Issue date
The 2014 29er Nationals concluded on Monday at Murrays Bay Sailing Club, with the top three as follows:
1st - Markus Somerville & Isaac McHardie
2nd - Micah Wilkinson & Jack Rogers
3rd - Josh Handa & Tim Adair
Congratulations to all the sailors who competed in arguably the strongest youth class in the country, brimming with quality sailors where the bar has reached a new level this year and the fleet is beginning to deepen which augurs well for the next few years in the 29er youth class.
Well done to Felicity Ellis as the only female sailor in the fleet, a trend which the 29er Class committee wishes to change, to encourage more female pairs onboard. The 2014 29er Worlds will for the first time have a separate Women's World title as well as the Open World title, and separate boys and girls fleets at the 2015 Youth Worlds.
The 29er Nationals was witness to a spectacle of fine sailing and testament to how much these guys have improved over the past 12 months through a combination of hard work and great support from Yachting New Zealand through their regular coaching clinics. Six of the teams competing also recently competed overseas at the Australian 29er Nationals and Australian Youth Championships in Melbourne where we had three New Zealand teams finishing in the top ten in both events.
Thanks to John Jennings and the team at Murrays Bay SC for getting 12 clean races away despite the challenging conditions of the final day and special congratulations to the Markus and Isaac on their title win. Great to welcome a team from Australia - Owen & Harry - and hope we see more of you guys over here for Sail Auckland next week and at next year's nationals, again at Murrays Bay SC in Auckland.
For full results and highlight photos
