer and Clément Pequin, who

McHardie and McKenzie, who capped off an impressive 2023 with bronze at the European championships in November, have been vying for selection for the sole 49er spot in France against Logan Dunning Beck and Oscar Gunn – but an unfortunate injury to Dunning Beck only days before the start of the world championships ruled the latter pair out of the world champs.

Meanwhile, young 49er crew Campbell Stanton and Will Shapland showed plenty of promise by finishing in the top half of the silver fleet and 40th overall.

LEFT: Jo Aleh and Molly Meech finished just outside the top 10. ABOVE: Isaac McHardie and Will McKenzie.

RACE

RACE AGAINST TIME

Kitchen took a break from sailing, got married, finished her degree and started a family.

Husband Chris introduced her to the new form of kiting – on a foil – a few years later, and when it was confirmed as an Olympic class for Paris in late 2018, Kitchen decided to revive her dream of sailing on the biggest stage.

“It’s been quite a long journey but experiencing the highs and lows of two previous campaigns has made me mentally stronger,” she says.

“I’ve also become a master of rehab –you have to after three reconstructions on your shoulder, and that experience has been very valuable in this situation. There is a fine balance between pushing yourself and ensuring you don’t get reinjured. I know by now where that line is, and I am fortunate to have an incredible medical team and support crew around me.”

Kitchen grew up idolising dad Rex, a double Olympic medallist in the 1980s.

“I can remember being a very young child and my dad going to the Olympics and, as a preschooler, deciding that’s what I wanted to do,” Kitchen says.

“So, for me, it’s been kind of a lifetime of wanting to do this one thing.”

Rex is still one of her biggest supporters – whether it’s offering sailing advice or helping to take care of Florentina, 8, and Lucette, 7, when she is training or competing.

Chris, an accomplished sailor in his own right and a successful businessman, has been her rock.

“He’s amazing. It gives me so much confidence knowing I can go away for weeks at a time, and the kids are 100 per cent happy and he’s got everything under control. But it’s certainly a team effort.

We also have Chris’ father, Roger, and my parents, and we have a nanny, because Chris is also very busy. He runs a company and looks after 50 or 60 people.”

Kitchen has spent a significant amount of her rehabilitation period in the gym, bulking up to increase her on-water speed.

“A big element of kite foiling now is your weight – heavier means faster, so that has been a big goal of mine while I haven’t been able to get on the water. I’ve been in the gym almost every day, and I’ve managed to put on about 5kg of muscle. My overall leg strength is also almost better than it was before the injury.”

Kitchen had mixed results in 2023 –finishing just outside the top 20 at the Princess Sofia Regatta, French Olympic week and the sailing world championships but managing a ninth overall at the Olympic test event in Marseille in July – a result that saw her rejoin the NZL Sailing

Justina Kitchen has spent five months off the water after suffering a serious knee injury in training in September. Photos: Sailing Energy

Team.

“I felt like I was making some good gains and was looking forward to the rest of the year before I got hurt,” she says.

“The challenge now is to try to pick straight back up where I left off. Any sailor’s worst nightmare is turning up to an event underprepared because that’s where you get a lot of your confidence from; knowing you’ve done all the hard work to be ready for your event.

“I’m in a situation where I’m turning up and I haven’t done all those on the water hours, but I’m just going to focus on those very few things that I can control and try and use the time that I have left to make it happen.”

Kitchen finished fourth in the silver fleet (and 29th overall) at the Europeans which was also an Olympic trial. Lucy Bilger was 11 places behind her, with Lukas Walton-Keim 27th in the men’s

competition.

Kitchen will next compete at this year’s edition of the Princess Sofia, followed by the French Olympic Week and the kitefoil world championships – both in Hyeres.

“It’s just about getting back on the water, doing as well as I can and proving that I’m fit and that the knee is strong enough,” she says.

“There are so many things that need to fall in place to make it to the Olympics but that’s what makes it such a special event. For me, it would be the ultimate fulfilment of what has been a 20year commitment, but whatever happens I’m lucky to even be in this position after all the setbacks.

“It’s not going to be easy, but I won’t stop believing.”

'IT'S A LONG GAME'

Greta Pilkington is fighting for her spot at the Olympic Games – whether that's in Paris, Los Angeles or Brisbane.

Whenever Greta Pilkington pushes off the beach these days, she glances at the letter P scribbled on the back of her hand.

But as much as the 20-year-old ILCA 6 sailor’s focus over the coming months will be on gaining selection for the Olympic Games in Paris in July and August, the P does not represent the French capital.

“It stands for process,” Pilkington says. “I write it down to remind myself to focus on the process and not the outcome. To

only think about the next thing you’re trying to get right – first the starting sequence, then the first beat and so on. It’s easy to be outcome-focused, to think about winning the race rather than concentrating on what will get you there.”

It’s a ritual that has played a big part in her recent success, culminating in New Zealand securing a spot on the ILCA 6 start line at the Games, and underpins her efforts to be the first Kiwi sailor in the class, formerly known as the Laser Radial, to sail

Greta Pilkington sailed at the combined world championships in August 2023.

Photo: Sailing Energy

MEET THE FLEET

journey.”

It’s been a busy time for Pilkington on and off the water. She completed her three-year Bachelor of Architecture degree at Auckland University of Technology in November, before jumping on a plane to compete at Sail Melbourne and Sail Sydney – her performance at the latter qualifying New Zealand in the class for Paris.

“I decided some time ago that I wanted to try and do both sailing and studying at the same pace,” says Pilkington, who will soon start an internship at a leading Auckland-based architecture firm.

GAME'

at the four-yearly showpiece since 2012.

To be considered for selection, Pilkington must be among the top 16 nations at either the Princess Sofia Regatta in Palma early next month, or the French Olympic Week in Hyeres a fortnight later.

“It would be a dream come true, but Paris is not the end goal for me,” she says.

“I have to look beyond that as the outcome – there’s also Los Angeles in 2028 and Brisbane in 2032. In terms of ILCA sailing, I am only at the start of my

“I am entirely dedicated to my sailing but it’s important to have something outside of the sport. Naturally, I had to compromise a bit on both sides [sailing and studying] but it worked out in the end.”

Pilkington finished sixth in Sydney after a similar result in Melbourne and started 2024 by narrowly missing out on the gold fleet at the world championships in Mar del Plata, Argentina.

She admits to still being intimidated when lining up next to the world’s best ILCA 6 sailors, some almost twice her age.

“I’ve only competed in four world championships – one being the under-21 worlds [in Vilamoura, Portugal] in 2022. The first one was in Melbourne in 2020, when I was only 16 but I remember racing against [Dutch triple Olympic medallist and multiple world champion] Marit Bouwmeester.

“I wanted to try and win the [starting]

pin. I managed to do it with Marit above me, rounding the top mark in fifth. It didn’t matter that I was over by about 30cm at the start. I had never been more excited, and I remember thinking it was the coolest thing ever and that I wanted to keep sailing against her.”

She had another opportunity at the combined world championships in The Hague in August, where Bouwmeester finished fourth overall with Pilkington 84th in the 110-boat fleet.

“It was intimidating being next to these top sailors in the boat park but at the same time, it was an amazing experience – just realising that they started where I am now and seeing all the time and effort they’ve put in to get to the top. It shows the amount of growth I still have to do, but that’s also exciting,” Pilkington says.

“At that level, you know a bad start will mean you’ll have 59 other boats in front of you. It’s daunting at times, but I am slowly getting more confident and when you do get those small little things right it feels like a massive reward.”

The experience of triple Olympian and 2000 gold medallist Jenny Armstrong, Yachting New Zealand’s ILCA 6 programme manager, has been a big boon, Pilkington says.

“Jenny has won at the highest level and she knows what it takes. Paris would be great, but I need to be patient. The amount of experience doesn’t just happen overnight, especially in the ILCA 6. It’s a long game.”

Pilkington is hoping to become the first Kiwi ILCA 6 sailor at the Olympics since 2012.

Photo: Jacob Fewtrell Media

MAKING SPEED

SPEED

When Tony Mutter and the LawConnect crew entered the home straight of the 2023 Sydney Hobart race they felt that something special was about to happen. They were right.

It was a climax that captivated the sailing world – two super maxis in a match race to the line of the Sydney Hobart race, eventually separated by a mere 51 seconds after almost two days at sea.

But though the eyes of much of the sporting world was glued to screens for one of the closest finishes in race history and arguably the most dramatic, for one of the Kiwis on board line honours winner LawConnect it was the 43 hours spectators didn’t get to see that will linger in his memory.

Tony Mutter was the sailing master on the Australian-flagged boat that overtook defending champion Andoo Comanche in the home straight to snatch victory from what many believe is the fastest monohull on the planet.

Brad Jackson and Scott Beavis were the other New Zealanders.

Andoo Comanche had led for much of the race before entering the River Derwent for the final sprint, where a combination of good fortune and great sailing got LawConnect across the line first.

“There’s always a bit of a slowdown and a compression when you’re entering the Derwent, but I had never experienced it to the full before,” the 54-year-old father of two recalls.

“I’d heard about how you can have a drift off and the boats will catch up and restart the race there and we knew the moment we entered the Derwent that we were probably going to be in that situation.

“The luck on our side was that it was daylight, so you could see the breeze pretty nicely on the water, and it kind of did the

OFFSHORE RACING

opposite to what it has done in the past.”

While, traditionally, the right side of the river course is favoured, Mutter spotted breeze to the left.

“So, we went to the left and worked that edge as much as we could. From there it was just a matter of staying in that breeze until we were level with the other boat. Then anything could happen.”

And it did. A remarkable game of cat and mouse resulted in the second-closest finish in Sydney to Hobart history (after Condor of Bermuda beat Apollo by seven seconds in 1982) with Mutter and his crew crossing the finish line in one day, 19 hours, three minutes and 58 seconds.

Mutter is no stranger to success – the win aboard LawConnect was his third in 10 attempts in the Sydney to Hobart to go with two victories in six Ocean Races and a raft of others in some of the world’s highest-profile offshore events.

LawConnect’s rivalry with Andoo Comanche added to the sense of occasion and the latter’s acknowledgement that they were outsailed in the Derwent was the ultimate compliment, Mutter says.

“I know that boat [Andoo Comanche] well because I was involved in the design group way back in 2014 and I’d done a lot of miles on it.

“That was always the goal – for us to be as close to them as we can, just so we had an opportunity if something happened. And we did that. The last bit was great and I’m sure it was good TV but that wouldn’t have happened without the other 95 per cent of the race. That’s what put us in that position because we really should have been 30, 40 miles behind them by then. As it turned out, we were only 1.2 miles adrift at the start of Storm Bay.”

They had earlier overcome rough conditions and severe storms off New South Wales that claimed their J-zero and had forced several other vessels to retire, including pre-race favourite SHK Scallywag

Westerlies in the high 30 knots with rain, thunder and lightning, and easterly swells of up to a metre and a half meant they were constantly sailing “on a knife edge”.

Though owner Christian Beck assumed the role of skipper, Mutter’s part in the campaign was critically important.

“It’s a bit of a juggling act. I skipper

when Christian’s not on board and I run the budget for him for the year. We agree on the plan and then Christian puts a lot of trust in us and just lets us get on with it.”

Being first on line honours is made all the more special considering some of the financial and other realities LawConnect had to contend with.

“We’re almost not on an even playing field with the other guys because we have a limited budget, we have corporate guests on board and so we’re racing with less crew,” Mutter says.

“For me, that added to the challenge, and it makes you change your mindset and how you plan, how you think about and achieve your goals.

“In other big-budget campaigns, it’s a what-you-want-you-get kind of thing. The cheque book is open. This one was quite different, but it makes you realise that a lot of that is too much and it’s good to be grounded with some limitations and to still be successful.”

A professional sailor for the best part of three decades, Mutter got into the sport quite by chance.

“I started sailing when I was really young – about four years old – when my father borrowed a boat off the neighbour. Then came the P Class and Starlings and eventually I did the Laser world championships, the OK [Dinghies] worlds and a Finn campaign before ’92 [Olympic Games].

“I was crewing on an International 14-footer, which were quite popular back in the 90s, and the guy I was sailing with, Nick Willetts, had sailed around the world in Endeavour. One day, I told him I’d be keen to do one of those races. The next day I got a call from a Swedish guy called Gunnar Krantz, who was the skipper of Swedish Match. He happened to be in Auckland, I had an interview with him and the next thing I was on the crew. This was ’95 or ’96. Things were done a bit differently back then.”

He’s done “more sea miles than you can count” since and has some interesting stories to tell – like the time he had to be operated on by a teammate at sea during the then Volvo Ocean Race.

“I was part of the Ericsson 4 team for the 2008-2009 campaign, and I had an infected knee. I’d obviously hurt it when we’d started in Alicante and I could barely stand on it by the time we got all the way down to just before Cape Verde on our way to South Africa,” Mutter recalls.

“It got to the point where we talked to the onshore medics and they said, look, if you can’t drain it, you’ve got to get the guy off because it could be a problem.”

He still spends plenty of time away from home, but now tries to limit it to at most three months per year.

“There are people who do a lot more [time away] and you can really go crazy if you want. That’s why the stuff in Australia is so good as it means I can limit some of the European tours.”

Mutter was meant to set sail on a transatlantic race from Lanzarote to Granada, shortly after the Sydney Hobart, but the boat pulled out at the last minute.

“It’s had a bit of a chain reaction because that boat was going to do the Caribbean 600 and a couple of other races, too. So, from the front end of the year, which was meant to be really busy, it is now not.”

The unexpected downtime has given Mutter the chance to explore a relatively new passion – wingfoiling.

“I’m a tragic. I’ve just gone out and bought myself a whole new quiver of wings for this year,” he laughs.

“I just wanted to see what it was like, and I got hooked. And it’s good fitness, too. I’ve just about perfected how to gybe, but you won’t find me on a racecourse until I can learn how to tack!”

“Winging” is a breath of fresh air while other sailing classes are at risk of becoming stale, Mutter says.

“In my opinion, that’s a big challenge for dinghy sailing. Some classes are struggling to evolve while ocean racing is evolving fast. We’ve gone from racing around the world, from alloy rigs to carbon rigs, from Kevlar sails to carbon sails, and now they’re racing around on foils.”

While the landscape has changed radically, developing different sailing skills will always be valued on the big boats, Mutter says.

“I started as a sailmaker to finance my dinghy sailing. It wasn’t a high-paying job, but it gave me the skills that I still use today, and it allowed me to go from having to make money to sail, to getting paid for sailing.

“I’d encourage youngsters to develop their skills as much as possible – tuning, knowing how to develop equipment to get the best out of it. Those are the things that add value to any big professional team.

“They all want sailors who can help make speed.”

LawConnect beat Andoo Comanche in a thrilling finish to the 2023 Sydney Hobart. Photo: Rolex Sydney Hobart/Salty Dingo

BIGGER, BETTER, BARCELONA!

final preliminary regatta in Barcelona in August – the first time the new AC75s will be in action – they sit atop the preliminary leaderboard and will be looking to set the tone when they get back in race mode.

Their performance in Jeddah, in particular, showed just how well the core group of Burling, Outteridge, Andy Maloney and Blair Tuke worked together.

That came after a solid four-month block in Barcelona, where they were able to break out the AC75 on which they retained the Auld Mug in Auckland, Te Rehutai, and put some work in with the new configuration that will see two helmsmen operating to eliminate the need for sailors to swap sides of the vessel.

“I think we’re in a good place,” Shoebridge says.

“When you look back to how we sailed the boat in the last Cup, running from side to side, it just wasn’t efficient. We’re now sailing the boat in this environment and how good the communication is between the guys on board, it really is a big step up. It just feels a whole lot better. I think we’re sailing more accurately and tactically better, trimming is better, everything’s better.

“But everyone’s going to do that. All the teams should do that. But there are definitely some gains in having that group of guys doing a lot of sailing together. Nathan’s fit in really well with our group and he brings a lot to the table. It’s all working well.”

‘How good the communication is between the guys on board, it really is a big step up. I think we’re sailing more accurately and tactically better... everything’s better.’

Kevin Shoebridge

While the helmsmen, flight controllers and wing trimmers have been testing in the LEQ12 in Auckland, the cyclors have been hard at work off the water with a training programme that includes “a lot of sessions in the gym”, as well as getting on the road and riding as well.

The return of the cyclors as an option in the power unit was among the talking points when the protocol was released for the 37th edition of the Cup. While teams can still opt for the traditional grinding pedestals, a drop in crew numbers from 11 to eight this time around means there are fewer bodies providing the power.

With that in mind, Shoebridge said he expects all teams would adopt cyclors.

“We’ve always been a fan of it and took it to Bermuda on the cat. We’re really happy with that decision; I would imagine everyone will probably go down that route,” he says.

“There’s no arguing that there’s more power and efficiency provided doing it

this way and with less crew on board, you’ve only got four guys providing the power, so they need everything they can get because the boats require a lot of power.

“We’re working pretty hard with those guys and their training to be the best they can to provide us with the power we want to be able to get as much control as we can.”

During their time in Barcelona last year, Team New Zealand were able to get the full-scale team on board for an important block in their campaign, where they could make the most of a wide range of conditions; the potential

for racing in a bumpy sea state among the key challenges faced in the Spanish waters that wasn’t seen in Auckland last time around.

While several of the challengers have made the most of their proximity to the Cup venue and spent time developing their own packages, Team New Zealand needed to gather as much data as possible while they were there – getting plenty of good reps on both their AC75 and AC40, as Shoebridge explains.

“That was really important for us with learning how to sail the big boat in the conditions out there. It’s a vast range of conditions.”

The boats

The AC75 is back for another campaign and, by all accounts, better than ever.

What we saw in Auckland for the 36th America’s Cup was the first cycle of the innovative 75-foot foiling monohull. In Barcelona, with teams having had another four years to play with the concept and find what does and doesn’t work for it, Emirates Team New Zealand expected all six syndicates to come up with more “highly developed” versions of the vessels on display in Auckland.

“When you look at the boat now, the boat that we’re going to be launching soon [compared] to what we had last time, to us, is a big step on. There’s a lot of stuff from the outside that you’ll never see – the control systems and everything, the technique and how you sail the boat – a lot of that stuff you won’t see, but to us there’s been some big steps forward,” chief operating officer Kevin Shoebridge says.

“I would expect all the boats are going to be a big step forward, and who knows? What typically happens with these rules is when you go from one iteration to the next, slowly they all start to merge together. So, they may look similar.”

Among the obvious changes in this generation of AC75s are the return of cyclors rather than traditional grinding pedestals should a team

AC75

Weight: 6.5t

Top speed: 50kn+

Hull: 20.7m

want to go down that route in their power team, and a reduction of onboard crew from 11 to eight. All six teams are expected to operate with a dual helming set up; the helmsman who isn’t steering likely to operate as a tactician. A similar system worked superbly for Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli in Auckland as it removes the need for crew to switch sides of the boat through manoeuvres.

The first of the new AC75s will be launched in early April, with Luna Rossa, Alinghi Red Bull Racing and Team New Zealand the first to submit the two-month notice to the Recon Management Panel and a recon administrator, required before launching their new vessel. Ineos Britannia and American Magic have also targeted an April launch date.

With AC75 racing beginning with the final preliminary regatta in Barcelona in August, Shoebridge says he didn’t expect one feature on any of the boats would be deciding.

“Last time it was new territory so everyone had a different view of what the class would look like, but by the end they start merging,” he says.

“I don’t think there’s any silver bullet where someone will come out with one thing that’s going to win the Cup. It’s not like that. You’ve got to be good and strong in a lot of areas all over the boat and the way you sail the boat.

“Usually if one of those things aren’t right, ultimately you might not be successful.”

Mast height: 26.5m

Crew: 8 sailors

Emirates Team New Zealand’s core group of sailors, including Nathan Outteridge and Blair Tuke, have been working well together.

Photo: Emirates Team New Zealand

The challengers

Ineos Britannia

Royal Yacht Squadron, UK Challenger of Record

The British syndicate wasted no time in becoming challenger of record for the 37th America’s Cup, with Royal Yacht Squadron personnel on-site to make their challenge almost as soon as Emirates Team New Zealand had successfully defended on home waters.

Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli

They will again be led by Sir Ben Ainslie, with a largely settled sailing team, including Giles Scott and Luke Parkinson among the other familiar names on the boat.

In Auckland, they were one of the most followed storylines during the regatta as they struggled mightily in the preliminary regatta before impressing in the round robin stages of the challenger series.

They’ve been busy over the last few years, teaming up with the Mercedes Formula One team to design their new AC75, and getting in plenty of reps in Barcelona in both testing and racing on their AC40 and LEQ12, as well as on their last AC75.

WOMEN, YOUTH TO BE PART OF ‘EPIC JOURNEY’

Circolo della Vela Sicilia, Italy

Beaten by Emirates Team New Zealand in the Cup match in Auckland, the Italians return for another attempt at dethroning the Kiwis.

Jimmy Spithill and Francesco Bruni again shape up as key contributors for Luna Rossa on race day, though it was the impressive young helming duo of Marco Gradoni and Ruggero Tita that led the team to runners-up at the preliminary regatta in Jeddah.

They have carried out much of their testing in Cagliari, most recently practising race strategies and management with some two-boat testing.

While they were beaten finalists in the last America’s Cup regatta, they had the revolutionary design element of having two sailors share the helming and flight control responsibilities; a feature that is expected to be adopted by most, if not all, teams in this edition of the Cup.

American Magic

New York Yacht Club, USA

The Americans made a big splash coming into the campaign with the signing of helmsman Tom Slingsby. The Australian holds a US passport, so qualifies under the Cup’s strict nationality rules.

Slingsby is as competitive as they come and has had great success in driving Australia to victory in all three SailGP seasons to date. However, he wasn’t involved in the regatta in Auckland, so has had no competitive racing in an AC75 yet.

American Magic have been among the more competitive teams in the preliminary regattas – racing on AC40s –so far, winning the first event in Vilanova i la Geltru, and being in contention in the second regatta in Jeddah.

They retired their AC75 Patriot late last year and have since focused their campaign on development as their new boat has been built.

Emirates Team New Zealand have named some of the country’s top sailing talent in their Women’s and Youth America’s Cup teams.

The teams will represent the Royal New Zealand Yacht Squadron and Emirates Team New Zealand against 11 other countries in separate events which run alongside the main regatta and are being contested in one-design AC40s.

The crew for the first-ever women’s America’s Cup consists of Liv Mackay, Jo Aleh, Molly Meech, Erica Dawson and Gemma Jones.

The Youth team features Leo Takahashi, Veerle ten Have, Oscar Gunn, Josh Armit and Seb Menzies.

Unlike the main regatta, the youth and women’s fields feature 12 teams, with six invitees taking part alongside the six America’s Cup syndicates. The youth event takes place through the back end of September alongside the Louis Vuitton Challenger Series, with the women’s regattas running between the end of the Challenger Series and start of the Cup Match.

Both teams have been working in the simulator but will be able to get on the water soon with the team’s AC40 arriving back home after being delayed in returning from Jeddah.

The selection criteria assessed several different factors after the shortlisted sailors

Seb Menzies (second from left)

Red Bull Alinghi Racing

Société Nautique de Genève, Switzerland

The Swiss will make their first bid to claim the Auld Mug since losing it to Oracle Team USA in 2010 in Barcelona, linking up with Red Bull, who bring the expertise of the Red Bull Advanced Technologies unit that has supported Red Bull Racing to massive Formula One success.

A strong Swiss crew has been assembled to sail, with Arnaud Psarofaghis as skipper, while Kiwis Brad Butterworth and Phil Robertson have been among a number of bigname talents from the sailing world to have offered their services to help the syndicate with their preparations.

Alinghi are one of two teams yet to experience proper racing in an AC75, though they did purchase Emirates Team New Zealand’s first-generation boat early in the campaign so they could spend some time on the water figuring out the vessel.

had a week at the team base last year being assessed on sailing experience, ability, leadership, teamwork as well as the applicant’s individual motivations.

Emirates Team New Zealand chief operating officer Kevin Shoebridge, who was also on the selection panel, praised the “phenomenal level of talent” of all those on the shortlist.

“Individually, they are all at the top of their game, so it is hard to separate them, but our job was to build the best team and AC40 sailing combinations to win both the youth and women’s events, and strengthen the foundation of talent for the future, so we are very excited to welcome them all to the team,” Shoebridge says.

37th America’s Cup Match: Oct 12 to 21

The youth and women’s teams have been assembling in a series of training camps starting in February, where they had their first taste of sailing the AC40 to work out the strongest combinations of roles between the driving and trimming positions.

Ten Have, the women’s national windfoil champion who will make her Olympic debut in France in July, says she was “beyond stoked” to be selected.

“It’s a huge step in my sailing career and I’m excited to get to know, and work alongside, the team. Overall, I’m honoured to be part of this epic journey.”

Yachting New Zealand Aon Fast Track sailor Menzies says learning from several seasoned America’s Cup sailors is a dream come true.

“I’m super excited and motivated to be part of such a high performing team and to be working alongside so many exceptional sailors who I have grown up following,” he says.

Molly Meech and Erica Dawson

Geltru.

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SPRINGBOARD TO SUCCESS

Aon national youth programme is back for 2024, with more top coaches and a focus on excellence.

The Aon national youth programme is a key checkpoint on many young sailors’ road to the Olympic Games – and an important tool in retaining athletes who may otherwise be lost to the sport.

That’s according to Yachting New Zealand chief executive David Abercrombie, with the organisation celebrating the eighth year of its successful partnership with the country’s leading insurance broker.

The Aon national youth programme is designed to help New Zealand’s top young sailors make the often-challenging transition from youth to Olympic classes through a series of coaching clinics led by some of the most recognisable sailing names around.

“We are proud of our long-standing partnership with Aon and the work we’ve done together in shaping our future talent,” Abercrombie says.

“Without them, we would not be able to provide the level of support to our sailors and coaches as we have. It has allowed us to build a comprehensive youth programme that has set several sailors on a path to future success with every member of the current NZL Sailing Team coming through the programme.

“Just as importantly, though, it has also been key to the retention of sailors by providing opportunities through our Aon Fast Track programme.”

The first clinic of the 2024 programme was held at Murrays Bay Sailing Club on Auckland’s North Shore earlier this month, with eight coaches spending two days putting almost 50 young sailors through their paces.

These coaches include Olympians Jenny

Armstrong and Andrew Murdoch, 2023 world championship bronze medallist George Gautrey, and former youth world representatives Kate Stewart, Scott McKenzie and Markus Sommerville.

Armstrong won gold in the women’s 470 at the 2000 Games in Sydney, while Murdoch finished fifth in the then men’s Laser at the 2008 and 2012 Games.

They joined Gautrey in coaching the ILCA 6 intake at Murrays Bay, while Stewart – a two-time youth world champs medallist in the girls 29er – mentored sailors in the double-handed skiff class alongside seasoned Olympic coach Geoff Woolley and Somerville, one of Yachting New Zealand’s 49er coaches.

The coaching group also included top Kiwi windfoiler Patrick Haybittle.

“A strength of our programme is the world-class coaches that we have regularly

engaged at the clinics,” Yachting New Zealand’s youth and events manager Sam Mackay says.

“Having their collective experience of success provides an incredibly valuable opportunity for sailors to step up their sailing.”

The programme covers topics like starting, boat handling techniques and boat speed with several sessions planned across the country over the coming months.

Key lessons from the team that attended the 2023 youth world championships in Brazil have also been shared at the first clinics as the programme ramps up ahead of the New Zealand youth trials in April and the 2024 youth worlds at Lake Garda, Italy in July.

“A focus for us in this year’s programme is to ensure our sailors are exposed to conditions on either end of the scale –extremely light and very heavy – as this was one of the areas for improvement identified by the group that went to Brazil,” says Armstrong, Yachting New Zealand’s women’s sailing manager and ILCA 6 programme manager.

“We’ll also be spending a lot more time on the water while at the same time ensuring we’re helping the sailors manage the balance between sailing, school and life.”

To be eligible to attend the national programme, sailors must be committed to their sport, train regularly (a minimum of three days a week) and be capable of sailing in over 20 knots without tying a coach to a safety role.

Sailors should also aim to compete at their class nationals and the New Zealand youth championships.

For more information contact Mackay at sam@yachtingnz.org.nz or click here

The

The programme features some of New Zealand’s top sailing coaches.

Photo: Angela Jordan

Murrays Bay Sailing Club hosted the first clinic of this year’s Aon national youth programme in early March.

Photo: Angela Jordan

Missing out on the America's Cup youth team couldn't stop one of the NZ's rising stars.

Jake Pye’s breakthrough season was almost immediately followed by one of his biggest disappointments, yet he is determined that won’t keep him down.

Pye, a rising star of New Zealand sailing, admits he was disappointed after being overlooked for the Youth America’s Cup team in December, despite dominating the domestic and international Moth scene during 2023.

The 18-year-old missed out on a spot for the event in Barcelona in October, with Josh Armit, Oscar Gunn, Veerle ten Have,

to represent Team New Zealand against 11 other countries.

Jo Aleh, Erica Dawson, Gemma Jones, Liv Mackay and Molly Meech were picked for Team New Zealand’s Women’s America’s Cup team.

“It was a big year for me, and I intend to carry on that momentum,” Pye says. “I was pretty gutted to not be selected but that’s life and now I’m fully focused on the Moth worlds event at Manly Sailing Club at the end of this year.”

His name is likely to feature near the top of the leaderboard for the class world championships in December, the same event he was leading after two races at the Weymouth and Portland National Sailing Academy last June before light winds saw the regatta abandoned with no official result.

Seb Menzies and Leo Takahashi selected

Pye finished ahead of Sam Street (left) and Mattias Coutts. Photo: Manly Sailing Club

Pye won the International Moth UK Open championships at the same venue only days earlier and claimed 13 of 18 races at the 2023 NZ national Moth championships at Wakatipu.

He started 2024 off on the same note, defending his national title at Manly Sailing Club in January – albeit by a much smaller margin.

Pye beat club teammate and good friend Mattias Coutts by one point after winning six races. Multiple Waszp world champion Sam Street was third.

“The regatta was very intense, and I was still putting my new boat together just before it started,” Pye says of the 2024 nationals.

“Over the four days, we had a wide range of conditions so choosing the right gear was extremely important before leaving the beach, and I didn’t always

get that right. On the last day, the breeze built to around 20 knots and the sea state became very short and steep causing everybody to have some spectacular highspeed wipeouts.”

Just over a week after lifting the trophy, Pye was helming the Shaw 750F Animal Biscuits in the Bay of Islands Sailing Week – his first taste of big-boat racing.

Pye filled in for owner and regular skipper Craig Partridge, and along with Craig Gurnel and Matt Randall sailed Animal Biscuits to victory in the 13-strong sports boats division, winning all but one of the races.

“Bay Week was my first foray into competitive bigger boat racing, and it was an absolutely awesome experience,” he says.

“It was thrilling being able to navigate a larger vessel which is also on foils and

MEET THE FLEET

has added a new dimension to my sailing. Obviously, things happened pretty fast, but our teamwork was really good, which made for smooth sailing and ultimately helped us to claim the win.

“There were definitely a few big differences, like having crew and more and bigger sails, but fortunately I was able to transfer a lot of my Moth foiling knowledge to Animal Biscuits as it is also a foiling boat.”

Achieving the rare double has taken some of the sting out of his America’s Cup snub and has whet the appetite for more competitive big-boat action, Pye says.

And he’s certainly not given up on his Cup dream.

“Racing different types of fast boats excites me and I look forward to honing my skills and embracing new challenges in this area.”

TOP MARK

STATE OF THE NATION

For sailing enthusiasts, summer in New Zealand is as much about national championships as it is about pōhutukawa and pavlova. Here, we look at some of the many new – and several familiar – names that have been added to class national trophies across the country recently.

CHERUB VICTORY FOR TEAM DAVIES THURSTON BACK IN THE

J14, Farr 3.7 and Cherub nationals

Bay of Islands Yacht Club

March 15-17

The father-son team of Ray and Hugo Davies came out on top at the Cherub national championships, defeating Lucas Day and Rowan Kensington, and Hugo Smith and Adrian Pawson. The Davies secured top-three results in all eight races, winning four, to finish three points

ahead of the second-placed team. Brooke Griffin (with Phil McNeil) was the first female crew, with Karlia Dunne (sailing with Matt Dunne) the first female helm. Paul Moriarty won in a 30-boat 3.7 fleet, finishing comfortably ahead of Derek Snow and Joe Batchelor. Katie de Lange (16th overall) was the first female. In the J14 class, Trent Justice took out five of the first six races, to see off the challenge from David Giles by five points.

Young 88 nationals

Bucklands Beach Yacht Club

March 15-17

Harry Thurston’s Dangerzone (above) continued an impressive run in 2024 by defending their title at the Young 88 national champs. Thurston and his crew of Luke Cashmore, Sam Barnett, James Jennings, Thomas Olds, Brad Marsh and Will Tiller took out first on line and

NATION

FOILING TRIO DOMINATE

Windfoil and kitefoil nationals

Bay of Islands Yacht Club

February 22-25

Veerle ten Have had a near perfect regatta and was beaten only once in 10 races on her way to defending her national title in the women’s windfoil against Stella Bilger (second)

and Brianna Orams (third). Equally dominant was Josh Armit (above) in the men’s event – beating Eli Liefting by eight points and Thomas Crook by 19. Hugo Wigglesworth showed his class in the kitefoiling competition, finishing first by 13 points from Lochy Naismith. Justina Kitchen (fifth overall) was first female.

HOWSE THAT? TIM CHARGES ON

Waszp nationals

Takapuna Boating Club

March 16-18

Promising Kohimarama Yacht Club sailor Tim Howse powered his way to the 2024 Waszp national title by winning seven of nine completed racesearlier this month. Howse started the regatta with a DNF but quickly recovered – picking up bullets in the next five

THE ZONE AT BUCKS

races. Young Noah Malpot was second overall, followed by Peter Graham. Howse came fourth overall (and was the second youth sailor) at the Waszp world championships in Sorrento, Australia in December last year – his first major international regatta in the class. He followed up his Takapuna triumph by participating in the popular SailGP Inspire programme during the event held in Christchurch at the weekend.

the Tanaka Cup for first owner-driver, with Karyn Drummond on Flash Gordon second (and first mixed crew). Third on line went to Mark Tapper helming Undercover with world match racing ace Nick Egnot-Johnson on tactics. Lee Miller’s Voodoo was first on handicap. Dangerzone has been unstoppable this year, also winning the Bay of Islands Sailing Week, the Auckland champs and the North Sails Southern Championships.

Photo: Jacob Fewtrell Media

Photo: Tasman Rowntree

R+R MAKE IT 9 TITLES FROM 10 MORE SILVERWARE FOR JOE, JOSH

Elliott 5.9 nationals

Onerahi Yacht Club

March 14-16

R+R (above) returned to the top of the New Zealand Elliott 5.9 fleet at Marsden Cove by winning six consecutive races to claim an astonishing ninth national title in 10 years. After sitting in third place overall after day one, R+R displayed superb tactical sailing to take control of the regatta on day two. The racing was extremely tight, with just boat lengths separating the finishers. It was in these situations that Craig Satterthwaite (helm) and Bart Bearda (mainsheet) showed excellent boat placement to take control with four race wins on day two. Revelry finished second, 11 points behind R+R, with Slam Dunk third.

420 nationals

Naval Point Club Lyttelton

March 7-10

There seems to be no stopping Joe Leith and Josh Ferrissey, with the Murrays Bay Sailing Club duo defending their 420 national crown by winning six of the last

seven races to pip Cam Brown and Alex Norman by two points. Hayden Chisholm and Sam Nicholl were third, with Aani and Ellie Tapper the first all-female crew. Leith and Ferrissey (above, with coach Tiago Brito) finished 2023 with a fifth at the sailing youth worlds and bronze at the class world champs.

CANTABS CLAIM NOELEX 25 PRIZE

Noelex 25 nationals

Lake Taupō Yacht Club

February 2-5

The Noelex 25 nationals were hosted at Taupō over Waitangi weekend with a good turnout of 17 boats. Blustery conditions in the early part of the regatta

eased to light breezes for the latter part. The Canterbury crew of Nick and Bob Coultas and Tim Coop showed consistent form throughout the regatta to take the win. Second place went to last year’s winner Dereck Dunbar and crew from BOPTYS and third place to Paul Redman and crew from Napier.

BREEZE THWARTS TORNADOS

Tornado and Hobie 16 nationals

Clarks Beach Yacht Club

February 23-25

The weather had the last laugh, with no racing possible on the final two days. A handful of races were completed on the first afternoon, however, with Bill Caunce and Tom Maidment claiming the overall victory in the Tornado class with a win, two seconds and a fourth over the day’s four races. The pair pipped Tom Wain and Lindsay Hayward in second, followed by Jason Marra and Brendon Duske. The highlight

of the day’s racing was race two, where all seven boats crossed the finish mark within 25 seconds of each other – winners Wain and Hayward beating Winston Ordish-Benner and Pierre Harrison by only three seconds. Meanwhile, four boats made up the small, yet keenly contested Hobie 16 class, with Zane Bloomfield and Jason Doherty winning two of the day’s three races to clinch overall honours. They finished a point ahead of father-daughter crew Peter Rhodes and Kristen RhodesHasler. Third was Dillon Browne and Teau McKenzie.

HANSA 303 WINNERS CROWNED

Hansa 303 nationals

BOP Trailer Yacht Squadron

February 23-25

Darrell Smith was crowned the Hansa 303 singles and Kiwi Cup winner after pipping Titahi Bay Boating Club teammate Graham Hook by one point in the national championships hosted on Lake Rotoiti by the Bay of Plenty Trailer Yacht Squadron and Sailability Rotorua late last month. Kerehi Maxwell

and Rhonda Ritchie

303 doubles title

Aislabie and Robin Horder.

FIRST FOR JENKINS, STONE DEFENDS TITLE

P Class nationals

Tauranga Yacht & Powerboat Club

January 6-9

Bella Jenkins made history early last month by winning the girls’ title at the 100th Tauranga Cup for the third time, while Oli Stone (above) defended his crown by claiming overall honours in the Coombes Johnston BMW NZ P Class national championship at Tauranga Yacht & Powerboat Club. Nathan Soper earlier won the Tanner Cup, beating Stone by five points.

PYE GOES TWO FROM TWO

Moth nationals

Manly Sailing Club

January 11-14

Jake Pye is still the undisputed heavyweight of New Zealand Moth sailing. The 18-year-old won a second consecutive national title in the foiling class but had to battle Manly Sailing Club teammate and close friend Mattias Coutts for it. Pye beat Coutts by a solitary point after 14 races with Waszp world champion Sam Street third.

(right)

won the Hansa

by two points from Rob

Photo: Zane Shackleton

WASZP STAR TAKES H16 WIN

Hartley 16 nationals

Waiuku Yacht Club

February 10-12

Multiple Waszp world champion

Sam Street swapped the one-design foiler for something a bit bigger – and took out the title at the Hartley 16 national championships. Street, who in December made history by winning back-to-back Waszp Games titles in Sorrento, teamed up with Alex MitchellBarker on Splash (above), claiming the crown by one point from fellow New Plymouth Yacht Club members Jason Holdt (Shaking Laundry) and Wayne Holdt (Panache) after taking out three of the nine races.

FF HISTORY FOR GARRETT

Flying Fifteen nationals

Wanaka Yacht Club

February 9-11

Sally Garrett made New Zealand history by becoming the first female helm to win the Flying Fifteen national title. Garrett and Neil Easton (above) claimed victory in Godffather at Lake Wānaka, holding off a strong challenge from four-time national champs Murray Gilbert and Jon Burgess (Ffrenetic). In another first, third place went to Ffortune sailed by Jenny Price and Alana Pooley – the first ever all-female crew in the top three.

LINE HONOURS FOR CANNONBALL

Noelex 22 nationals

Port Chalmers Yacht Club

February 3-6

Dan Meehan, Matt Clarke and Alex Morris (above) claimed line honours with Cannonball, while Mike McGarry and his Freestyle crew of Sage Burke and James Harrex were first on handicap at the Noelex 22 nationals. The B division was won by Chris Kirkland and his crew on Polly Stripper.

ZEPHYR DUO’S DOUBLE ACT

Zephyr nationals

Naval Point Club Lyttelton

February 2-6

Mark Orams (above) and Amanda Hargreaves claimed second consecutive titles at the Zephyr national championships early last month. Orams, who took out last year’s event in Wellington by winning six of the eight races, was equally dominant in Lyttelton, and was only denied a clean sweep when Mike Drummond won the last of seven races. Hargreaves was first female aboard Tamatea, finishing 13th overall – eight better than when she won the regatta last year.

MACS, TEAM JOLLY ON TOP LUXFORD WINS THRILLER, WHITE BEATS HECKLER

Starling nationals

Charteris Bay Yacht Club

February 2-6

Miro Luxford (above) held his nerve on the final day to dethrone Will Mason after nothing separated the pair after 10 races. Luxford finished the final fleet race in third place, behind Tom Pilkington and Flinn Olson, with Mason fifth. It was enough to secure Luxford the title, with Olson second overall, Mason third and Pilkington fourth. Elbe White was first female in an impressive fleet of 30+ following a tough battle with Kohimarama Yacht Club teammate Alexis Heckler. Tara Labat finished third, with Bella Jenkins fourth.

49er and 49erFX nationals

Royal Akarana Yacht Club

February 3-4

It was a close-fought affair between Olympic hopefuls Isaac McHardie and Will McKenzie (above), and Logan Dunning Beck and Oscar Gunn for the 49er title, with the two teams winning three of the five races in the one-day event. Sam Bacon and Josh Schon, and Mattias Coutts and Henry Haslett grabbed a bullet each in the other two, but McHardie and McKenzie eventually came out on top by two points, followed by Dunning Beck and Gunn, and Campell Stanton and Will Shapland. Jo Aleh and Molly Meech took out the national 49erFX title at a canter by claiming each of their five races.

Photo: Alan Viles Photography

Photo: Live Sail Die

Photo: Tasman Rowntree

SHAW MAULS COMPETITION

Paper Tiger nationals

Muritai Yacht Club

January 17-20

Dave Shaw (above) stormed to victory at the event, easily defeating 34 other sailors to win by 10 points from Scott Pedersen. Shaw was first across the finish line in five of eight races, with Pedersen, Hayden Percy and Scott Hodges also grabbing a race win each.

LOCALS SHINE IN SUNBURSTS

Sunburst nationals

Worser Bay Boating Club

January 26-29

Local sailors dominated at the Sunburst nationals, with Brett and Alice Linton winning the open fleet with 10 points from Peter Sutton and Rob Bryant.

Jonathan Clough and Emily Chambers came home in third, followed by two more local crews in Wilbur and Teddy Stanley.

SCOTT, HUME DO IT AGAIN

470 and Flying Dutchman nationals

Takapuna Boating Club

February 3-5

Derek Scott and Rebecca Hume (above) retained their crown as 470 national champions, holding off a spirited challenge from Cam Brown and Alex Norman. Scott and Hume won two races and finished no lower than fourth in five others to secure the title by a single

point. Two new 470 teams were also in action – with 420 world championship bronze medallist Joe Leith and Live Ocean Racing’s Andre van Dam, as well as Aon Fast Track sailor Blake McGlashan and top women’s match racer Megan Thomson joining forces. Meanwhile, the seasoned combination of Andrew McKee and Dave Hislop came from behind to take a one-point win over Mark Henger and Matt Bismark in the Flying Dutchman nationals at the same event.

FERRISSEY STUNS FLEET

ILCA nationals

Napier Sailing Club

January 17-21

Naiomi Ferrissey (above) won a tight battle at the top of the ILCA 6 fleet to make it the second consecutive year a female sailor has taken out the class. Winston Liesebach (youth boy) finished second overall with Greta Pilkington

third. Chloe Turner was the top youth girl. Meanwhile, Tom Pilkington won the ILCA 4 fleet, with Phil Wild the first ILCA 6 Master. Six bullets from 10 races were enough to secure former Laser world champion Nik Burfoot a raft of prizes in the ILCA 7 - overall champion, overall Masters champion and division winner – with Scott Leith second and George Pilkington third.

Photo: Adam Mustill Photography

Photo: Richard Beauchamp

'PERFECT' ARMITS ON TOP

Siblings dominate on final day, as ILCA 6 and 49ers go down to the wire.

It was a family affair for Josh and Caleb Armit at Sail Auckland last month, with the brothers dominating in their respective fleets – including winning every single race on a dramatic final day at Torbay Sailing Club.

Josh, 22, claimed victory in six course races in the 9m windfoil fleet after a sluggish start to the regatta, barely 48 hours after returning from the iQFOIL world championships in Lanzarote.

He finished eight points ahead of teammate Thomas Crook, with Eli Liefting third.

The trio, and New Zealand’s leading female windfoiler Veerle ten Have, had mixed results at the world champs, one of

two Olympic selection trials.

“It was great fun to jump straight off the plane and get into the regatta,” Josh says.

“We weren’t quite sure how we would feel but it was good to get out there and great to have some really good battles with the youth fleet. We have a very strong IQ squad at the moment and we’re all pushing each other to sail better and get to that next level.”

Armit had a stellar 2023, collecting several top-ten finishes against the top windfoilers in the world but admits his performance in Lanzarote – where he finished 22nd among 118 competitors –fell short of expectations.

Ten Have was 21st, Crook 23rd and Liefting 29th.

“It wasn’t quite the result I was after and I made too many silly mistakes throughout the event but, overall, I’m happy with how it’s all going. It’s a big few months ahead.”

Meanwhile, Caleb Armit won back-

to-back-to-back races to clinch the ILCA 7 (Laser) fleet, arguably the most tightly contested in Olympic sailing.

The 19-year-old grabbed his chance with the country’s two top sailors in the class, Tom Saunders and George Gautrey, sitting out after a demanding fortnight abroad.

Caleb finished two points ahead of Dylan Forsyth and three clear of Luke Cashmore, who led after day 1 and with whom he had several close duels across the weekend.

“Conditions were quite tricky – very windy and shifty but it was good to test our skills,” Caleb says.

“I wasn’t really thinking too much about the results and instead just trying to do the best I could.”

Its been an impressive season for Caleb, who also claimed the bronze at the under-21 world championships in Morocco in October for his first

Caleb Armit took out the ILCA 7 competition with a perfect final day. Photo: Jacob Fewtrell Media

TOP AT SAIL AUCKLAND

international success in the boat.

“It’s been good but it’s such a tough fleet and I know I still have a long way to go. Hopefully, in time, I can get there [the top].”

Olympic campaigner ten Have had to be at her best to secure the title in the 8m windfoil after going race-for-race with Jack Parr for much of the final day.

“The last race was the best race of the day. It was a huge battle between me, Jack and Stella [Bilger] until the last downwind,” ten Have says.

“It was really fun, probably the best race I’ve had in New Zealand.”

Louie Poletti took out the ILCA 6 (Laser Radial) competition, defeating world champion George Lane and 2023 champion Greta Pilkington. Poletti was one of four different winners across six races.

It was even closer in the 49er competition, with Logan Dunning Beck

and Oscar Gunn crowned overall winners after a strong comeback – winning three of the last four races.

They finished tied on 13 points with Isaac McHardie and Will McKenzie and won by collecting one more race win.

Jo Aleh and Molly Meech won the 49erFX fleet without dropping a race, while William Mason and Giorgio Mattiuzzo claimed the 29er title by a point from Tom Pilkington and Morgan Lay.

Madi Russell and Kate Rasmussen finished first female in the fleet and fourth overall.

Micah Wilkinson and Erica Dawson edged Dutch duo Laila van der Meer and Bjarne Bouwer in an exciting Nacra 17 showdown.

Cam Brown and Alex Norman defended their Oceanbridge crown in the 420, as did Derek Scott and Rebecca Hume in the mixed 470.

Micah Wilkinson and Erica Dawson (Nacra 17).

Photo: Jacob Fewtrell Media

Logan Dunning Beck and Oscar Gunn (49er). Photo: Jacob Fewtrell Media

Josh (left) and Caleb Armit.

Josh Armit won the 9m windfoiling at Oceanbridge Sail Auckland.

Photo: Jacob Fewtrell Media

Pictureperfect

Peter Burling and his Black Foils seized the overall series lead from Australia in the process, on a dramatic final day on the spectacular Lyttelton Harbour after racing on the opening day was cancelled due to prolonged dolphin activity on the course.

The New Zealand SailGP team claimed the ultimate victory by trouncing France and Canada in sensational style in the podium race to win the home leg of season 4 at the weekend.

The newly minted Black Foils on the spectacular waters of Whakaraupō. Photos: SailGP

The New Zealand SailGP team skipper Peter Burling was a big hit with the home fans in Christchurch.

The SailGP Inspire programme ran alongside the main event - with dozens of young sailors - and foilers - showcasing their skills.

Team Emirates GBR copped an eight-point penalty after colliding with Spain during practice racing.

Spain’s technical team hard at work on their boat ahead of the competition.

Blair Tuke and the rest of the Kiwis received a warm welcome.

The Black Foils celebrate their win in Christchurch.

SECOND BEAT CRUISE CONTROL

NZ yachties’ top safety tips 44

Photo: The Ocean Race

ROBIN MARSH Soft shackles explained 48

SUSTAINABLE SAILING Performance meets durability 51

TOP SAFETY TIPS

Cris Brodie asked six of the country’s most experienced racing and cruising offshore sailors for their top safety advice.

Malcolm Dickson

Dickson is a boat builder who has competed in three Solo Trans-Tasman Yacht Challenges, two other solo Tasman crossings, and five crossings with crew on board. All have been different and memorable for various reasons.

In 1978, the Solo Trans-Tasman Yacht Race fleet was hit by Cyclone Hal, with most of the boats knocked down or rolled over at some stage.

Between 2005 and 2009 Dickson and his wife Joan completed a circumnavigation – sailing east about south of all the great capes but also

sailing north of the Equator, in Sarau – a boat he designed and built.

Dickson’s advice is to recognise how dangerous the main boom and mainsheet can be especially when sailing downwind, which is the sort of sailing cruising sailors generally do.

If the boom and/or mainsheet sweep across the cockpit it should always have some sort of preventer or boom brake leading to the side or forward to the bow if the boom is well out.

He prefers an aft cockpit layout with a solid dodger, keeping the boom, traveller and sheet forward of the cockpit so it is much less likely to cause injury in a gybe. While this is the arrangement Dickson has on Sarau, he does still use a preventer offshore.

Jim Lott

Lott has sailed to Europe and returned twice, racing and cruising, once via Japan and Alaska, then via South America and Cape Horn on his yacht Victoria, which he built himself.

He worked as a nautical tutor for 25 years and then for Maritime New Zealand for 11 years as a manager and accident inspector. He has been a yacht inspector with Yachting New Zealand for over 30 years and is still a skipper on Spirit of New Zealand

Lott’s advice is to make sure that as soon as you plot your planned route, work along the line using a very large-scale zoom to check for dangers.

Many hazards are not shown at smaller

Malcolm Dickson

Jim Lott

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scales. This is just the same as checking on large-scale charts when using paper charts. It’s worthwhile to get someone else on the crew to do the large-scale check. As you sail along, make sure you zoom in and out, since deviations from the plan are inevitable.

And, says Lott, remember that every time the wind speed doubles, the wind force on the sails increases fourfold, so reduce sail early.

Josh Tucker

Tucker, infamously known as BooBoo, is a professional sailmaker who has completed around 160,000nm of offshore racing and cruising, experienced seven dismastings, a rounding of Cape Horn under jury rig, a season in the Alaskan ice and

a passage back from Europe with his wife and three kids under 10.

He recommends an easily adjustable boom preventer which can not only save lives but also reduce a huge amount of damage and wear on the gear, especially when you have weeks at sea running in light to moderate trade winds with a sloppy sea state.

When offshore cruising, Tucker always has a permanent strong preventer line set up from the end of the boom to the gooseneck with a bungy return to hold it tight when not in use.

This doubles as a safety if the mainsheet or traveller fails so you can secure the boom and also makes for a very easy attachment of an adjustable preventer line from the bow.

Tucker runs his adjustable preventer line from the foredeck over the cabin top and into a jammer by the winches so it’s easily adjustable along with the mainsheet to have total control of the boom.

Even a good preventer setup has its limitations, he warns – and will still likely cause damage to the boom or gooseneck in an uncontrolled gybe in strong winds. Sailing a slightly higher and safer course when under autopilot in strong winds is a much safer option.

Boom brakes are also a really good option for limiting the damage that an uncontrolled boom can cause.

Justin Ferris

Ferris is a professional sailor and sailmaker who has completed four aroundthe-world races, including holding the 24-hour record on AkzoNobel, a Volvo 65, multiple Sydney Hobart races and the Fastnet, which he won in 2023 as sailing master on the Botin TP 52 Caro

According to Ferris, safety comes down to preparation and “knowing your boat”.

This includes knowing how all the onboard systems work, and how to repair them.

Do you have the correct spare parts and are they accessible? How would you jury rig a rigging or steering failure?

Before each race Ferris goes through the whole boat interior with a torch from bow to stern including checking sea cocks, deck fittings and steering cables – and often finds things that could become an issue at sea.

Sally Garrett

Garrett is a research scientist who specialised in mitigating risk for operations in the Southern Ocean, an area she routinely visits as a navigator.

She is known for her two-handed racing, including two Round New Zealand and three Round North Island races.

Making time to understand the weather along the route you are going to take – and looking at past weather conditions including observations – can enable you to understand geographical areas of risks for different wind conditions.

Once you set off on your voyage you will then be able to more quickly identify the conditions that could occur, Garrett adds.

Another tip is to have a good understanding of how rested everyone on the crew is, and having a plan on steps to take if people are starting to get too tired.

Rob Neeley

A boat builder and marine surveyor, Neeley has completed six circumnavigations of the North Island – both short-handed racing and cruising as well as many miles delivering yachts offshore.

He sailed an Imoca 60 with Jean Pierre Dick through the Southern Ocean from Auckland to Panama and has sailed his own Lidgard 29 Cracka to Fiji and back.

Neeley’s top tip is having a storm jib or staysail setup rigged onto an inner forestay at all times during passage ready for quick and easy deployment that does not rely on removing or using the headsail on the forestay.

The sail plan will be more balanced with this configuration under deep reefed main and if you drop the main to run before a gale this will be much safer.

Cris Brodie is a seasoned offshore skipper and national champion dinghy sailor and Yachting New Zealand’s safety and technical officer. Get in touch with him at cbrodie@yachtingnz.org.nz.

Josh Tucker

Sally Garrett

Rob Neeley

Justin Ferris

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SHACKLES UNSHACKLED

Robin Marsh

THE ROPESMITH

Soft shackles can be every yachtie’s best friend – if you know how to use them and what the potential pitfalls are.

If, like me, you’ve been making the most of the unbelievable sunshine, gentle breezes and warm water this summer, chances are you’ve had to deal with the humble rope shackle.

It’s every Kiwi sailor and handyman’s DIY dream product and gaining in popularity as rope is becoming stronger and lighter than metal.

They are a relatively inexpensive way to safely connect your sheets and halyards to your sails, furlers to tacklines, blocks to the

deck and boom and many more.

For those who may not have come across a soft shackle before, there are basically two types – one uses the rope, tied into a diamond knot as the stopper, while the other uses an alloy or sometimes titanium ‘dog-bone’ to hook around the rope.

There are many benefits to using a soft shackle:

1 They can be custom-made: they can be built strong enough to suit the safe working loads on your yacht. Cover can also be put on them to stop chafing, and they can be made to any length. They can even be colour coded to coordinate with specific attachment points.

2 They are soft, so when you are doing manoeuvres, they don’t damage the paintwork on the mast or hull and deck.

3 They are generally much cheaper than a metal clip, so much so that you can afford to carry a few spares!

4 They are very reliable, provided they have been attached correctly. With a metal clip, there is always a risk that it might pop open. Last month, I participated in the Millenium Cup. During one of the races, the boat right behind us hoisted their spinnaker and were gaining on us quickly until their spinnaker suddenly fell from the sky and went straight into the water. It turns out their clip had failed, turning into quite an expensive loss for them on all fronts.

5 They are a better solution than double shackling something when you can’t quite get the lead right. The rope will twist enough to get the right orientation and remain strong.

6 Soft shackles can always be undone with your hands, whereas most shackles and clips are difficult to undo when it is cold, and your hands aren’t functioning properly.

7 They are great for connecting an outboard sheet or peel sheet onto a sail.

Robin Marsh was on board Sassafras during last month’s NZ Millennium Cup. Photo: NZ Millennium Cup

There are also some negatives to using soft shackles:

1 If not attached correctly, they can come undone. Always make sure the eye is milked tight right up around the diamond knot. And if the soft shackle is living on a halyard or sheet, make sure it is seized somehow so it doesn’t fall off when not in use. An alternative is to have a Velcro safety whipped onto the loop, too. These provide an insurance that the loop eye will not open.

2 If you are replacing them from where a metal shackle used to be, always make sure the hole is rounded out as you can risk chafing through the rope which would cause them to break. It is not always possible to change them out like-for-like from a metal shackle to a rope one.

3 They cannot be undone under load.

Think of the “old days” of a bowman climbing out the end of the spinnaker pole to spike off the spinnaker during a peel or a drop. With a soft shackle, this could not be done unless a knife was used and that could be very... entertaining!

On balance, a properly made soft shackle is a great addition to your sailing repertoire and will no doubt come in handy.

It’s worth noting that there are some tricks to making a good soft shackle – it is not as simple as just tying a figure-eight knot and requires plenty of

patience.

If you are tempted to make your own, do your research online for the correct knot to use as the correct knot allows the rope loading to be even and consistent and gives the best protection against the loop slipping off.

If you don’t have the time or patience to attempt this, it’s probably best to purchase from a local rigger or at the chandlery store.

As always, feel free to get in touch with me through Facebook and Instagram or send me an email at robin@caniwirigging.com if you need any help or advice.

Until next time, safe and fun boating!

Robin Marsh is an experienced offshore sailor, ropesmith and rigger, and a wife and mum of two boys. She owns and operates Caniwi Rigging Services, specialising in customised splicing and deckgear solutions.

One type of soft shackle uses a ‘dog-bone’ to hook around the rope.

Photos: Robin Marsh

Sustainable sailing

In a landmark move towards sustainable sailing, North Sails, a trailblazer in sailmaking innovation, has unveiled RENEW, a North Panelled Laminate (NPL) sailcloth designed for cruising boats ranging from 25 to 45 feet.

RENEW sailcloth is engineered from over 90 per cent sustainable sources, promising uncompromised performance and longevity.

North Sails, renowned for its pioneering advancements in sailmaking technology, has long been dedicated to finding sustainable solutions for the sailing community. With RENEW, the company marks a significant stride towards crafting sails with superior materials while minimising environmental impact.

Tom Davis, RENEW product director, outlined the careful development process behind the sailcloth.

“There’s been a lot of rigorous work behind the scenes over a number of years to ensure RENEW is a sailcloth with legitimate sustainability credentials,” Davis said. “This product has been tested to the absolute limit, and we are confident that a sail constructed with RENEW will offer unbeatable durability and sail shape for our cruising customers without compromising on performance.”

The journey to RENEW was fuelled by North Sails’ collaborative efforts with leading suppliers of films, fibres, and fabrics, all sharing a commitment to sustainability. RENEW incorporates recycled polyester film and yarn, as well as bio-based Dyneema, ensuring a highly durable laminate cloth comprised of over 90 per cent alternative bio-based and recycled raw materials.

Importantly, all

supplier products for RENEW are Bluesign Certified and ISCC compliant, ensuring the integrity of their sources and manufacturing processes.

Ken Read, president of North Sails, underscored the company’s dedication to authenticity and sustainability.

“We have been deliberate and comprehensive in vetting the authenticity of sustainability claims and thoroughly testing the materials before bringing a product to market,” Read says.

“We wanted to be 100 per cent certain with RENEW that North Sails could stand behind the improvements in the carbon footprint and authenticity of the sustainable materials in our sailcloth. With our wider commitment to continuous improvement and our push to strive for more sustainable solutions across the business at all levels,

RENEW will not stop with panel laminates, and we will look to apply this approach to sustainable raw materials across our broader range of products.”

Under the RENEW programme, North Sails will continue to partner with suppliers to identify and refine the raw materials needed to produce even more sustainable sails for all customers. North Sails is working on new solutions for sustainable sources across all North Sails technologies, including 3Di sails.

“North Sails has committed to adopting Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) to learn about the ecological impact of all products and to establish goals for reducing waste and pollution. An important aspect of achieving these goals is to introduce more recycled content. By 2025, North Sails will implement a Responsible Product Scorecard for all products and will also establish measurable goals for circular products that can be recycled at the end of their lifecycle,” Davis adds.

To learn more about the story behind the development of NPL RENEW, the manufacturing and the integration of sustainable raw materials, click here.

North Sails has taken a big step toward greater sustainability with the launch of the RENEW sailcloth. Photo: North Sails

Clean Cut

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ELITE 500W

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Performance and range

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Output: 40kW

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*Based on a 20-foot V hull aluminium boat with two persons (130kg), powered by one X40 with four G102-100 batteries (total boat weight 1030kg), in calm lake water.

10 Advanced propeller design.

Teen’s

ALL FAIR IN LOVE & SAILING

Rod Davis

FROM THE BOAT PARK

Our obsession with waiting for ‘perfect’ conditions comes at a big price.

We all need to rethink our racing, as in when we race and, most importantly, that attitude around only ever having “perfectly fair races”.

And I can hear your question from here: “Who be we?”

We be race committees, parents, but mostly sailors, particularly sailors who influence owners, crews, race committees and regattas.

Seriously, we need to lighten up.

We need to look at racing sailboats as something to enjoy, maximising the fun factor. That is not just for you; our job is to ensure everyone else has a great time, too.

I will repeat that – it’s not about just you, it’s about the other sailors, supporters, owners, all the organisations and volunteers.

Imagine having a great time racing sailboats – win, lose or draw.

After all, racing sailboats is not life or death – but we often treat it as if it were.

Before I get into top-level racing,

waiting for the “perfect breeze” to start a race so we have a fair contest, let’s look at two OK Dinghy and Finn regattas in New Zealand that have fairness, fun and efficiency as equal components of the events.

The first one is in Tūrangi, on the southern tip of Lake Taupō. The time of year when the regatta is held has notoriously light wind. To deal with 4-6kn of wind Commodore Wally, the race committee and about everyone else will start the races if there is enough wind for the boats to sail.

Everyone understands this and no one questions it. Sailors embrace it. Yep, we could wait longer to start and maybe the breeze will be a little better but

Commodore Wally figures we will have more races if the breeze gets better.

Five or six races a day? Sure! In the meantime, we are starting races as soon as we can.

Does the occasional race go inside out? Yep. But so, what? What is the worst that can happen – a sailor who has never won a race wins their first big one. The guys who win all the time finish at the back for once. Have a laugh and get on with the next race, or a cold beer if it was the last race of the day.

The same people will win most of the regattas anyway.

The other regatta is in Waiuku. They have a different set of problems but the same “races will start on time” attitude. They don’t have the luxury of waiting for anything; God directed start times when he made the tides.

The water is shallow off the club and very tidal. There is a three-hour window to race every second Saturday and Sunday. So, you know when the races will start, and when you will be back to the beach. Hell, you know that for the next 100 years from the tide tables.

And they don’t muck around. Startlines and courses are set with SAS-level efficiency, and the racing starts. Efficiency and good racing over perfection is the

Plenty of time is spent waiting for ‘fair’ conditions on the TP52 circuit.

Photos: Nico Martinez / TP 52 Super Series

theme. And it works brilliantly because we know that is the deal – race now or drag your boat home.

Racing is not about perfection; it never has been. It’s about excellence. And efficiency and fun.

In TP52 racing we do more sitting around waiting for the wind than is acceptable. Too long, by about anyone’s standards. It’s over the top to have 10 teams, million-dollar racing boats, sailors, support boats, billionaire owners, all waiting for wind, which is not quite steady enough, or just barely strong enough to have a perfectly “fair” race.

We spend days waiting for wind.

Besides, what is “fair”? All teams having the same chance? If that is the case, how could it not be fair to all teams to start a race in any conditions?

This idea of only starting when it will be an absolutely “fair” race seems to come from the sailors mostly, and usually the most vocal ones. They set the tone.

The owners want to race their boats. The regatta organisation wants as many races as they can. The members of the race committee are happy to do whatever, but they definitely don’t want to take flak from anyone on their decisions to race in unsteady wind.

So, we sit, and sit, and don’t race. Hour after hour, until we go back in. No winners, but all losers for the day.

What if “we” lighten up and expand our racing windows?

What if “we” start races whenever there is enough wind to get around the course within a very generous time limit?

We all need to enjoy our sailboat racing more; let’s all loosen up on this “perfect racing” thing. The world is not perfect and probably won’t be anytime soon.

This is an abbreviated version of the column originally published in Seahorse Magazine.

Rod Davis has won Olympic medals for NZ and the USA and has been sailing and coaching in the America’s Cup for over 40 years. He is involved in the TP52 Super Series, the OK Dinghy scene and is an Olympic campaign consultant for Yachting New Zealand.

Your Say

Share your thoughts on state of our sport

Yachting New Zealand is inviting members to have their say on the state of the sport in this country, by completing the Voice of the Participant survey.

The survey is run in conjunction with Sport New Zealand, is entirely voluntary and should take no longer than 15 minutes to complete.

Yachting New Zealand last participated in the survey in 2021 and has spent the past few years incorporating much of the feedback received in its national programmes.

Raynor Haagh, Yachting New Zealand’s national sport development director, said this year’s survey is a timely way to measure the health of sailing by the people at its heart.

“The world has changed a lot in the past two years and our sailing community has not been immune to that change,” Haagh said.

“The feedback from our participants will help our clubs and Yachting New Zealand identify any emerging trends, to ensure we continue to have our finger on the pulse of the sailing and boating community.”

Yachting New Zealand will support clubs with the process.

“The Voice of the Participant survey is also an opportunity to celebrate our clubs’ many successes. We are proud of the work they do, often with only the help of volunteers, but we know we can always improve,” Haagh said.

The results from the 2021 survey showed yachting and boating clubs are highly valued by their members and in their community – with increases in the number of people who are very or extremely satisfied with their yachting experience (69 per cent), those who perceive value for money from their yacht club (81 per cent), and those who intend joining their yacht club in the next year (89 per cent).

The survey results also showed a net promoter score (NPS) of +54, which was slightly higher than the all sports average.

According to Haagh, several priority areas were identified in 2021, with the need for better adult sailor development opportunities and more social events key among them.

“Many clubs have already put programmes in place to focus on these areas and it will be good to see to what extent it has made a difference.

“Clubs can’t change things that they aren’t aware of and that’s why participation in the survey is encouraged and appreciated.”

No data will be shared with any third parties and clubs with more than 25 respondents will receive a detailed club-specific report from Sport New Zealand.

Participants can also enter to win a New Zealand Sailing Team clothing pack.

Click here to take the survey.

Please contact your local regional development manager if you have any questions.

VOYAGE FOR THE AGES

New Plymouth teen

Reija Treacy Wolnik and her grandfather recently returned from an unforgettable transatlantic voyage. Kathy Catton sat down with them to find out more.

For 14-year-old Reija Wolnik, you could say adventure is in her blood.

When she was four, her family emigrated from Ireland to New Zealand. And at 11, she summited Mt Taranaki. These adventures, along with her love of horse riding, surfing and skiing, were put to good use for her latest challenge.

The idea of crossing the Atlantic had been brewing in grandfather Leszek’s mind for some time. As a keen cruising

sailor, he had purchased a Vancouver 32 in Sweden in 2017. In 2018, he sailed the entirety of the Norwegian coast up to Lofoten and back to Dublin, then during the Covid years he circumnavigated The Faroe Islands and Ireland.

“The plan was to cross the Atlantic in 2022,” says Leszek.

However, fate had other plans, and following his brother sadly passing away, he visited his daughter, Sorcha and granddaughter Reija in New Zealand in

early 2023.

“It was during this time in New Zealand, while discussing the aborted voyage, that Reija, then 13, asked me, ‘If you cross the Atlantic later this year, can I go with you?’” Leszek explains.

“Although I instinctively agreed, I had a difficult time thinking through the choices. Would her parents allow it? Was it an acceptable risk or was it pure recklessness?”

Reija had only recently learnt to sail at the New Plymouth Yacht Club, completing the Learn to Sail programme in the Optimist. It wasn’t a surprise that her parents were initially sceptical of the idea, although also very committed to allowing Reija to do what she wanted to do.

“Reija is very determined, strong and feisty,” says Sorcha. “And we believe in her. Yes, we had our fears, but we know that family is number one for my dad, so we knew he would do everything within his power to make the trip a successful one.”

The family agreed to a three-person crew, and after meticulous preparation and a journey to Lanzarote, Canary Islands, to collect the boat, they met Marija, their third crew member.

The Ocean Cruising Club (OCC) played a pivotal role in the trip. It changed its rules to allow Reija to become an associate member and modified its Youth Sponsorship Programme (originally only open to 18–25-year-olds) to allow her to receive a grant to pay for equipment and travel. After her voyage, the OCC awarded Reija the 2023 Qualifiers Mug, for the most ambitious or arduous voyage by an OCC member.

“The OCC became the most amazing resource and facilitator of our trip,” says Leszek. “With their help, I designed a training programme, and they gave me a list of safety factors that needed to be mitigated. Basically, my outcome before we set off from the Canaries was to have both crew able to navigate and sail safely even if all electrics were lost and I wasn’t available.”

All procedures were broken down into lists, detailing every step. For example, raising the main had 21 steps and getting the

‘I sent my mum a text on the satellite phone, and she told me she was crying. She was so happy we had nearly made it. I had prepared for this kind of wild weather and extreme sailing.’

Reija Wolnik

the boat ready for passage had over 40.

“It was a steep learning curve, for sure,” Reija says. “But by the end of the training, I really felt like I was sailing intuitively. I could hear the different wind sounds on the boom or notice the sun slide off to the side of the bow when the direction changed. I was excited to set off.”

The first leg of the voyage took them to the Cape Verde Islands. The crossing was rough with four metre-swell seas and 30 knots of wind.

“This was what I had imagined the trip to be like, so I didn’t really know

it was a big deal,” Reija says. “Yes, we had breakages, but I knew just to head the boat into the wind, and we would fix things. I guess in my mind maybe because of all the sailing movies we had watched, I had prepared for this kind of wild weather and extreme sailing. And I loved it!”

After a few days of respite on reaching Cape Verde, the crew set off again, heading for Guadeloupe. Mixed conditions meant light winds for some days followed by Force 8 winds. Leszek credits his “sea-kindly” boat and “working conservatively” as being critical factors in this part of the crossing. Another success factor was the communication on board.

“Reija initiated ‘team meetings’ that proved very successful due to the three of us being of very diverse ages and life experiences,” Leszek says. “These meetings allowed us to remain curious, open and supportive of each other while discussing the things we were grateful for as well as those that were troubling us.”

After 20 days at sea, Reija spotted land. As had become customary, the three of them celebrated with singing and dancing.

“I sent my mum a text on the satellite phone, and she told me she was crying. She was so happy we had nearly made it.”

Reflecting on her experience, Reija acknowledges the profound impact of her Atlantic Ocean crossing. Highlights include the sense of independence, the camaraderie with her crew and the strengthening of her relationship with her grandad, she says.

“Our anthem for the trip was David Bowie’s Space Oddity. It was the perfect song for our Atlantic adventure.”

Leszek is equally proud of the journey and dedicates the passage to Reija’s parents and his wife. “I’ve also so much praise for the crew – their courage and tenacity, especially Reija, who just went out and did it – as usual!”

Reija has her sights set on more sailing.

“I’d like to cross more oceans. I realise I want to get everything done now, so I’m learning just to take it slowly. I’m inspired by other young women who sail – like Lucy Te Moananui and [Australian solo offshore sailor] Jessica Watson.”

Reija, Marija and Leszek before departing from Marina Rubicon in Lanzarote.

The crew encountered a range of conditions – and even sailed through a huge patch of sargassum seaweed.

Reija Wolnik and grandad, Leszek, recently crossed the Atlantic on board a Vancouver 32.

Keeping a sailing log was one of young Reija’s jobs on the boat.

RŪNĀ MAKES WAVES AT MOANA FESTIVAL

Hundreds introduced to Yachting NZ’s schools programme during inaugural three-week event.

Yachting New Zealand’s RŪNĀ activation hub made a splash at the inaugural Moana Auckland festival, with hundreds of students immersing themselves in an array of educational activities.

The festival, aimed at fostering a deeper connection with the marine environment and maritime heritage of New Zealand, encouraged students to become active participants in scientific exploration and cultural appreciation over a three-week period in February and March.

According to Yachting New Zealand’s education lead Alisa Torgersen, just under 600 learners visited the hub in the Viaduct Harbour – with an average of two classes a day rotating around the five Moanamana activities in the container village, as well as the five Kōrinorino activities at the Maritime Museum.

Moanamana and Kōrinorino are two of the three modules that make up Yachting New Zealand’s groundbreaking schools

programme RŪNĀ.

“Moanamana offered students a range of activities to explore the rich diversity of marine life, from conducting marine surveys through the Marine Metre Squared project to analysing plankton samples under microscopes. They also embrace the role of citizen scientists, contributing valuable data to ongoing research efforts, while the use of underwater video technology and BLAKE NZ’s virtual reality experiences provide a captivating glimpse into New Zealand’s coastal ecosystems,” Torgersen explains.

“Meanwhile, at the Maritime Museum, students navigated their way through the museum’s exhibits while uncovering

maritime history through interactive treasure hunts and guided tours.”

A big hit was the team at the Love Rimurimu Project, who provided three activities to help students grow their own kelp forest by getting to know seaweed, its importance and how to grow it.

Torgersen says Yachting New Zealand hopes to use the success of the activation hub as a springboard to get more yacht clubs involved in the RŪNĀ programme and running weekday sailing experiences for their local schools this year.

For more information on Yachting New Zealand’s RŪNĀ schools programme, click here or email Torgersen at alisa@yachtingnz.org.nz.

Hundreds of schoolkids visited Yachting New Zealand’s RŪNĀ activation hub during the Moana Auckland festival. Photos: Alisa Torgersen

‘NO BETTER TIME TO GO ALL IN’

Three new America’s Cup sailors had a special message for NZ’s young female sailors.

If she weren’t sailing, Liv Mackay would almost certainly be working on a farm.

Gemma Jones would be in an office or a boardroom, and you’d find Veerle ten Have scoring goals on the hockey field.

However, these top sailors are instead excelling on the water, thanks to a boom in opportunities for females in the sport.

“It is an incredible time to be a woman in sailing,” said Mackay at the Emirates Team New Zealand Women and Youth America’s Cup question-and-answer session earlier this month.

The event was titled Shaping the Future of Sailing and was hosted by Kohimarama Yacht Club as part of the PredictWind Girls Champs regatta.

“Female sailors today have so many more opportunities and pathways than those who came before and the timing couldn’t be better [to get into sailing].”

Mackay would know – the 28-year-old has

recently been selected to represent Emirates Team New Zealand in the inaugural Women’s America’s Cup in Barcelona later this year, after spending the last few years as a key member of the New Zealand SailGP team and helming the Live Ocean Racing Team in the ETF26 Grand Prix since its inception in 2022.

She was joined at KYC by two-time Olympian and ocean sailor Jones, and ten Have, the country’s top female windfoiler who will make her Olympic debut in France in July.

Jones will sail with Mackay at the Women’s America’s Cup, while ten Have is the only female in the five-strong youth team.

Speaking to many of the 120 sailors at the girls-only event, the trio offered a glimpse into the future of sailing in the country.

“Having a team in the America’s Cup is massive for women’s sailing,” Mackay says. “Many people are putting in a huge amount of work to ensure we show how good we can be at the event but, even more importantly, we all want to keep this momentum going and to grow [female participation and retention].”

These opportunities aren’t limited to only the America’s Cup either, she adds.

“There are so many other avenues in sailing now and you only have to look around social media to see how the whole sport is changing. There is a real desire for more women and girls to come through and take those opportunities. If you’re a girl, there is no better time to go all in.”

Ten Have is proof that not every sailing story follows the same script.

“I didn’t start sailing until I was about 14 and I’ve only ever been in a sailing dinghy

maybe 10 times,” she explains. “I enjoyed horse riding at school, and I played water polo, volleyball and hockey competitively and I only tried out windsurfing when my horse broke her pelvis, and I couldn’t go riding anymore.

“At first I hated it. It was wet and cold, and I was scared, and I was losing but I stuck to it because I loved the speed and the freedom that it offered me.”

While ten Have had a relatively late introduction to the sport, Jones jokingly described herself a “purebred sailor” referring to the exploits of seven-time America’s Cup winner dad Murray Jones, and mum Jan

LEFT: America’s Cup sailors Gemma Jones, Liv Mackay and Veerle ten Have. Photo: Kohimarama Yacht Club

Shearer, who won 470 silver at the Barcelona Olympics in 1992.

Gemma finished fourth in the mixed multihull Nacra 17 at the Rio Games but took a break from sailing three years ago to establish herself as a senior business consultant with EY in Auckland. Late last year, the chance to again become part of a sailing team, this time with

Emirates Team New Zealand, came up.

That same sense of being part of a group is key to retaining more girls, she believes: “The social aspect is really important. Training together and making really good friends will keep girls sailing longer.”

And, of course, more events like the Girls Champs.

“As a windsurfer, I spent a lot of time alone when I was growing up and regattas like this just show that many other girls are sailing,” ten Have says.

My five-year journey with Girls Regatta

Reflecting on the last five years competing in the PredictWind Girls Champs, it seems forever ago that I was in learn-to-race participating in my very first sailing competition, and this year I was in a 29er alongside my friend and crewmate Elbe White.

I’ll never forget that first year. From the goodie bags to rigging up my boat alongside a whole lot of other eager sailors through to the prizes –everything about the girl’s regatta was special, and it hasn’t changed.

This year was made even better because we got to hear from three Emirates Team New Zealand female

“It creates a feeling of inclusiveness; it makes you feel like you belong somewhere.”

Raynor Haagh, Yachting New Zealand’s national sport development director, thanked the sailors for sharing their respective journeys at the event.

“There hasn’t always been an abundance of female role models for our young sailors, but Liv, Gemma and Veerle are true trailblazers. They will be making history at the America’s Cup and our younger girls can all look up to them.

“A key focus of Yachting New Zealand’s women and girls in sailing strategy, through initiatives like SheSails NZ, is on retaining females in our sport. Having strong role models like these three women is a crucial part of that.”

level playing field, which is really good for our motivation and confidence. So rather than coming first or second girl in a regatta where sometimes eight or nine males are ahead of us, we’re legitimately placing 1st, 2nd and 3rd. Don’t get me wrong, we like competing against males in regattas; but once in a while, it’s nice for it to be just females.

I think this year’s regatta was the best one yet. There were so many different fleets, and sailors from across New Zealand came. It was the first time I’ve competed in a doublehanded boat, and being in a 29er with Elbe was so much fun. We’re brand new to the class so we had absolutely

no expectations other than to go out and learn. It was great having Yachting New Zealand’s Kate Stewart coaching us, and we learnt a lot from sailing against the two other, more experienced 29er

On the shore at the girl’s regatta is always so special. Over the past five years, I’ve had the opportunity to meet a lot of other sailors and make some really good friends from other clubs. The time that we spend off the water is a really important part of the girl’s regatta, which is why they put a lot of effort into the goodie boxes that we get at registration, the food that’s on offer and also the prizegiving where even the parents get prizes.

Another year done and I can’t wait until next year. I really believe that the five years I have been competing in the PredictWind Girls Champs has played a huge part in shaping my journey as a sailor.

I have so many great memories and the lessons I have learnt have given me confidence and made me more passionate about the sport.

Kate Howse, 14, is a member of Kohimarama Yacht Club and attends Diocesan School for Girls. She sails a 29er and a Starling and is a member of the Dio sailing team.

Kate Howse and Elbe White in action.

Photo: Live Sail Die

Kate Howse

BELOW: The PredictWind Girls Champs attracted 120 competitors.

Photos: Kohimarama Yacht Club, Live Sail Die

DOES

Kirsten Moratz FROM THE COACH BOAT

What do the US Air Force pilots and young Kiwi sailors have in common?

More than you think.

In his book The End of Average, author and scientist Todd Rose describes how during in the late 1940s, the US Air Force kept losing planes and pilots to crashes.

No matter how much additional training they gave, and no matter how skilled their pilots were, it kept happening – up to 17 times a day.

Clearly something needed to change, so they turned their attention to the cockpit which had first been designed using the average dimensions of a pilot in 1926.

Perhaps, the Air Force thought, the average pilot had grown bigger in the ensuing decades.

SAILING HAVE A

Different children have different ‘adjustable seats’ when it comes to sailing.

So, in 1950, they measured over 4000 male pilots who were of average build, split their physical dimensions into 10 categories, and found the average measurements for each of those categories. Using those dimensions, they redesigned the cockpit of their planes.

On paper it seemed like the perfect solution. Only, it wasn’t.

When they tested their new design, the Air Force was surprised to find that it wasn’t a perfect solution for any single one of the 4000 men. They discovered that not only did none of those men fit into the “average” range of all the 10 categories – but it was also unlikely that a single one of them would fit into even

three categories. While he may have had an average leg length, for example, he may have a big chest or longer than average arm length, or a small wrist circumference.

This revelation led to the Air Force designing new equipment that was adjustable for the individual rather than made for the average. They invented the adjustable seat, which we still use in cars today. They invented adjustable helmet straps, foot pedals, and flight suits.

From this, their pilot performance increased dramatically, and the US Air Force became a powerhouse.

Rose’s book was one of several topics

FLAW OF AVERAGES?

Would a different boat be a better fit for a particular sailor? Is cruising, rather than racing, the better option for another? Would someone prefer to run the races rather than participate in them?

of discussion during the Global Coach Conference that I was fortunate enough to attend in Singapore in December, but it has left an impression on me and the way we go about coaching our young sailors in New Zealand.

In my opinion, it illustrates the importance of tailoring both equipment and programmes to the individual, rather than the group.

As coaches and clubs, we should look at our programmes and consider whether there is anything that we could change to suit individuals better.

Would a different boat be a better fit for a particular sailor? Is cruising, rather than

racing, the better option for another? Would someone prefer to run the races rather than participate in them?

What are the “adjustable seats” that would encourage sailors to continue in the sport or re-engage those who may have left? Are there potential future sailors who haven’t even had the opportunity to sail because their seats don’t exist yet?

As the winter approaches, now is a great time to look at your club’s coaching programmes and ask, ‘Is there anyone we’re at risk of losing who we may be able to bring back to the club in a slightly different way?’.

Sailing’s reluctant hero

Joyce Talbot got into the sport by chance more than 30 years ago, and she’s been an important part of it ever since, as Suzanne McFadden writes.

Joyce Talbot is a jewel in Auckland sailing’s crown – an administrator extraordinaire for more than three decades.

So it’s hard to believe she was in her 40s when she first stepped onboard a yacht.

“I grew up in Auckland – but in a rugby family. My father and brother were both All Blacks, so I spent my junior years at Eden Park,” Talbot says.

Both wingers, her dad, Johnny Dick, played three tests for the All Blacks in the 1930s, and her brother Malcolm played 15 tests through the 1960s (he was also a famous administrator, a former deputy chair of New Zealand Rugby).

So how did Talbot become so enamoured with boats? She met a guy in a nightclub who owned a catamaran, and he took her sailing for the first time.

“I just went ‘Oh my god, I’ve been missing this my whole life!’” she laughs. And that was the start of a long love affair – with the sea.

“The boat was called Double Bullet And it certainly was.

“I used to get sick on the ferry going to Devonport, so when friends heard I was going for a sail, they just cracked up laughing. ‘I wonder how far you’ll get? North Head?’”

Little did she know, her voyage was only just beginning.

The guy with the catamaran was a member of the New Zealand Multihull Yacht Club. Talbot became a regular there, and met the late Brian Carter, who was then the commodore who organised the Coastal Classic.

“I asked him if he needed a hand, even though I knew nothing about it,” she says.

“A couple of years later, I was organising it... talk about a steep learning curve!”

From there, Talbot’s passion for the sport bloomed. She worked on 12 Coastal Classics – her last in 2002 – and became highly sought-after by other sailing organisations: The Classic Yacht Association, the Auckland Anniversary Day Regatta and more recently, the New Zealand Sailing Foundation. Her tireless administration work for yachting was recognised in this year’s New Year’s Honours List, becoming a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit (MNZM).

It’s an honour she’s truly humbled by.

“Not me, I’m the one that sits at the back of the room. I don’t do speeches,” she says of her reaction after receiving the Government House email (that originally got lost in the ether and was followed up

‘It’s just mental at this time of year… and I’m supposed to be retired! But I do it because I love it and I’m passionate about it. And I’ll continue to do it until I’m no longer useful.’

Joyce Talbot

by a shock phone call).

Every summer, Talbot is in high demand. It’s a seven-day-a-week job. In February, for example, she’d just wrapped up the Auckland Anniversary Day Regatta prizegiving and launched straight into a briefing for the Classic Yacht Regatta a couple of days later.

“It’s just mental at this time of year… and I’m supposed to be retired!” she laughs.

“But I do it because I love it and I’m passionate about it. And I’ll continue to do it until I’m no longer useful.”

Talbot takes much reward from her work, and loves following young sailors through the ranks.

“I had a lovely compliment from the owner of the one gaff-rigged vessel that took part in this year’s Anniversary Day Regatta, saying how impressed he was with the number of young people who attended the prizegiving,” she says.

“And the lovely thing for me is seeing them start off at the regatta as kids – the names of the winners stick in your mind – and you watch them progress. Then they’re applying for funding from the New Zealand Sailing Foundation, like the Armit brothers.”

Talbot helped run her first Anniversary Regatta in 2006. “I jumped in, then realised what was involved,” she laughs. It’s a complex production.

“There are so many host venues. And we’ve got everything now from dragon boats to radio control yachts to waka ama and all the foiling boats – that’s where all the young sailors now come in. And now there are the tugboats and classic launch races inside the Waitematā Harbour too.”

The regatta committee rolls out of one event and into the next, meeting 12 times a year.

MEET THE FLEET

“We’ll have a debrief in March, then we’re full-on into 2025,” says Talbot, the regatta’s executive officer, who works with the Auckland Harbourmaster, Coastguard, Maritime Police and the Navy.

One thing, of course, she can’t organise is the weather. Last year’s regatta was canned for only the second time in 184 years, when logs filled the harbour after the catastrophic floods. “I spent two days trying to let everyone know it wasn’t happening,” she says.

Anniversary weekend is also a major event on the Classic Yacht Association calendar, with the fleet heading north to Mahurangi for their annual regatta. How does she balance her

two roles that weekend?

“It just seems to work out. I normally go up on a launch to Mahurangi with them on Friday and come back on Saturday, so I’m ready for their return race finish off Orakei Wharf on Sunday,” she says.

She was first invited to help out with an international classic yacht regatta, organised by the Ponsonby Cruising Club, during the 2000 America’s Cup in Auckland.

“It was wonderful with beautiful boats from all over the world,” she says. “That was another learning experience, because I had no idea what a classic was. Now I just love the gaffers.”

That rolled into her becoming the

secretary of the Classic Yacht Association of NZ – a position she still holds 24 years later.

She’s also secretary/treasurer of the NZ Sailing Foundation – accepting applications for funding from talented young Kiwi sailors to compete in international regattas, and putting them before the committee.

Talbot is pleased to see the younger generations putting their hands up for committees.

“We have a couple of young people on the Classic Yacht Association committee, and I keep telling our chair, Richard Cave, ‘Don’t give them too much work, don’t burn them out!’” she says.

“Our Anniversary Day Regatta chair, Bill Lomas, just celebrated his 40th birthday. And [Emirates Team NZ engineer] Elise Beavis has just come on board as a trustee of the NZ Sailing Foundation.

“We’re very conscious of the fact we need these young people on board. Society is changing, so we need to keep up and change with it. We need their input and their fresh ideas.”

Despite her love affair with boats, she’s never owned her own. But she’s always crewed for others – a 1904 Logan one of her favourites. Now she spends most of her time on the water onboard committee boats.

When things slow down during winter, Talbot tries to spend six weeks in the US visiting her two sons and their families.

“But I’m still on email,” she says.

She also has a daughter, who lives in Auckland, and spends a lot of time with her two granddaughters, including helping out at their schools.

Talbot is pretty happy she’s got her work-life balance right.

Joyce Talbot was made a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit (MNZM).

Joyce Talbot is heavily involved in organising the Auckland Anniversary Day Regatta, among many events. Photo: Live Sail Die

WITH FLYING COLOURS

The most far-flung competitor at this year’s Flying Fifteen nationals was retiree Jill Oakes from Canada. What’s even more extraordinary is that she only started learning to sail three months before her arrival in New Zealand, and she cycled from Auckland to Wānaka to get there, as Kathy Catton writes.

‘Aneat thing to do” was how Jill Oakes describes her motivation for wanting to come and sail in New Zealand. A professor in environmental science at the University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, Canada, Jill has spent the last 40 years researching the Arctic and Inuit traditional clothing. But her other passion of cycling as medicine led to the start of this idea.

“When cycling was prescribed for my partner Rick’s health issues and the likelihood of being bed-bound, we took up cycling and started a back-up plan: If Rick was confined, he could live life to the fullest on board a sailboat,” explains Oakes.

“So, we cycled [over 2000 kilometres]

from our home in Salt Spring Island to Los Angeles and took an American Sailing Association sailing course.”

Rick cycled right up to two days before he passed away. He didn’t get to cruise on a sailboat, but Jill had already picked up the sailing bug and wanted to try dinghy sailing.

“I bought myself a Flying Fifteen in September last year in Canada. It was autumn by this time, and some people were bringing their boats out of the water, but I was just getting started,” Oakes says.

Through her online searching and her recollection of reading about a cycle route from the north of New Zealand to the South Island that had piqued her interest

some years ago, a plan started to formulate.

“I reached out via email to [Flying Fifteen NZ class association president] Sally Garrett and gradually came up with the plan of flying into Auckland with my bicycle, meeting up with the Auckland Flying Fifteen sailors and then cycling down to Wānaka in time for the nationals in early February.”

Garrett then encouraged Jill to join the Flying Fifteen contingent to take part in coaching at the Royal Akarana Yacht Club in Auckland before she started her threeweek cycle ride to Wānaka.

“The coaching and then the cycling was fantastic,” Oakes says. “The river trails are world-class, and the hundreds of

Jill Oakes and David McIntyre won the first race of the Flying Fifteen national championships in Wānaka in February. Photos: Quentin Smith

Class Focus

Category: Keelboat

Fleet size: Several clubs across NZ race often – including Bay of Islands Yacht Club, Royal Akarana Yacht Club, Napier Sailing Club, Nelson Yacht Club, Charteris Bay Yacht Club and Wanaka Yacht Club.

Annual membership: N/A

2024 national champs: Sally Garrett and Neil Easton.

Next events: To be confirmed.

Website: www.facebook.com/

flyingfifteen

Email: sally@expeditioncoppelia.com

Phone: 021 855 612

kilometres of rail trails are just mint.”

Equally as impressive were the warm welcomes she received from the sailing community.

“They’re like a family. It’s incredible to see people from a range of ages and skill levels – from world champs to beginners – come to race together in this regatta. Everyone helped each other. This is what I would say is the magic of sailing for me.”

For the regatta, Oakes paired up with David McIntyre, a national judge who is hoping to complete qualification as an international judge soon. McIntyre was used to crewing, so he stepped up to helm his six-metre boat.

“David was great. He was a walking

encyclopaedia of the rules, so when the first race of the first day of the regatta had the course shortened, David recognised the flags and took appropriate action,” Oakes says. “As a result, we ended up winning the first race! We were ecstatic.”

What also surprised and delighted Oakes was the great sportsmanship on and off the water.

“I thought as novices we might not be congratulated for winning the First Race Win trophy, but at prizegiving everyone was clapping and cheering – it was incredible.”

The Flying Fifteen is the largest onedesign keelboat in the world with over 4200 boats registered. The ‘15’ refers to the original waterline length of 15 feet. New Zealand has a nine-strong fleet in Wānaka, and with five boats from the Auckland fleet, it was a healthy line-up for the February 8 to 11 national regatta. The class rules allow for mixed crews, all-female crews and parent-and-child crews.

Garrett and Neil Easton, sailing Godffather, won this year’s national title. Garrett is the first female helm to win the nationals in New Zealand. Third place went to Ffortune, sailed by Jenny Price and Alana Pooley – the first ever all-female crew to place in the top three.

Garrett was thrilled to host Oakes: “She’s amazing! She fitted right in and was always willing to help. We’d be delighted to have her back.”

With a tenth-place finish overall, Oakes is now eager to repay the hospitality.

“I’ve invited all the Flying Fifteen sailors to come to Salt Spring Island and give my sailing buddies some expert

coaching. I hope to return to New Zealand again, and I’ve told David if he ever needs a crew again, to please pick me!

“It wasn’t about winning or losing for me. It was about embracing the joy of sailing, pushing my limits and meeting some incredible friends.”

Kathy Catton grew up around boats, sailing with her family out of Portsmouth Harbour, UK. She now lives on Banks Peninsula and is a freelance writer and editor.

LEFT: The Flying Fifteen nationals had a stellar cast of female sailors, including Jill Oakes (back row, left) and Sally Garrett (front row, centre).

Photo: Ian Gardiner

Canadian Jill Oakes flew to New Zealand –and then cycled from Auckland to Wānaka to compete in the Flying Fifteen national championships.

Photo: Live Sail Die

‘AN INVESTMENT IN FUTURE TALENT’

Emirates Team New Zealand have taken time out from their America’s Cup campaign to donate a brand-new fleet of Elliott 7s to the Royal New Zealand Yacht Squadron.

It’s been 14 years since the Royal New Zealand Yacht Squadron (RNZYS) launched 10 Elliott 7s for the Mastercard Youth Training Programme, and with that fleet now safely delivered to their new owners at Bucklands Beach Yacht Club (BBYC), the time has come to launch brand new boats.

Gifted by Emirates Team New Zealand (ETNZ) to support the programme that has successfully created world-class athletes, including some who are now part of the team, the brand-new fleet of Elliott 7s last month arrived at their new berths, where the next generation of elite athletes will carve their yachting future.

According to ETNZ chief executive Grant Dalton, the new fleet will once again deliver opportunities to young sailors keen to embark on a world of professional sailing.

“We are especially proud and excited about the launch of the new fleet of Elliot 7s,” Dalton says.

“As an organisation, our core objective is always firmly focused on one thing – winning the America’s Cup for New Zealand. However, it is always vitally important to continue looking beyond that objective, to the future and ensuring the pipeline of top-level Kiwi sailing talent is full.

“So, investing in the new fleet is an investment in New Zealand’s future sailing talent through the world-class RNZYS

Youth Training Programme.”

The fleet, fitted out with brand new North Sails and the latest in highperformance technology, will not only be utilised for the youth training programme and the Musto Performance Programme, but also for world-class international and local match racing events.

The fleet will also race on Tuesday evenings as part of the E7 series, and the RNZYS’ ongoing work to support schools and youth within the community.

Commissioned by Greg Elliott and built under supervision at MConaghy Boats in China, the boats were fitted out at Yachting Development with the support of former Commodore Ian Cook and some of the ETNZ shore crew.

RNZYS Vice Commodore and Chair of Sailing, Gillian Williams, was part of the

delivery crew who sailed the old fleet to BBYC.

“The fleet has done us proud and has produced world-class sailors who have gone on to achieve great success around the world and we are excited to now have BBYC take on the boats, so they can enhance their development programmes,” Williams says.

“It was time for RNZYS to upgrade with more international sailing and match racing events coming to the shores of the Waitematā Harbour. Now there will be 20 one-design Elliott 7s in Auckland, which means even more opportunities for sailors, and interclub regattas. It’s an exciting time.”

Sailors such as Gavin Brady, Leonard Takahashi, Nick Egnot-Johnson, Megan Thomson, Celia Willison and current Hardy Cup champion helm, Josh Hyde, have gone through the RNZYS Youth Training Programme and have since performed on the world stage.

Dalton adds that “this is the kind of legacy that we are determined to leave to the people of Auckland, and New Zealand. Having more one-design match racing boats means greater opportunities for everyone”.

He also shared that Emirates Team New Zealand will donate $500,000 to the Royal New Zealand Yacht Squadron International Sailing Fund to ensure world-leading sailing opportunities on the international stage remain available.

Grant Dalton, chief executive of Emirates Team New Zealand. Photo: ETNZ

The new fleet of Elliott 7s at the Royal New Zealand Yacht Squadron.

Photo: ETNZ

INCORPORATED SOCIETIES ACT: ALL YOU NEED TO KNOW

The recent introduction of the new act will impact most yacht clubs. Here’s how to navigate the changes.

Yachting and boating clubs will soon need to review their structure and constitution with a change to rules for incorporated societies in New Zealand.

Most clubs are a registered incorporated society in New Zealand and follow the rules, regulations and compliance required.

The Incorporated Societies Act 2022 came into effect late last year and replaces legislation put in place in 1908. It will see organisations – including yacht clubs – transition to best practice and a modern governance structure.

In preparation for this, Yachting New Zealand last year made several significant amendments to its constitution to ensure it complies with the act, and has now re-registered under the new act.

“Yachting New Zealand has spent a lot of time working in conjunction with Sport New Zealand, to meet the requirements of the new act,” says Yachting New Zealand chief executive David Abercrombie.

“Many, if not all, yacht clubs will soon have to do the same and will now have a template to use when updating their own documentation.”

But what are the changes, why have they been made and what should you –as a yacht club member – do, and when? What to do and when?

Revise your club constitution and reregister between now and April 2026.

Why the changes?

The changes provide a clearer framework for running non-profit activities and providing greater protection for members and officers.

Is it more work for clubs?

Initially, yes – as the club’s constitution is reviewed and potentially amended (or a new one drafted) to incorporate new requirements and you re-register your club. The ongoing impact will be minimal.

Is it riskier to be a club officer?

No, and arguably less, as the clearer framework removes any uncertainty club officers may have had by clarifying obligations that already exist but were not clearly spelled out.

How will Yachting New Zealand help?

Yachting New Zealand, through our regional development managers (RDMs) and other key staff, will be a conduit between clubs and Sport New Zealand – with the latter providing templates and, potentially, legal advice.

For more information and resources, click here.

The changesmajor

•  Clubs are now required to file an annual return.

•  Clubs’ AGM must be held within six months of the financial yearend.

•  Financial statements must be filed within six months of the year-end.

•  Dispute resolution procedures are now a requirement.

•  Surplus assets to be distributed only to not-for-profit organisations.

•  Officers’ duties are now explicit.

AROUND THE AROUND THE

North Island

1Yachting New Zealand has been helping several clubs to start their RŪNĀ journey. Led by RŪNĀ coach Steph Vining, the team have had engaging sessions at Panmure Lagoon Sailing Club, Hobsonville Yacht Club, Northcote Birkenhead Yacht Club and Howick Sailing Club and will be at Taipa Sailing Club (above) until April 12.

6

Dr Dave Austin will run his offshore medical course (right) at Royal Akarana Yacht Club on April 6-7. The course is recognised by Yachting New Zealand for Category 1 and other events requiring an advanced first aid qualification – including the Auckland Fiji, Auckland Noumea, Sydney to Hobart and the Fastnet race. Register by clicking here.

2Key harbours in the top of NZ have been surveyed by NIWA to detect non-native marine organisms as part of a national surveillance programme run by Biosecurity NZ., with no new species detected in Opua and the Waikare Inlet, Whangārei Harbour or Tauranga Harbour.

3Local sailor Isaac Gaites won the North Harbour Starling match racing trials at Murrays Bay Sailing Club in early March and will compete against the best from other regions at the 2024 nationals in April.

4Milford Cruising Club (left) has won a sausage sizzle with the NZL Sailing Team for making the largest contribution during the 2024 NZLST Sport Gear Collection Drive. The initiative, run by the NZLST with the help of the REPLAY NZ Charitable Trust, Kindness Collective and Auckland yacht clubs, collected over 200 items of equipment from 15 sporting codes. This will be distributed to families and organisations who need it.

5The 2024 College Sport Auckland Secondary Schools fleet-racing regatta attracted its biggest ever number of competitors –150 across nine fleets. Held off Wakatere Boating Club, the oneday event saw Auckland Grammar School take out the Epiglass Trophy for top school team, followed by Saint Kentigern (right) and Takapuna Grammar School.

7Bucklands Beach Yacht Club is hosting a fundraising dinner for its new Elliott 7 youth development programme on April 6. It will be hosted by Joey Allen and includes a panel of top sailing personalities. To book your ticket, email reception@bbyc.org.nz or phone (09) 534 3046.

8

Waiuku Yacht Club is on the hunt for competent runabout and RHIB drivers who would like to join the club to man its rescue boat and support boats. Email info@wyc.org.nz for more information.

15

16 17

14

13

predators in NZ and can form dense beds of up to 1,000 per square metre and compete against native filter-feeders such as mussels, oysters and scallops.

10Organisers of the contest for the oldest sailing trophy in NZ are hopeful its centenary will see a revival in the competition known as the “Ranfurly Shield of sailing”. The 100th edition of the Sanders Cup (right), the longest running continuously held senior interprovincial challenge, will this year be hosted by Gisborne Yacht Club over Anzac weekend (April 25-28) and will be combined with the open New Zealand Javelin Skiff national championships.

9Surveillance is being carried out after the discovery of 81 Mediterranean fanworms on the sea floor in Pilot Bay late last year. Bay of Plenty Regional Council biosecurity officer Andy Wills said a dive team carried out over 15 hours of underwater surveillance. Mediterranean fanworm have no natural

11New Plymouth Yacht Club is selling a flat deck trailer suitable for an ILCA (or similar boat) with mountings for a frame (right) for a second smaller boat above. Call John Pitman on 027 669 3991 for more information.

12Napier Sailing Club are planning repairs to the asphalted area above the ramps in their washdown area. During this time, the area will be closed.

REGIONS REGIONS

13Whistler Racing won the Ross Telford Trophy at the Port Nicholson Regatta hosted by Royal Port Nicholson Yacht Club.

The boat cleaned up Division A with a second place on line honours, first on PHRF and first on general handicap. Line honours in Division A went to St Laurence, while in Division B, 88% Proof won on line and general handicap and Saucy Sausage won on PHRF.

14Thirty sailors battled it out over four races in eight fleets at the 2024 Wellington schools regatta, hosted by Paremata Boating Club (right) on March 12. After a drift up the channel in an incoming tide, followed by a one-hour wait for the breeze, competitors enjoyed close racing in a north-westerly of up to 10kn.

South Island

17Waimakariri Sailing Club and the greater yachting community lost a stalwart with the passing of Catherine Shanks earlier this month. Shanks was the club’s first (and so far, the only) female Commodore, an active Sunburst sailor with husband Peter and a longtime contributor to the sport.

18Pleasant Point Yacht Club (right) held its annual Wāhine on the Water regatta on Waitangi Day (February 6). Twenty boats of all shapes and sizes competed in short handicap races, with the Margaret Kennett Memorial trophy going to Jeanne Borsboom and Sharon Kay aboard Sunburst Whio

15Cawthron Institute is trialling an innovative new antifouling technology at Nelson Marina (right), relying on microscopic, trapped air layers rather than harmful biocidal chemicals. The approach mimics the air-trapping ability of the feathers of waterfowl and seabirds by using textiles that have been treated to make them ‘super hydrophobic’. Click here to read more.

16North trumped South at the 14th Interislander Optimist Challenge and Port Marlborough Starling Champs at Queen Charlotte Yacht Club (below) in late February. Over 140 sailors competed with the North Island claiming the Island of Origin Challenger Trophy in the Optimist class with Matteo Barker finishing first overall and Greta Hutton first female in the open fleet. Jack Olson and Lucy Luxford won in the Starling.

Send your club or class association news to eduan@yachtingnz.org.nz

19Peter Mott has received the Ocean Cruising Club 2023 Award for his work with Passage Guardian, assisting recreational vessels undertaking ocean passages, including multiple solo circumnavigators totalling dozens of vessels each year, from his home in Christchurch. Read more about Mott and Passage Guardian in the December issue of YBQ

20

Wakatipu Yacht Club hosted a successful Southland championship in early March, with 12 boats competing in 10 races across three divisions. The club also held its own Learn to Sail club champs during the same weekend.

22Richard Hawkins in February became the first sailor from Otago to claim the national Finn title, when he won six of the nine races to take out the class crown at Lyttelton. Hawkins, from Port Chalmers Yacht Club, has already won several national titles in the Noelex 25, Ross 780 and Noelex 22. He only started sailing the dinghy last year and shed over 30kg to compete in the class.

21Entries are now open for the 2024 South Island Trailer Yacht championships, hosted by Marakura Yacht Club. This year’s event will also include the Not the Easter Regatta on April 6-7. For more information or to enter, call (03) 249 7450 or email info@marakura.org

23Macandrew Bay Boating Club (below) is one of several confirmed venues to host LTS (dinghy) coaching courses this winter. The club is set to host a course on October 26-27, with courses also locked in for Whangārei, Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch. A series of coaching workshops, forums, and conferences across the country (as well as online) are also available. Click here for more.

24The Campbell Regatta was a big hit, with boats from as far as Bluff and Dunedin joining Owaka Yacht Club (right) for the event on March 10. The club was established in 1963 and sails in the Hinahina Estuary near Owaka in the Catlins.

RESULTS (JANUARY-MARCH)

DOMESTIC

WASZP NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS

Takapuna Boating Club

March 16-18

Overall (16 boats)

1. Tim Howse (Kohimarama Yacht Club) (18DNF)

1 1 1 (2) 1 1 - 7 pts

2. Noah Malpot (Nelson Yacht Club)

2 4 - 16 pts

3. Peter Graham (Vauxhall

3 (18UFD) - 29 pts

7. Elise Beavis (Murrays Bay Sailing Club) 2 9 3 (11) (12) 2 10 5 7 - 38 pts

Full results here.

HANSA 303 NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS

Bay of Plenty Trailer Yacht Squadron

March 16-17

Double fleet (7 boats)

1. Rhonda Ritchie/Kerehi Maxwell (Tauranga Yacht & Powerboat Club) 1 (2) 2 2 1 1 - 7 pts

2. Robin Horder/Rob Aislabie (Rotorua Yacht Club)

2 1 3 1 2 (4) - 9 pts

3. Angus Bates/Richard Bates (Tauranga Yacht & Powerboat Club) (4) 3 4 3 3 2 - 15 pts

Single fleet (16 boats)

1. Darrell Smith (Titahi Bay Yacht Club) 2 1 2 (7) 2 2

3 - 12 pts

2. Graham Hook (Titahi Bay Yacht Club) 3 2 (6) 1 1

1 5 - 13 pts

3. Richard Chamberlain (Tauranga Yacht & Powerboat Club) 4 7 3 2 3 (11) 1 - 20 pts

Full results here.

CHERUB, J14 AND FARR 3.7

NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS

Bay of Islands Yacht Club

March 15-17

Cherub fleet (14 boats)

1. Hugo Davies/Ray Davies (Royal Akarana Yacht Club) 1 1 2 1 1 2 (3) 2 - 10 pts

2. Lucas Day (Murrays Bay Sailing Club)/Rowan Kensington (Kohimarama Yacht Club) 3 2 1 (4) 2 3 1 1 - 13 pts

3. Hugo Smith/Adrian Pawson (Murrays Bay Sailing Club) 2 (15DNF) 4 3 3 1 4 3 - 20 pts

4. Phil McNeill/Brooke Griffin (Kerikeri Cruising Club) (7) 4 6 5 6 4 2 5 - 32 pts

J14 fleet (23 boats)

1. Trent Justice (Torbay Sailing Club) 1 1 1 (5)

2 4 - 13 pts

2. David Giles (Pupuke Boating Club)

(5) 1 - 18 pts

3. Mark Shaw (Torbay Sailing Club)

2 - 27 pts

Farr 3.7 fleet (30 boats)

1. Paul Moriarty (Waitara Boating Club)

2 2 3 - 22 pts

2. Derek Snow (Wakatere Boating Club) 1 1

(15) 10 - 31 pts

3. Joe Batchelor (Waitara Boating Club)

(9) 8 - 32 pts

16. Katie de Lange 19

pts

Full results here.

WOMEN ON WATER WEEKEND

Gulf Harbour Yacht Club

March 15-17

Spinnaker fleet (10 boats)

1. Pace 1 2 1 - 4 pts

2. Fez 2 1 5 - 8 pts

3. Azure 6 5 2 - 13 pts

Non spinnaker fleet (12 boats)

1. Korora 3 3 2 - 8 pts

2. Renee Chance 2 9 1 - 12 pts

(23)

-

3. Glory Days 6 5 3 - 14 pts

Full results here.

YOUNG 88 NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS

Bucklands Beach Yacht Club

March 15-17

Line (17 boats)

1. Harry Thurston (Dangerzone) 1 1 1 1 (3) 2 1 - 7 pts

2. Karyn Drummond (Flash Gordon) 3 3 2 (6) 1 4 5 - 18 pts

3. Mark Tapper (Undercover) 6 5 4 2 2 1 (7) - 20 pts

Handicap

1. Leigh Miller (Voodoo) 1 4 (10.5) 7 7 1 9 - 29 pts

2. Will Cobb (Grey Goose) 3 2.5 (13) 5.5 10 3.5 529.5 pts

3. Jacko van Deventer (Sailor Moon) 5 7 2 (10) 8 2 7 - 31 pts

Full results here.

WELLINGTON SCHOOLS REGATTA

Paremata Boating Club

March 12

RS Feva fleet (2 boats)

1. Haicheug Lai/Caden Drover (Whanganui Collegiate) 1 1 2 1 - 5 pts

2. Will Managh/Jackson Doughty (Whanganui Collegiate) 2 2 1 2 - 7 pts

ILCA 6 fleet (3 boats)

1. Jack Olson (HIBS) 1 1 1 2 - 5 pts

2. Eddie Dewhirst (Whanganui High School) 2 2 2 1 - 7 pts

3. Morgan McKeown (Hutt Valley) 3 3 3 3 - 12 pts

O’pen Skiff fleet (5 boats)

1. Elena Keall-Neches (Paraparaumu College) 1 1 1 1 - 4 pts

2. Amy Summers (Paraparaumu Beach School) 2 2 4 2 - 10 pts

3. Emily Summers (Paraparaumu College) 3 4 2 3 - 12 pts

Optimist green fleet (3 boats)

1. Charlotte Thiebaut (Plimmerton School) 2 2 1 1 - 6 pts

2. Bronagh Davidson (Adventure School) 1 1 2 2 - 6 pts

3. Meg Edwards (Wellington East Girls) 3 3 3 3 - 12 pts

Optimist open fleet (6 boats)

1. Kester Holmes (Karori West Normal School) 1 1 1 1 - 4 pts

2. Sam Freemantle (Wellington High) 3 2 3 3 - 11 pts

3. Lucas Holm (Hutt Valley) 2 4 2 5 - 13 pts

Starling fleet (6 boats)

1. Tessa McCarthy (Kapiti College) 2 2 1 1 - 6 pts

2. Jack Griffiths (Kapiti College) 1 1 2 5 - 9 pts

3. Lola Redshaw (Wellington East Girls) 3 3 4 4 - 14 pts

Sunburst fleet (2 boats)

1. Aurora McKeown/Neve Groom (Hutt Valley High) 1 2 2 1 - 6 pts

2. Izabel Ellis/Olliver Bond (Wellington High School) 2 1 1 2 - 6 pts Full results here.

PREDICTWIND GIRLS CHAMPS REGATTA

Kohimarama Yacht Club

March 9-10

Optimist green fleet (19 boats)

1. Milla Holland (Wakatere Boating Club) 1 1 4 (6) 1 5 - 12 pts

2. Aurora Edhouse (Murrays Bay Sailing Club) 2 4 1 3 (11) 3 - 13 pts

3. Ally Burfoot (Tauranga Yacht & Powerboat Club) (8) 2 8 2 2 2 - 15 pts

Optimist open fleet (20 boats)

5 4 (13) - 26 pts O’pen Skiff fleet (15 boats) 1.

3.

ILCA 6 fleet (3 boats)

1. Chloe Turner (Murrays Bay Sailing Club) 1 1 1 1 1

1 1 (4RET) - 7 pts

2. Arabella Gimeno-Wood (Royal Akarana Yacht Club) (2) 2 2 2 2 2 2 1 - 13 pts

3. Laura Yang (Royal Akarana Yacht Club) 3 3 3 (4OCS) 3 3 3 2 - 20 pts

RS Feva fleet (12 boats)

1. Elisa Currie/Sofia Currie (Maraetai Sailing Club) 1 (6) 1 1 4 3 1 - 11 pts

2. Anna Dold/Lola-Jean Hutchens (Royal Akarana Yacht Club) (13OCS) 2 2 2 2 4 5 - 17 pts

3. Emily Frewin/Pippa Schulz (Howick Sailing Club)

6 1 6 4 1 2 (10) - 20 pts

29er fleet (3 boats)

1. Bella Jenkins/Nicola Hume (Kohimarama Yacht Club) 1 1 (2) 1 1 1 2 1 - 8 pts

2. Madison Russell/Kate Rasmussen (Maraetai Sailing Club) (2) 2 1 2 2 2 1 2 - 12 pts

3. Kate Howse/Elbe White (Kohimarama Yacht Club) (3) 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 - 21 pts

Windfoil fleet (2 boards)

1. Stella Bilger (Wakatere Boating Club) 1 1 1 1 1 2 (3DNS) - 7 pts

2. Gabrielle Jordan Dalton-Wilson (Maraetai Sailing Club) 2 (3DNS) 3DNC 2 3RET 1 3DNS - 14 pts

Full results here.

GULF CLASSIC

Waikato Yacht Squadron March 9-10

Keeler 80nm Division (11 boats)

1. La Camargue (Pine Harbour Yacht Club) 07:38:31

2. Frida (Pine Harbour Yacht Club) 07:50:18

3. Louisa (Waikato Yacht Squadron) 07:53:03

Trailer yacht 60nm Division (12 boats)

1. Deep Purple (Mercury Bay Boating Club) 07:42:13

2. E Boat (Lake Taupo Yacht Club) 08:12:20

3. Elevation (Bay of Plenty Trailer Yacht Squadron) 08:12:33

Trailer Yacht 40nm Division (10 boats)

1. Young Gem (Ngaroto Yacht Club) 05:25:36

2. Aqua Flyte (Manukau Yacht & Motor Boat Club) 05:25:39

3. Pure Magic II (Manukau Yacht & Motor Boat Club) 05:27:28

Full results here.

420 NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS

Naval Point Club Lyttelton

March 7-10

Overall (9 boats)

1. Joe Leith/Josh Ferressey (Murrays Bay Sailing Club) 2 2 1 (3) 2 1 1 2 1 1 1 1 - 15 pts

2. Cameron Brown/Alex Norman (Wakatere Boating Club) 1 1 2 1 1 2 2 1 2 2 (10) 2 - 17 pts

3. Hayden Chrisholm/Sam Nicholl (Chareris Bay Yacht Club) (7) 6 5 5 6 3 5 3 3 3 2 3 - 44 pts

6. Nico Blundell (Charteris Bay Yacht Club)/Lucy Luxford (Naval Point Club Lyttelton) 4 4 4 4 4 (8) 6 6

4 4 3 5 - 48 pts

7. Aani Tapper/Ellie Tapper (Marakura Yacht Club) 5 (8) 6 7 6 8 7 7 8 7 7 - 76 pts

Full results here.

YOUTH INTERNATIONAL

MATCH RACING CUP

RNZYS

March 6-10

Overall

1. Josh Hyde, Jack Manning, Zach Fong, Cody Coughlan, Luis Schnieder (NZ)

2. Daniel Kemp, Louis Tilly, Lachlan Wallace, Charlie Verity, Isabella Holdworth (Aus)

3. Rory Sims, Vivien Webster, Tim McCulloch, Leo Jeffrey, Finn Balchin (Irl)

4. Ethan Fong, Robbie Wooldridge, George Pilkington, Sam Clark (NZ)

5. Xavier McLachlan, Tom Rees, Gretel Payne, Abby Gilbert, Katina Casimaty (Aus)

6. Hayden Smith, Hugo McMullen, Luca Smith, Harry McMullen, Tayne Haag (NZ)

7. Sam Scott, Austin Candlish, Jolly Koska, Marin Armstong-Wills, Keiley Thompson (NZ)

8. Ella Arnold, Alissa Marshall, Anika Pennifold, Phoebe Buckland, Sophie-Jo Hawkins (NZ)

9. Braedyn Denney, Charley Kates, Maeve White, James West (NZ)

Full results here.

HARBOUR CLASSIC

NZ Multihull Yacht Club

March 8-9

Handicap (54 boats)

1. Olivia Wimsett (Innismara) 01:36:31

2. Sam Stenson (Minx) 01:37:26

3. Liz Alonzi (Timberwolf) 01:39:38

Full results here.

ELLIOTT 5.9 NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS

Onerahi Yacht Club

March 7-9

Overall (13 boats)

1. R+R

2. Revelry

3. Slam Dunk

Full results here.

AUCKLAND SECONDARY SCHOOLS FLEET RACING REGATTA

Wakatere Boating Club

March 8

29er fleet (6 boats)

1. William Mason/Giorgio Mattiuzzo (Takapuna Grammar School) 1 1 (2) 1 - 3 pts

2. Sean Kensington/Oli Stone (Auckland Grammar School) 2 (3) 1 2 - 5 pts

3. Isaac Gaites/Marcus Hilder (Westlake Boys High School) (5) 2 4 4 - 10 pts

O’pen Skiff fleet (3 boats)

1. Paige McLachlan-Roberts (Botany Downs Secondary College) 1 1 1 (2) - 3 pts

2. Nathan Donovan (Kristin School) (2) 2 2 1 - 5 pts

3. Benjamin Berrington (St Kentigern College) (3) 3

3 3 - 9 pts

Windfoil fleet (4 boards)

1. Ben Rist (Wentworth College) 1 (3) 1 1 - 3 pts

2. Finn Davies (Selwyn College) (2) 1 2 2 - 5 pts

3. Daniella Wooldridge (Westlake Girls High School)

3 2 3 (4) - 8 pts

ILCA 6 fleet (13 boats)

1. Louie Poletti (Rangitoto College) (2) 1 1 1 - 3 pts

2. Liam Dimock (Wentworth College) (3) 2 3 2 - 7 pts

3. Jack Hollands (Wentworth College) 1 4 (7) 3 - 8 pts

6. Chloe Turner (Rangitoto College) 4 (9) 4 8 - 16 pts

Optimist fleet (25 boats)

1. Matteo Barker (Auckland Grammar School) (3) 1

1 2 - 4 pts

2. Zhening Li (Auckland Grammar School) (11) 4 2

4 - 10 pts

3. Arthur Rebbeck (Kristin School) (15) 2 6 3 - 11 pts

4. Zofia Wells (St Kentigern College) 1 (12) 10 1 - 12 pts

P Class fleet (5 boats)

1. Callum Noyer (Macleans College)(2) 1 1 1 - 3 pts

2. Izzy Harrison (Macleans College) 1 (2) 2 2 - 5 pts

3. James Davies (Glendowie College) (4) 4 3 3 - 10 pts

Starling fleet (40 boats)

1. Tom Pilkington (Auckland Grammar School) 1 (41UFD) 1 1 - 3 pts

2. Flinn Olson (Westlake Boys High School) (23) 3

2 4 - 0 pts

3. Leo Brown (Glendowie College) 5 2 (41DSQ)

3 - 10 pts

6. Jess Handley (Westlake Girls High School) (15) 6

9 2 - 17 pts

Wingfoil fleet (4 boards)

1. Hugo Wigglesworth (King’s College) (2) 1 2 1 - 4 pts

2. Toby Wigglesworth (King’s College) 1 (2) 1 2 - 4 pts

3. Oscar Zonneveld (King’s College) (3) 3 3 3 - 9 pts RS Feva fleet (22 boats)

AROUND THE REGIONS

1. Zenon Nicholas/Charlie Sorrell (Takapuna Grammar School) 1 1 2 (3) - 4 pts

2. Callum Hyde/Sophie Hyde (Botany Downs

Secondary College) 4 6 (11) 1 - 11 pts

3. Emily Frewin/Pippa Schulz (St Kentigern College)

3 4 4 (5) - 11 pts

Full results here.

A CLASS CATAMARAN

NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS

Nelson Yacht Club

February 24-27

Classic division

1. John Kennett (Wakatere Boating Club) 1 (2) 1 1 1

1 (2) 1 1 1 2 - 10 pts

2. Thomas Block (Bay of Islands Yacht Club) (2) 1 2 2

2 2 1 2 2 (3) 1 - 15 pts

3. Brent Harsant (NZMYC) (6) 5 3 3 3 3 4 3 4 5 (6)33 pts

Foiling division

1. Dave Shaw (Nelson Yacht Club) (1) (1) 1 1 1 1 1 1

1 1 1 - 9 pts

2. Hamish Hall-Smith (Wakatere Boating Club) 2 (7RET) (7DNC) 2 2 2 2 2 2 4 5 - 23 pts

3. David Haylock (Wakatere Boating Club) 3 2 2 3 3 (7RET) (4) 4 3 3 3 - 26 pts

Overall (13 boats)

1 Dave Shaw (Napier Yacht Club) (1) (1) 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 - 9 pts

2. John Kennett (Wakatere Boating Club) (4) (4) 2 3 3

3 4 4 3 2 3 - 27 pts

3. Hamish Hall-Smith (Wakatere Boating Club) 2 (14RET) (14DNC) 2 2 2 2 2 2 9 12 - 35 pts

Full results here.

420 SOUTH ISLAND CHAMPIONSHIPS

Naval Point Club Lyttelton

February 24-25

Overall (3 boats)

1. Thomas Jurczyluk/Oliver Wyeth (Wanaka Yacht Club) 2 1 1 - 4 pts

2. Sam Nicholl/Chloe Clinch (Charteris Bay Yacht Club) 1 3 2 - 6 pts

3. Alan Viles/Amy Viles (Naval Point Club Lyttelton) 3 2 3 - 8 pts

Full results here.

FINN NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS

Naval Point Club Lyttelton

February 22-24

Overall (22 boats)

1. Richard Hawkins (Port Chalmers Yacht Club) 1 1 1 1 3 1 1 (7) 5 - 14 pts

2. Ray Hall (Plimmerton Sailing Club) 3 2 2 2 1 2 (23OCS) 3 2 - 17 pts

3. Brendon Hogg (Charteris Bay Yacht Club) 2 3 3 3 2 4 2 (11) 3 - 22 pts

Full results here.

HOME STRAIGHT

FOIL BAY OF ISLANDS

Bay of Islands Yacht Club

February 22-25

Kitefoil fleet (19 boards)

1. Hugo Wigglesworth 1 1 (20DNC) 1 (2) 1 1 1 1 1

1 - 9 pts

2. Lochy Naismith 2 (8) 1 2 1 2 2 (20DNC) 6 3 3 - 22 pts

3. Andy Robertson (6) 3 2 4 5 5 6 (20DNC) 2 2 5 - 35 pts

Windfoil 9m fleet (8 boards)

1. Josh Armit (Wakatere Boating Club) 1 1 1 (2) 1 1 1

1 1 (2) 1 - 9 pts

2. Eli Liefting 2 2 (3) 1 3 2 2 (9DNC) 2 1 2 - 17 pts

3. Thomas Crook 3 (4RDG) 4 3 2 4 3 (9DNC) 3 3

3 - 28 pts

Windfoil 9m silver fleet (3 boards)

1. Alex Hansen (4DNF) (4DNC) 1 1 1 1 1 4DNC 1

4DNC - 14 pts

2. Alin Misescu (4DNC) (4DNF) 2 3 2 3 2 4DNC

4DNC 4DNC - 24 pts

3. Russ Evans (4DNC) (4DNC) 3 2 3 2 4DNC 4DNC

4DNC 4DNC - 26 pts

Windfoil 8m fleet (2 boards)

1. Stuart Warman (3DNF) 1 (2) 1 1 1 1 1 - 6 pts

2. Gary Hill 1 2 1 (3DNC) (3DNC) 3DNC 3DNC 3DNC

- 13 pts

Windfoil silver fleet (4 boards)

1. Finn Davies (5DNF) 1 2 2 3 2 (5DNC) 1 1 1 - 13 pts

2. Sofia Currie 1 3 (4) 3 4 3 1 2 (5DNC) 2 - 19 pts

3. Shane Solly (5DNF) (5DNC) 1 1 1 1 5DNC 5DNC

5DNC 5DNC - 24 pts

Windfoil open fleet (6 boards)

1. Liam Herbert 2 1 3 (5) 4 (6) 4 1 1 2 1 - 19 pts

2. Tim Wood 4 2 1 1 1 1 1 (7DNC) 4 (7DNC) 7 DNC

- 22 pts

3. Nick Thomas 1 (7DNC) 2 3 2 2 2 (7DNC) 7DNC 1

2 - 22 pts

IQW fleet (3 boards)

1. Veerle ten Have (1) 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 (2) 1 - 8 pts

2. Stella Bilger 2 2 2 2 2 2 (3) (3) 1 2 - 15 pts

3. Brianna Orams (3) 3 3 3 3 3 2 2 (4DNC) 3 - 22 pts

IQY fleet (5 boards)

1. Jack Parr 1 1 1 1 1 1 (4) (2) 2 2 - 10 pts

2. Ben Rist (4) 2 2 (6DNF) 2 2 1 1 1 1 - 12 pts

3. Vlad Misescu 2 (3) 3 2 3 (6DNC) 2 3 3 3 - 21 pts

IQJ fleet (3 boards)

1. Sol Douwes 2 1 1 1 1 1 1 (4DSQ) (4DNC) 1 - 9 pts

2. Margarita Andreevna Konstantinova 1 2 2 2 (3) 2 2 1 1 (4DNC) - 13 pts

3. Gabrielle Dalton-Wilson (4DNF) 3 3 3 2 (4DNF)

4DNC 2 4DNC 2 - 23 pts

Waszp fleet (12 boats)

1. Tim Howse 1 1 (2) 1 1 1 1 - 6 pts

2. Noah Malpot 2 2 (3) 3 2 2 2 - 13 pts

3. Peter Graham 3 3 1 5 3 (6) 5 - 20 pts

5. Elise Beavis 6 5 5 4 4 5 (8) - 29 pts

Wingfoil gold fleet (16 boards)

1. Sean Herbert 1 (3) 2 1 1 2 - 7 pts

2. Kosta Gladiadis 3 1 1 4 (9) 4 - 13 pts

3. Lloyd Perratt (5) 2 4 3 2 3 - 14 pts

Wingfoil silver fleet (22 boards)

1. Rowan Kensington 4 2 1 4 2 (7) - 12 pts

2. Michael Scholes 2 5 2 6 (23 DNC) 1 - 16 pts

3. Andrew Mitchell 3 4 4 1 (23DNC) 5 - 17 pts

Wingfoil social fleet (41 boards)

1. Mark Hursthouse 3 (16) 1 2 2 - 8 pts

2. Tony Mackenzie 2 2 5 (11) 1 - 10 pts

3. Chris Kennedy (21.5) 9 3 4 4 - 20 pts

Full results here.

JUNIOR SAIL AUCKLAND

Kohimarama Yacht Club

February 17-18

Optimist green fleet (29 boats)

1. George Abbott (Waiuku Yacht Club) 2 1 (3) 1 1 - 5 pts

2. Henry Hall (Murrays Bay Sailing Club) 3 4 2 (7)

7 - 16 pts

3. Noah Petersen (Wakatere Boating Club) (13) 2 9

4 2 - 17 pts

6. Annika Wells (Glendowie Boating Club) 4 (8) 8 5

5 - 22 pts

Optimist open fleet (54 boats)

1. Matteo Barker (Murrays Bay Sailing Club) 1 1 1 (2) 1 - 4 pts

2. Will Fyfe (Murrays Bay Sailing Club) 5 3 (6) 3 213 pts

3. Greta Hutton (Murrays Bay Sailing Club) 4 (8) 8 4 3 - 19 pts

Starling development fleet (10 boats)

1. Sienna Meikle (Murrays Bay Sailing Club) (3) 1 1

1 3 - 6 pts

2. Annabelle Cartwright (Kohimarama Yacht Club) 1

4 4 (5) 1 - 10 pts

3. Sasha White (Kohimarama Yacht Club) (11DNC) 2

6 2 2 - 12 pts

29er fleet (13 boats)

1. Will Leech (Charteris Bay Yacht Club)/Sean Kensington (Kohimarama Yacht Club) 2 1 2 1 (14RET) - 6 pts

2. Tom Pilkington (RNZYS)/Morgan Lay (Royal Akarana Yacht Club) 1 3 1 2 (5) - 7 pts

3. Nelsen Meacham (Wakatere Boating Club)/Levi Jenkins (Kohimarama Yacht Club) 3 (8) 3 3 4 - 13 pts Full results here.

TAURANGA REGATTA

Tauranga Yacht & Powerboat Club February 17-18

Hansa 303 single fleet (4 boats)

1. Paulien Chamberlain (Tauranga Yacht & Powerboat Club) 1 1 1 1 1 (2) - 5 pts

2. Richard Chamberlain (Tauranga Yacht & Powerboat Club) (2) 2 2 2 2 1 - 9 pts

3. Dennis Young (Tauranga Yacht & Powerboat Club) (4) 4 4 3 3 3 - 17 pts

Hansa 303 double fleet (3 boats)

1. Angus Bates/Richard Bates (Tauranga Yacht & Powerboat Club) 1 (2) 1 1 1 2 - 6 pts

2. Kerehi Maxwell/Rhonda Ritchie (Tauranga Yacht & Powerboat Club) (3) 1 2 2 2 1 - 8 pts

3. Antz Keene/Ian Ritchie (Tauranga Yacht & Powerboat Club) 2 3 3 3 3 (4RET) - 14 pts

420 fleet (2 boats)

1. Andrew Murdoch/Nina Murdoch (Tauranga Yacht & Powerboat Club) 1 1 1 1 (2) 1 - 5 pts

2. Femma van der Beek/Siella Felton (Tauranga Yacht & Powerboat Club) (2) 2 2 2 1 2 - 9 pts

Farr 3.7 fleet (2 boats)

1. Alan Paine (Richmond Yacht Club) (1) 1 1 1 1 1 - 5

2. Naomi McMinn (Hamilton Yacht Club) (3DNS) 2 2

3DNS 3DNC 3DNC - 13 pts

ILCA 6 fleet (15 boats)

1. Dave Johnson (Tauranga Yacht & Powerboat Club) 1 1 1 1 1 (3) - 5 pts

2. Werner Hennig (Hamilton Yacht Club) 4 4 3 2 (6) 1 - 14 pts

3. Miya Prescott (Tauranga Yacht & Powerboat Club) 2 2 5 4 5 (8) - 18 pts

ILCA 7 fleet (5 boats)

1. Max Faulkner (Tauranga Yacht & Powerboat Club) 1 1 1 (2) 1 1 - 5 pts

2. Mark Macintosh (Port Ohope Yacht Club)

Optimist

1.

4

Optimist

4.

Zephyr fleet (17 boats)

1.

pts

2. Grant Beck (Wakatere Boating Club) (11) 2 3 2 1 1 - 9 pts

3. Kieren Thomas (Tauranga Yacht & Powerboat Club) 9 (10) 2 3 4 4 - 22 pts

Full results here.

HARTLEY 16 NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS

Waiuku Yacht Club

February 10-12

Overall (17 boats)

1. Sam Street (Splash) 1 8 1 1 4 5 4 5 (13) - 29 pts

2. Jason Holdt (Shaking Laundry) 4 2 6 3 2 7 (12) 1 5 - 30 pts

3. Wayne Holdt (Panache) 6 (13) 5 4 3 3 5 2 2 - 30 pts

13. Amelia Birrell (Barefoot) 5 14 10 (18DNC) 18DNC

18DNC 9 8 12 - 94 pts

Full results here.

OCEANBRIDGE SAIL AUCKLAND

Torbay Sailing Club

February 10-11

420 fleet (2 boats)

1. Cam Brown/Alex Norman 1 1 1 1 1 (3RET) - 5 pts

2. Zara Scott/Amelia Higson 2 2 2 2 (3DNC) 3DNC - 11 pts

Mixed 470 fleet (2 boats)

1. Derek Scott/Rebecca Hume 1 (2) 1 1 1 1 - 5 pts

1. Blake McGlashan/Megan Thomson (2) 1 2 2 2 2 - 9 pts

ILCA 6 fleet (25 boats)

1. Louie Poletti 4 (13) 3 2 2 1 - 12 pts

2. George Lane (15) 1 5 1 5 2 - 14 pts

3. Winston Liesebach 1 (8) 7 3 1 4 - 16 pts

ILCA 7 fleet (4 boats)

1. Caleb Armit 1 (4) 4 1 1 1 - 8 pts

2. Dylan Forsyth (2) 2 2 2 2 2 - 10 pts

3. Luke Cashmore 3 1 1 (4) 3 3 - 11 pts

Kitefoil (3 boards)

1. Hugo Wigglesworth 1 1 - 2 pts

2. Justina Kitchen 2 4DNF - 6 pts

3. Lucy Bilger 3 4DNF - 7 pts

Windfoil 8m (9 boards)

1. Veerle ten Have 1 (10DNF) 2 1 1 2 2 1 1 - 11 pts

2. Jack Parr (10BFD) 10DNF 3 3 2 1 1 2 3 - 25 pts

3. Stella Bilger (10DNF) 6 2 3 3 3 4 2 - 26 pts

Windfoil 9m (7 boards)

1. Josh Armit (3) 2 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 - 9 pts

2. Thomas Crook 2 1 (8BFD) 3 2 2 2 2 3 - 17 pts

3. Eli Liefting 1 3 2 2 (8DNF) 3 4 4 2 - 21 pts

29er fleet (18 boats)

1. William Mason/Giorgio Mattiuzzo 1 3 (4) 1 1 3 2 2 - 13 pts

1. Tom Pilkington/Morgan Lay 2 1 2 (19BFD) 2 1 3 3 - 14 pts

2. Will Leech/Sean Kensington 3 4 1 (10) 3 5 1 1 - 18 pts

49er fleet (8 boats)

1. Logan Dunning Beck/Oscar Gunn 3 (4) 1 4 1 1 1 2 - 13 pts

2. Isaac McHardie/Will McKenzie 1 (3) 3 1 2 2 3 1 - 13 pts

3. Seb Menzies/George Lee Rush 2 2 5 2 5 3 (6) 4 - 23 pts

49erFX fleet (4 boats)

1. Jo Aleh/Molly Meech (1) 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 - 7 pts

2. Courtney Reynolds-Smith/Brianna ReynoldsSmith 2 2 2 2 3 2 (5DNC) 5DNC - 18 pts

3. Lizzie Shapland/Jack Simpson 3 3 4 3 2 (5DNC) 5DNC 5DNC - 25 pts

Nacra 17 fleet (3 boats)

1. Micah Wilkinson/Erica Dawson 1 1 1 (2) 2 2 1 1 - 9 pts

2. Laila van der Meer/Bjarne Bouwer (Ned) 2 2 2 1 1 1 (4DNF) 4DNC - 13 pts

3. Yuki Watanabe/Minori Ueda (Jap) 3 3 3 3 3 (4DNC) 2 2 - 19 pts

Full results here.

FLYING FIFTEEN

NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS

Wanaka Yacht Club

February 9-11

Overall (16 boats)

1. Sally Garrett (The Godffather) (5) 2 1 2 2 5 - 12 pts

2. Murray Gilbert (Ffrenetic) (7) 1 2 3 4 3 - 13 pts

3. Jenny price (FFortune) 3 4 5 4 (7) 2 - 18 pts

Full results here.

NOELEX 22 NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS

Port Chalmers Yacht Club

February 3-6

Overall (13 boats)

1. Dan Meehan (Cannonball) 2 1 3 (4) 3 1 2.3RDG 1

1 - 14.3 pts

2. Tristin Ornsby (Hardcore Pawn) (7) 2 1 2 1 3 1 5

5 - 20 pts

3. Gwynn Gilmour (Red Pepper) (5) 3 4 5 5 4 3 4

2 - 30 pts

Full results here.

ZEPHYR NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS

Naval Point Club Lyttelton

February 2-6

Overall (59 boats)

1. Mark Orams (Torbay Sailing Club) 1 1 1 1 1 1 (2) - 6 pts

2. Mike Drummond (Wakatere Boating Club) 2 2 3 2

2 (5) 1 - 12 pts

3. Greg Wright (Worser Bay Boating Club) (8) 4 2 4

3 2 3 - 18 pts

13. Amanda Hargreaves (Worser Bay Boating Club)

5 8 11 30 11 (33) 21 - 86 pts

Full results here.

STARLING NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS

Charteris Bay Yacht Club

February 2-6

Overall (75 boats)

1. William Mason (Wakatere Boating Club) 2 5 (9) 1

1 5 1 - 15 pts

2. Tom Pilkington (RNZYS) 3 3 2 (7) 2 2 3 - 15 pts

3. Miro Luxford (Charteris Bay Yacht Club) 7 2 3 4 4

1 (8) - 21 pts

Full results here.

FLYING DUTCHMAN

NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS

Takapuna Boating Club

February 3-5

Overall (8 boats)

1. Andrew McKee/Dave Hislop (Nelson Yacht Club)

1 4 1 2 1 (9UFD) 1 - 10 pts

2. Mark Henger/Matt Bismark (Kapiti Boating Club)

3 1 2 1 (9UFD) 2 2 - 11 pts

3. Paul Scoffin (Navy Yacht Club)/Jason Breeden (Bloomington Yacht Club) 2 2 3 3 2 1 (9DNF) - 13 pts

Full results here.

470 NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS

Takapuna Boating Club

February 3-5

Overall (6 boats)

1. Derek Scott (RNZYS)/Rebecca Hume (Murrays Bay Sailing Club) 2 2 (4) 1 1 2 4 - 12 pts

2. Cam Brown/Alex Norman (Wakatere Boating Club) 5 3 1 2 (7UFD) 1 1 - 13 pts

3. Joe Leith/Andre van Dam (Murrays Bay Sailing Club) 1 (7UFD) 5 3 2 3 3 - 17 pts

Full results here.

NOELEX 25 NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS

Lake Taupō Yacht Club

February 2-5

Overall (17 boats)

1. Nick Coultas (Outnumbered) 1 2 2 2 2 (5) 1 (6.5)

5 - 15 pts

2. Derek Dumbar (Que Sera Sera) 2.5 5 (7) 1 1 1 4 (8) 7 - 21.5 pts

3. Paul Redman (Sheet Music) (7) (8) 1 5 3 4 6 2

2 - 23 pts

6. Holly Farmer (Revel) 2.5 6 (11) 8 7 (9) 7 1 6 - 37.5 pts

Full results here.

49ER AND 49ERFX NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS

Royal Akarana Yacht Club

February 3-4

49er fleet (8 boats)

1. Isaac McHardie/Will McKenzie (Torbay Sailing Club) 1 2 (5) 1 2 - 6 pts

2. Logan Dunning Beck (Wakatere Boating Club)/ Oscar Gunn (Murrays Bay Sailing Club) 2 1 3 2 (4) - 8 pts

3. Campbell Stanton (Torbay Sailing Club)/Will Shapland (Royal Akarana Yacht Club) (5) 4 2 4 3 - 13 pts

49erFX fleet (3 boats)

1. Jo Aleh (Torbay Sailing Club)/Molly Meech (Tauranga Yacht & Powerboat Club) (1) 1 1 1 1 - 4 pts

2. Lizzie Shapland/Jack Simpson (Royal Akarana Yacht Club) (3) 2 2 2 2 - 8 pts

3. Courtney Reynolds-Smith/Brianna ReynoldsSmith (Torbay Sailing Club) 2 (3) 3 3 3 - 11 pts Full results here.

AUCKLAND ANNIVERSARY DAY REGATTA

January 29

Tugboat race (12 boats)

1. Mayflower 0:27:01

2. Iona M 0:29:01

3. Sterling 0:30:55

Classic launch race (11 boats)

1. Waikaro 0:16:19

2. Lucinda 0:17:29

3. St Clair 0:21:20

M1 fleet (5 boats)

1. Zeppo 3:43:53

2. Renown 4:05:18

3. Crest 4:39:04

M2 fleet (5 boats)

1. Penury 3:32:33

2. Calypso 3:40:25

3. Diamonds 4:06:33

R1 fleet (3 boats)

1. Acquiesce 2:25:38

2. Starmaker 2:27:08

3. Molly Malone DNF

R2 fleet (4 boats)

1. Moody Blues 2:24:04

2. Conflict 2:30:56

3. Reliant DNC

4. Sanna DNF

Division 3 (6 boats)

1. Liquid Luck 1:33:14

2. Young Magic 1:35:43

3. Orion II 1:37:47

Division 2 (2 boats)

1. Ticketty Boo 1:32:53

2. Tigga 1:46:41

Division 1 (3 boats)

1. Flojo 1:29:25

2. Nirvana 1:31:32

3. V5 DNC

Modern fleet (4 boats)

1. Ta’Aroa 1:35:58

2. Princess 1:45:41

3. Auriga 1:53:27

A Classic fleet (6 boats)

1. Ida 1:39:35

2. Katrina II 1:48:36

3. Rainbow DNC

B Classic fleet (7 boats)

1. Spray II 1:56:12

2. Gloriana DNC

3. Corona DNC

Full results here.

OPTIMIST

Royal Akarana Yacht Club

January 27-29

Optimist green fleet (33 boats)

1. Zephyr Lane (Wakatere Boating Club) 1 1 1 (3) 1 1

1 3 1 - 10 pts

2. Tim Stuart (Murrays Bay Sailing Club)

AROUND THE REGIONS

Full results here.

SUNBURST NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS

Worser Bay Boating Club

January 26-29

Overall (29 boats)

1. Brett Linton/Alice Linton (Worser Bay Boating Club) 2 2 1 4 1 - 10 pts

2. Peter Sutton/Rob Bryant (Worser Bay Boating Club) 3 3 5 5 4 - 20 pts

3. Jonathan Clough/Emily Chambers (Royal Akarana Yacht Club) 4 11 3 7 2 - 27 pts

Full results here.

STARLING CANTERBURY CHAMPIONSHIPS

Naval Point Club Lyttelton

January 27-28

Overall (14 boats)

1. Miro Luxford (Charteris Bay Yacht Club) 2 2 (3) 1 1 1 - 7 pts

2. Jack Olson (Plimmerton Boating Club) 1 1 1 (3) 2

3 - 8 pts

3. Hayden Chisholm (Charteris Bay Yacht Club) 3 (4)

4 2 3 2 - 14 pts

4. Lucy Luxford (Charteris Bay Yacht Club) 5 6 2 (15OCS) 4 4 - 21 pts

Full results here.

BAY OF ISLANDS SAILING WEEK

January 23-26

Division B (6 boats)

Line

1. Howard Spencer (Menace) 1 1 2 4 1 1 1 (7) 1 - 12 pts

2. Mikayla Plaw (Sassinate) 3 2 (4)

E (5 boats)

HOME STRAIGHT

Sports boat division (13 boats)

Line

1. Jake Pye (Animal Biscuits) 1 1 1 1 (2) 1 1 1 - 7 pts

2. Matt Gottard (Daisy Duke) 2 2 (4) 2 1 2 3 2 - 14 pts

3. Phil Bishop (Helter Skelter) 3 5 3 3 (7) 3 2 3 - 22 pts

Handicap

1. Jake Pye (Animal Biscuits) 1 5 10 1 (11) 1 1 1 - 20 pts

2. Brent Gribble (Magic Dragon) 2 2 3 7 4 5 6 (8) - 29 pts

3. Phil Bishop (Helter Skelter) 4 (12) 7 2 12 3 2 3 - 33 pts

Young 88 division (8 boats)

Line

1. Harry Thurston (Dangerzone) 1 1 2 1 1 (9R) 1 1 1 - 9 pts

2. Simon Grosser (Jamiroquai) 5 4 1 2 2 (9R) 4 4

4 - 26 pts

3. Gavin Haslip (Babe) 4 2 3 (5) 4 2 5 2 5 - 27 pts

Handicap

1. Roger Sims (Heartlight) 2 2 6 5 1 (9R) 1 7.5 327.5 pts

2. Harry Thurston (Dangerzone) 1 4 2 3 4 (9R) 2 5 8 - 29 pts

3. Gavin Haslip (Babe) 3 1 3 (7) 5 3 6 3 5 - 29 pts Island racing Division A (13 boats)

Line

1. Harry Dodson/Tony Bosnyak (Mayhem) 1 1 1 - 3 pts

2. Rob Bassett (Wired) 2 2 2 - 6 pts

3. Brian Petersen (V5) 3 3 3 - 9 pts

Handicap

1. Rob Bassett (Wired) 1 1 8 - 10 pts

2. Harry Dodson/Tony Bosnyak (Mayhem) 2 2 7 - 11 pts

3. Quintin Fowler (Rum Bucket) 3 4 4 - 11 pts

Island racing Division B (15 boats)

Line

1. David Ferris/Brian Hutching (Tongue Twister) 1

1 2 - 4 pts

2. Mark Malpass (Akatea) 3 2 4 - 9 pts

3. Greer Houston/John Kensington (Sham Pain) 2 7

3 - 12 pts

Handicap

1. Greer Houston/John Kensington (Sham Pain) 1

4 1 - 6 pts

2. David Ferris/Brian Hutching (Tongue Twister) 3 1 2 - 6 pts

3. Ben Bax/Denise Bax (Manxman) 2 3 5 - 10 pts

Island racing Division C (15 boats)

Line

1. Rowan Smith (Carpe Diem) 1 1 2 - 4 pts

2. Lode Missiaen (Juniper) 2 5 5 - 12 pts

3. Martin Wylie (NZ Spars and Rigging) 3 3 6 - 12 pts

Handicap

1. John Power (Lavanti) 1 2 2 - 5 pts

2. Rowan Smith (Carpe Diem) 2 1 3 - 6 pts

3. Drew Belk (Slipstream III) 4 3 4 - 11 pts

Island racing Division D (15 boats)

Line

1. Sinisa Grujicic (Hotdogger) 1 2 2 - 5 pts

2. Liam Holroyd (Strictly Business)3 5 3 - 11 pts

3. Paul Smith (The Racoon) 4 1 7 - 12 pts

Handicap

1. Tony Poolman (Elevation) 5 2 1 - 8 pts

2. Jamie Caisley (Ex Machina) 2 1 5 - 8 pts

3. Sinisa Grujicic (Hotdogger) 1 4 3 - 8 pts

Island racing non-spinnaker division (9 boats)

Line

1. Anthony Browne (Zindabar) 1 1 - 2 pts

2. Glen Jeffery (Wave) 2 2 - 4 pts

3. Melissa Logan (Aeolian) 3 3 - 6 pts

Handicap

1. Melissa Logan (Aeolian) 2 1 - 3 pts

2. Anthony Browne (Zindabar) 1 3 - 4 pts

3. Glen Jeffery (Wave) 3 2 - 5 pts

Full results here.

NELSON REGATTA

Tasman Bay Cruising Club

January 19-23

Romeo fleet (6 boats)

1. Glen Robertson (Waikawa Boating Club) 5 2 1 4 1 - 14 pts

2. Alister Morrison (Tasman Bay Cruising Club) 1 4

2 1 4 2 - 14 pts

3. Brent Dewhurst (Royal Port Nicholson Yacht Club) 4 1 3 6 2 3 - 19 pts

Juliet fleet (6 boats)

1. Karen Selway (Tasman Bay Cruising Club) 2.5 1 2

4 1 2 - 12.5 pts

2. Mark Bishop (Tasman Bay Cruising Club) 4 4 4 1

3 1 - 17 pts

3. Ben Roff (Tasman Bay Cruising Club) 1 3 1 2 7DNS 4 - 18 pts

Cruising division 1 (7 boats)

1. Clive Lewis (Tasman Bay Cruising Club) 1 1 1 - 3 pts

2. John Midgley (Tasman Bay Cruising Club) 2 2

3 - 7 pts

3. Sam McDermott (Lowry Bay Yacht Club) 4 5 211 pts

Cruising division 2 (6 boats)

1. Stu Morgan (Tasman Bay Cruising Club) 2 3 2 - 7 pts

2. Geoff Coombes 1 1 6OCS - 8 pts

3. Mark Howard 5DNC 2 1 - 8 pts

Full

Naval

3.

24.

Full results here.

TRIPLE CROWN SERIES

Wakatere Boating Club

January 20-21

Windfoil

Windfoil

Windfoil

2 1 1 2 - 8 pts

2. Bruce Walls (2) 2 1 1 2 2 1 - 9 pts

3. Lewis Maurice (11DNC) 11DNC 3 3 3 11DNC 11DNC - 42 pts

Full results here.

ILCA NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS

Napier Sailing Club

January 17-21

ILCA 4 fleet (4 boats)

1. Tom Pilkington (RNZYS) (1) 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 - 8 pts

2. Lucy Millar (Gisborne Yacht Club) (3) 3 2 3 2

Aris (Murrays Bay Sailing Club)

ILCA 6 master fleet (23 boats)

1. Phil Wild (Murrays Bay Sailing Club) 1 1 1

(5) 1 - 9 pts

2. Werner Hennig (Hamilton Yacht Club)

2 4 2 1 2 - 25 pts

3. Edmund Tam (Worser Bay Boating Club) 2 2 4 3 2 (24UFD) 3 4 4 5 -

ILCA

1.

Full results here.

PAPER TIGER NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS

Muritai Yacht Club

January 17-20 Overall (35 boats)

28.

Thomassen (Evans Bay Yacht & Motorboat Club) 23 27 (30) 29 24 21 28 21 - 173 pts

Full results here.

WHAKATU REGATTA

Nelson Yacht Club

January 12-14

420 fleet (5 boats)

1. Nicholas Corry/Shay Smith (Nelson Yacht Club)

2 2 2 - 6 pts

2. Patrick Harris/Harry Reith (Nelson Yacht Club) 1

1 6BFD - 8 pts

3. Sienna Walsh/Melvyn Barbier (Nelson Yacht Club) 4 4 1 - 9 pts

Europe dinghy fleet (4 boats)

1. David Davies (Charteris Bay Yacht Club) 1 2 1 - 4 pts

2. Tim Fraser-Harris (Nelson Yacht Club) 2 1 2 - 5 pts

3. Neil Clifton (Motueka Yacht & Cruising Club) 3 3 5RET - 11 pts

4. Julie Newell (Nelson Yacht Club) 5DNC 5DNC 5DNC - 15 pts

ILCA 6 fleet (5 boats)

1. Tim Pitcaithly (Nelson Yacht Club) 1 1 1 - 3 pts

2. Ben Roff (Nelson Yacht Club) 2 2 2 - 6 pts

3. Sandra Williams (Nelson Yacht Club) 3 4 3 - 10 pts

Flying Dutchman fleet (4 boats)

1. Jasper Davidson/David Gibb (Nelson Yacht Club)

Nik Burfoot won the ILCA 7 national title. Photo: Richard Beauchamp

2 1 1 - 4 pts

2. Bruce Lissant-Clayton/John Booth (Nelson Yacht Club) 1 2 5DNC - 8 pts

3. Ralph Urwin/Ian Beattie (Nelson Yacht Club) 3

5RET 5DNC - 13 pts

Optimist fleet (6 boats)

1. Bailey Robb (Queen Charlotte Yacht Club) 1 1

2 - 4 pts

2. James Harper (Nelson Yacht Club) 2 2 1 - 5 pts

3. Caleb Perano (Charteris Bay Yacht Club) 3 3 3 - 9 pts

Paper Tiger fleet (9 boats)

1. Dave Shaw (Nelson Yacht Club) 1 1 1 - 3 pts

2. Jason Brownlie (Nelson Yacht Club) 2 3 2 - 7 pts

3. Carl Taylor (Charteris Bay Yacht Club) 4 2 3 - 9 pts

OK dinghy fleet (3 boats)

1. Hans van der Wal (Queen Charlotte Yacht Club)

3 1 1 - 5 pts

2. Yuri Schokking (Nelson Yacht Club) 2 2 2 - 6 pts

3. Mark Milner (Nelson Yacht Club) 1 3 3 - 7 pts

Starling fleet (6 boats)

1. Hayden Chisholm (Charteris Bay Yacht Club) 1 1

1 - 3 pts

2. Lucy Luxford (Charteris Bay Yacht Club) 2 2 2 - 6 pts

3. Laura Rolton (Queen Charlotte Yacht Club) 3 3 5 - 11 pts

Full results here.

WAIKAWA NEW YEAR REGATTA

Waikawa Boating Club

January 12-14

Division 1 (10 boats)

Line

1. Matt Kerr (Satellite Spy) 2 1 1 1 2 (3) - 7 pts

INTERNATIONAL

ITM NEW ZEALAND SAIL GRAND PRIX

Christchurch

March 23-24

Overall

1. New Zealand

2. France

3. Canada

4. Spain

5. Germany

6. Switzerland

7. Emirates GBR

8. USA

9. Denmark

10. Australia

Full results here.

Season 4

1. New Zealand

2. Australia

3. Spain

4. France

5. Denmark

6. USA

7. Canada

8. Emirates GBR

9. Germany

10. Switzerland

KITEFOIL EUROPEAN CHAMPIONSHIPS

Los Alcazares, Spain

March 15-24

Men’s fleet (86 boards)

1. Max Maeder (SGP)

2. Axel Mazella (Fra)

3. Riccardo Pianosi (Ita)

27. Lukas Walton-Keim (NZ)

Women’s fleet (51 boards)

1. Lauriane Nolot (Fra)

2. Jessie Kampman (Fra)

3. Poema Newland (Fra)

29. Justina Kitchen (NZ)

40. Lucy Bilger (NZ)

Full results here.

49ER AND 49ERFX WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS

Lanzarote, Spain

2. Glenn Robertson (High Voltage) 1 2 (3) 3 1 2 - 9

pts

3. Sam Edwards (Loco) 3 3 2 2 (4) 1 - 11 pts

Handicap

1. Marty Harris (Last Sirrah) 2 3 1 (4) 1 1

Division 2 (7 boats)

Line 1.

(Saucy Sausage)

4 3 3 (6) 4 - 18 pts

Handicap

1. Adrienne Crossen (Sequin) 1 (3) 2 3 3 1 - 10 pts

2. Clive Ballett (Coup D’Etat II) 2 (5) 3 1 1 4 - 11 pts 3. James Snowdon (Saucy Sausage)

4 1 2 (5) 2 - 12 pts

Division 3 (6 boats)

Line

1. Tom Hutchison (Indelible) (1) 1 1 1 1 - 4 pts

2. Rob Blathwayt (Celebrity) (7OCS) 2 2 2 3 - 9 pts

3. Trevor Hill (Apriori) 2 (4) 4 3 4 - 13 pts

Handicap

1. Tom Hutchison (Indelible) 1 (3) 2 1 1 - 5 pts

2. Rob Blathwayt (Celebrity) (7OCS) 1 1 2 2 - 6 pts

3. Bryce Ecklein (Final Countdown) 2 2 3 4 (7RET)

- 11 pts

Full results here.

NZ INTERNATIONAL MOTH NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS

Manly Sailing Club

January 11-14

March 4-10

49erFX fleet (51 boats)

1. Odile van Aanholt/Annette Duetz (Ned) 1 3 1 3

2. Vilma Bobeck/Rebecca Netzler (Swe) 14 2 3 2

3. Jana Germani/Giorgia Bertuzzi (Ita) 3

12. Jo Aleh/Molly Meech (NZ) 1

49er fleet (71 boats)

1. Erwan Fischer/Clément Pequin (Fra) 11 1

2. Bart Lambriex/Floris van de Werken (Ned)

3. Diego Botín/Florian Trittel (Esp)

(20)

pts

15. Isaac McHardie/Will McKenzie (NZ) 1 14

(25)

40. Campbell Stanton/Will Shapland (NZ) 30

(31)

304 pts

Full results here.

OK DINGHY WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS

Brisbane, Australia

February 24-March 3

Overall (111 boats)

1. Nick Craig (GBR) 1 1

AROUND THE REGIONS

Overall (11 boats)

1. Jake Pye (Manly Sailing

Full results here.

P CLASS TAURANGA CUP

Tauranga Yacht & Powerboat Club

January 6-9

Overall (53 boats)

1.

13.

17.

Full

P

Tauranga Yacht & Powerboat Club

January 3-5

Overall (21 boats)

1. Nathan Soper (Murrays Bay Sailing Club) 1 (11) 5

3 1 1 - 11 pts

2. Oli Stone (Kohimarama Yacht Club) 2 (8) 2 8SCP

2 2 - 16 pts

3. Arthur Rebbeck (Wakatere Boating Club) (6) 3 3

5 3 4 - 18 pts

13. Mila Blundell (Naval Point Club Lyttelton) 12 (14)

13 11 12 8 - 56 pts

Full results here.

-

60. Dean Coleman (NZ)

3

11 - 178 pts 65. Sefton Powrie (NZ)

(32)

(40)

27

7 17 24 23 - 203 pts

76. Tony Bierre (NZ) 34 43 38 37 (44)

15 - 268 pts

79. Phil Coveny (NZ) 26 (51)

20 - 271 pts

84. Tim McDowell (NZ) 46 (49) 44 39 48 32 31SOP

29 39 8 - 316 pts

87. Brendan Sneddon (NZ) 49 46 (58DNC) 58DNC

30 43 32 14 26 27 - 325 pts

98. Philip Rzepecky (NZ) 40 34SOP 44 35 49 40 41 (56UFD) 33 56DNC - 372 pts

104. Graham Lambert (NZ) 44 41 50 53 (54) 51 48 42 44 41 - 414 pts

Full results here.

MIXED 470 WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS

Mallorca, Spain

February 24-March 3

Overall (61 boats)

1. Jordi Xammar/Nora Brugman (Esp) 3 1 7 8 11 2 (13) 11 6 1 6 - 56 pts

2. Vita Heathcote/Chris Grube (GBR) 2 7 13 9 1 10 6 8 (32DSQ) 9 2 - 67 pts

3. Keiju Okada/Miho Yoshioka (Jpn) 2 2 8 3 4 4 (28)

13 8 16 12 - 72 pts

49. Derek Scott/Rebecca Hume (NZ) 22 (27) 27 27 16 22 12 16 14 9 11 - 176 pts

Full results here.

ILCA MASTERS WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS

Adelaide, Australia

February 2-10

ILCA 6 masters fleet (21 boats)

1. Simon Small (Aus)

2. Phil Wild (NZ) 2 (8)

3. Jon Emmett (GBR)

ILCA 6 grand masters fleet (45 boats)

1. Andrew Holdsworth (USA)

5 - 33 pts

2. Mark Tonner-Joyce (Aus)

(46BFD) 1 - 35 pts

3. Bruce Savage (Aus)

15 19 22 - 195 pts

27.

31 24 25 - 266 pts

ILCA 6 great grand masters fleet (43 boats)

1. James Mitchell (Aus)

(13) 1 - 28 pts

2. Terry Scutcher (GBR) 1 1

pts

3. Richard Longbottom (Aus) (9)

2 - 55 pts

8. Pete Thomas (NZ) 6 2 5 3 8 11 (44UFD) 6 5 1

44BFD 5 - 96 pts

ILCA 7 apprentices fleet (12 boats)

1. Luke Deegan (NZ) 1 1 1 1 (13UFD) 1 1 1 1 1 2 1 - 12 pts

2. Colin Leonard (Irl) 2 (6)

3. Lorenzo Cerretelli (Ita) (5)

pts

ILCA 7 masters fleet (19 boats)

1. Brendan Casey (Aus) 2 3 1 1

3 - 22 pts

2. David Whait (Aus) 6 (8)

3. Scott Leith (NZ) 5 2 4 4 (6)

HARDY CUP

Sydney, Australia

February 4-8

Overall

1. Josh Hyde, Cody Couglan, Mason Mulcahy, Nick Drummond, Zach Fong (NZ)

2. Chelsea Williams, Cole Tapper, Hamish Vass (Aus)

3. Daniel Kemp, Charlie Verity, Isabella Holdsworth, Lachlan Wallace, Louis Tilly (Aus)

4. Xavier McLachlan, Jameson Prescott, Katina Casimaty, Lauren Tandy, Thomas Rees (Aus)

5. Brooke Wilson, Abigail Gilbert, Gretel Payne, Jade Gavin, James Hayhoe (Aus)

6. Rory Sims, Alissa Marshall, Ethan Fong, Kelly Su, Austin Candlish (Irl)

7. Massimo Henderson, Harriet McLachlan, Isobel Payne, Jessica Ellis, Olivia Lee (Aus)

8. Hugo Butterworth, Annabelle Sampson, Bayley Taylor, Josh Paulson, Walter Tuite (Aus)

9. Sam Scott, Hayden Smith, Hugo McMullen, Luca Smith, Maddie Rist (NZ)

10. Mia Lovelady, Drina Bucktin, Matilda Rowell, George Elms, Ona Rafart (Aus) Full results here.

WINDFOIL WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS

Lanzarote, Spain

January 26-February 3

Women’s

pts

(20UFD)

pts

6 - 42 pts

10. Karl Nicholson (NZ) 7 7 14 15 13 (20DNF) 12 6

12 10 13 10 - 119 pts

15. Daryl Parkes (NZ) 10 5 16 12 14 (20DNF) 13 10 11 12 20UFD 15 - 138 pts

ILCA 7 grand masters fleet (35 boats)

1. Brett Beyer (Aus) (2) 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 - 11 pts

2. Andrew Dellabarca (NZ) 3 3 2 3 8 5 4 2 3 2 (30)

5 - 40 pts

3. Mark Lyttle (GBR) 4 12 4 5 2 4 3 5 2 3 (36UFD)

2 - 46 pts

7. Rob Woodward (NZ) 12 (31) 6 7 9 7 8 8 10 11 18

4 - 100 pts

11. Tony Nicholson (NZ) 20 9 3 9 11 (22) 12 14 16

10 4 12 - 120 pts

23. Michael Knowsley (NZ) (26) 16 22 26 21 24 21

21 20 18 12 25 - 226 pts

ILCA 7 great grand masters fleet (19 boats)

1. Steve Gunther (Aus) 1 (7) 1 1 2 1 1 1 2 1 1 1 - 13 pts

2. Tim Law (GBR) 2 1 (4) 4 1 2 2 3 1 2 2 3 - 23 pts

3. Michael Wilson (Aus)

4. Nick Page (NZ) 6 6 2 3 6 3 5 4 (7) 3 3 6 - 47 pts

7. Barry Cutfield (NZ) 4 3 10 9 12 (20RET) 8 13 5 7

9 8 - 88 pts

11. Paul Thomas (NZ)

Full results here.

Full results here.

AUSTRALIAN WING RACING

NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS

Jervoise Bay, Australia

January 18-21

Overall fleet (37 boards)

3.

4. Blake Hinsley (NZ)

pts

Full results here.

420 WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS

Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

January 3-10

Men’s/mixed fleet (27 boats)

1. Lucas Freitas/Victoria Back (Bra) 1 2 4 (29) 4 9

6.33RDG 4 5 10 16 10 - 71.33 pts

2. Lisa Vucetti/Vittorio Bonifacio (Ita) 7 5 9 1 20 3 1 2 17 2 11 (32) - 78 pts

3. Joe Leith/Josh Ferrissey (NZ) 5 6 3 3 17 1 10 18

2 3 (32) 12 - 80 pts

36. Alex Kuhl (Bra)/Nicola Hume (NZ) 19STP 19 27 (40RET) 6 4 2 32 36 32 21 21 25 - 225 pts

Full results here.

ILCA AUSTRALIAN CHAMPIONSHIPS

Adelaide, Australia

January 1-8

Men’s fleet (102 boats)

1. Matt Wearn (Aus) (12) 2 4 2 5 (18) 2 5 3 3 8 - 34 pts

2. Tom Saunders (NZ) 7 (16) 6 1 1 4 4 2 4 7 (18)36 pts

3. Philipp Buhl (Ger) 4 5 (13) 1 3 11 14 (17) 2 1 1 - 42 pts

12. George Gautrey (NZ) 3 20 17 (28) 11 12 10 1 (21)

6 4 - 84 pts

46. Luke Deegan (NZ) 23 32 23 (34) 15 7 (44) 41

37 30 36 - 244 pts

47. Luke Cashmore (NZ) (34) 22 22 11 23 8 46 (47)

26 42 45 - 245 pts

49. Caleb Armit (NZ) 17 10 21 (36) 30 24 35 (49)

34 49 43 - 263 pts

Full results here.

ILCA

Adelaide, Australia

Men’s

ROLEX SYDNEY HOBART YACHT RACE

December 26-January 3

Line

1. LawConnect (Aus) 01:19:03:58

2. Andoo Comanche (Aus) 01:19:04:49

3. URM Group (Aus) 02:02:07:19

9. Caro (NZ) 03:02:30:22

59. Niksen (NZ) 04:07:46:28

83. Allegresse (NZ) 06:17:42:27

Handicap

1. Alive (Aus) 03:07:48:14

2. URM Group (Aus) 03:08:08:42

3. Moneypenny (Aus) 03:09:52:01

23. Caro (NZ) 04:09:30:02

47. Niksen (NZ) 04:15:52:08

71. Allegresse (NZ) 06:15:07:13

Full results here.

Scott Leith at the ILCA 7 masters world championships in Adelaide. Photo: Down Under Sail

SAVE THE DATE SAVE THE DATE

Optimist national championships

Queen Charlotte Yacht Club

March 27-31

Princess Sofia Regatta Mallorca, Spain

March 30-April 6

Three Kings Offshore Race

Royal New Zealand Yacht Squadron

April 11-14

NZ national keelboat championships

Royal Akarana Yacht Club

April 12-14

RS Feva national championships Maraetai Sailing Club

April 13-15

NZ youth championships (youth trials)

Murrays Bay Sailing Club

April 15-18

Starling match racing national championships

Glendowie Boating Club

April 16-18

O’pen Skiff national championships Manly Sailing Club

April 17-21

NZ secondary schools teams sailing national championships

New Plymouth Yacht Club

April 21-26

French Olympic week regatta Hyeres, France

April 20-27

Anzac Enduro SSANZ

April 25-28

Javelin national championship (Sanders Cup)

Gisborne Yacht Club

April 25-28

Wellington women’s regatta

Lowry Bay Yacht Club

April 27-28

Wingfoil national championships Manly Sailing Club

May 4-5

Bermuda Sail Grand Prix Bermuda May 5-6

49er, 49erFX and Nacra 17 European championships

La Grande Motte, France May 4-12

Kitefoil world championships Hyeres, France

May 11-19

Auckland to Noumea race

Royal Akarana Yacht Club

May 23-June 3

Allianz Regatta Almere, Netherlands May 29-June2

29er national championships Bay of Islands Yacht Club

May 31-June 3

Farr 1020 national championships

Bucklands Beach Yacht Club

June 22-23

New York Sail Grand Prix

New York, USA

June 23-24

New York Sail Grand Prix. Photo: SailGP

Optimist national championships

Wingfoil national championships

Auckland to Noumea race

IT PAYS TO BE A MEMBER