Issue date
This weekend's third round of the Elliott 5.9 Travellers Series at the Napier Sailing Club will feature something a little different.
While the Elliott 5.9 is normally sailed by three people, the class has introduced a crew weight trial this season which will allow a Napier-based youth team to sail with a crew of four.
The aim of the trial is to provide younger and lighter crews with the confidence and opportunity to compete in this highly-competitive one-design class as long as the total combined weight does not exceed 320 kg. Find out more about it here.
Brothers Beau (15) and Carl (14) Marshall will team up with William Muir (15) and be supported by their club coach as the fourth member of the crew. While new to the Elliott 5.9, they recently competed as a team in the Elliott 7s as part of Harken National Secondary Schools Keelboat Championships.
The class are excited to see the four-up option being utilised and expect it may well be a precursor to future youth involvement in the class.
The Elliott 5.9 has a background in being used for the development of youth sailors and many America’s Cup and Ocean Race sailors crewed on them when the Elliott 5.9 was the boat of choice for the New Zealand youth development squad programme. It is still one of the few one-design classes outside of the dinghy or Olympic classes.
Another boat to watch closely this weekend in the fleet currently made up of 12 entries will be Retro.
Carla Bennet, who is returning to the class after a short absence, has purchased this well-performed boat and will this weekend team up with Napier-based sailor Kylie Jamieson. While Jamieson will bring local knowledge, she can also call on her national keelboat title and Olympic pedigree to complement Carla’s Elliott 5.9 experience.
The perennial front runners, R+R and Slam Dunk, will be hard to dislodge but Napier's Boat 1 will try to use home water advantage to continue to assert their presence at the front of the fleet.
Boat 1 is a family affair, with Marty Weeks joining his two sons, Jacob and Kagan. This is the Weeks team’s first full traveller series season and they have quickly shown good form.
Boats are again travelling from as far afield as Whangarei and Nelson but the fleet will also welcome another new crew, Crocodile Rock (formerly KZ Marine) from Taupo.
Combined with the great hospitality and facilities of the Napier Sailing Club, another highly competitive and fun Elliott 5.9 Traveller Series event is on the cards.
Full results will be available online https://elliott59.weebly.com/results.html and pictures online www.facebook.com/elliott5.9
For more information on the Elliott 5.9 Class Association visit www.e59.org.nz
