Issue date
Australia's Fletcher Walters can consider himself the best Optimist sailor in Australasia after adding the New Zealand title to the Australian one he claimed earlier in the year.
George Lee Rush was the first Kiwi and third overall in the open fleet.
The 15-year-old from the Royal Prince Alfred Yacht Club dominated the open fleet at the Toyota Optimist national championships in Picton over the Easter weekend, finishing 21 points ahead of clubmate Daniel Links, who was also second at the Australian national championships.
George Lee Rush (Wakatere Boating Club) picked up the Ralph Roberts Trophy as the first Kiwi. He was third overall, one point behind Link, and four points ahead of fellow Wakatere Boating Club youngster Josh Hyde.
Kohimarama's Amelia Angus was first girl and fifth overall, with Naiomi Ferrisey (Murrays Bay Sailing Club) and Lucy Leith (Murrays Bay) second and third respectively.
A good contingent of international sailors competed in Picton, and Tahiti's Elohim Bouregba Vitrac was second in the green fleet behind Kohimarama's Blake McKinnon, to give it a good international flavour.
Good conditions across the six days meant 11 of the 12 scheduled races were completed and the regatta kicked off with teams racing on the Friday in front of a healthy crowd of locals and supporters adjacent to the Queen Charlotte Yacht Club. Wakatere won the teams racing with Kohimarama Yacht Club second and Charteris Bay Yacht Club third.
"Everything went fabulously," said Ian Gardiner, Queen Charlotte Yacht Club treasurer and Yachting New Zealand regional support officer. "The teams racing was a great spectacle on Friday, with hundreds coming out to watch, and it set the tone for the rest of the weekend."
Results from the Optimist national championships at the Queen Charlotte Yacht Club:
Open (137 boats)
1st: Fletcher Walters (Royal Prince Alfred YC) 1 2 2 3 3 2 4 2 1 (5) 3 - 23 points
2nd: Daniel Links (Royal Prince Alfred YC) 3 3 3 3 4 1 (15) 6 13 3 5 - 44 pts
3rd: George Lee Rush (Wakatere BC) (OCS 47) 1 1 2 2 21 3 3 3 1 8 - 45 pts
Girls
1st: Amelia Angus (Kohimarama YC) 4 (11) 4 1 5 8 2 5 9 4 7 - 49 pts
2nd: Naiomi Ferrisey (Murrays Bay SC) 5 5 12 7 2 (40) 26 24 11 6 13 - 111 pts
3rd: Lucy Leith (Murrays Bay SC) 8 8 7 17 5 28 (36) 11 23 14 31 - 152 pts
Green fleet (45 boats)
1st: Blake McKinnon (Kohimarama YC) (8) 2 1 4 3 1 - 11 pts
2nd: Elohim Bouregba Vitrac (Tahiti YC) 1 3 2 1 (7) 5 - 12 pts
3rd: George Lindstrom (Queen Charlotte YC) 4 1 4 7 5 (26) - 21 pts
Rainbow fleet (7 boats)
1st: Zeudi Pearse (Queen Charlotte YC) 1 1 1 (2) 2 2 - 7 pts
2nd: Lucy Luxford (Charteris Bay YC) 2 2 (3) 1 3 3 - 11 pts
3rd: Hunter Adams (Paremata) 3 (4) 2 4 1 4 - 14 pts
See here for the full results and here for the full list of awards.
