Issue date
Dear members
Heroes emerge in sport, sometimes in unlikely fashion, and there were so many heroes during Emirates Team New Zealand’s successful America’s Cup campaign, from the sailors who (mostly) tamed the foiling AC50s and shore crew who put it all back together when things went catastrophically wrong to the board and management.
Team New Zealand put together a masterful campaign and it’s great they have brought the Auld Mug back to these shores. It will now be interesting to see what the next America’s Cup will look like but also exciting to see the likely rejuvenation of Auckland’s waterfront and New Zealand’s boat building industry.
It’s likely the America’s Cup success will have a positive impact on the sport, with the next generation of sailors inspired by the current team. We were already seeing encouraging growth in youth numbers and we will be having a look at what brought this about. The hugely successful Aon 2016 Youth Sailing World Championships might have had a role to play in this but so, too, the good work being done in so many clubs.
I would like to thank all those clubs who have provided their club information to us. It saves us a lot of time gathering that data but also provides valuable insights. One of the reasons we have been doing this is so be can better understand the makeup of clubs and, over time, support them and the sport more effectively.
We have a number of great supporters of Yachting New Zealand and sailing in general. One of those is Volvo, who have recently partnered with World Sailing, which is a strong reflection of their commitment to yachting in general.
Of course, the Volvo Ocean Race will stop over here in February and March next year. It’s going to create a visual spectacle in Auckland and something that Yachting New Zealand will tap into with the Volvo Sailing… Have a Go! programme operating out of the viaduct for three weeks. Seven teams have already been signed up to the round-the-world race, and it will be interesting to see if there are any more entrants.
Lancer Industries have also been a good supporter of ours and it’s been great to see that sponsorship has translated into good sales for them of their RK5000 Ribs. They have recently sold two Ribs to the World Bank for the Tuvalu Ministry of Fisheries and have another order from Vanuatu Customs.
Finally, I would like to wish all those heading offshore a safe passage. It’s a popular time of year to escape the cold of New Zealand and go cruising to places like the Islands, and we’ve seen a lot of safety certificates being validated.
Kind regards
David Abercrombie
