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There was a lot of buzz and excitement last weekend as the 420 class association and Murrays Bay Sailing Club held a have-a-go day for about 20 sailors.
The 420 is an exciting class to sail as it is forgiving enough for beginners to jump into and technical enough to provide some challenges for those interested in refining their skills.
Paul Sinton, the new class president who has recently taken over from Wayne Keen, was very pleased with the turnout.
“The 420 is a great stepping stone to have fun, experiment and learn new skills in while still keeping the mast upright," he said. "We had heaps of smiling sailors out on the water today, and sailors who have only been in the class for weeks can go for a blast in 20 knots and big waves. It is the perfect foundation for anyone wanting to build a future in sailing."
The next scheduled have-a-go day is at the Bucklands Beach Yacht Club on August 15th.
The class has seen several accomplished sailors develop their skills in it over the years.
Alex Maloney, Peter Burling, Jo Aleh, Polly Powrie, Liv Mackay and, more recently Seb Menzies and Blake McGlashan, are all graduates of the 420 class. The skills they have learned have been applied to different types of sailing.
The 420 Class Association are seeing renewed interest in the class and several clubs are offering have-a-go days and starting up new fleets.
Napier, Raglan and New Plymouth are all seeing a resurgence of the class and Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch already have established fleets making next year’s nationals a contest representing the entire country.
Anyone interested in getting involved in the 420 class should contact Aon youth programme 420 lead coach Peter Soosalu at Peters@yachtingnz.org.nz.
