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Emirates Team New Zealand got back to the grass roots of sailing yesterday by helping bring a close to the New Zealand Optimist nationals which had been held over the Easter holidays at the Kohimarama Yacht Club in Auckland.
A fleet of 258 boys and girls between the ages of 11 and 15, from five different countries, contested the event.
The optimist class - a small, singlehanded dinghy - is considered the breeding ground for the country's top young sailing talent. And it was the stars of tomorrow that were greeted by the stars of today as the Emirates Team New Zealand sailing team welcomed the fleet back to shore with a warm pat on the back and congratulatory handshake, before the America’s Cup sailors assisted in de-rigging the armada of boats.
Emirates Team New Zealand grinder Guy Endean, himself once a junior sailor at the host yacht club enjoyed a return to his old club.
“It has been a few years since the good old days back here at Kohi, but it has been a really great afternoon mixing it up with the kids hopefully showing them that I was once exactly like them. Doing the long days on the harbour trying to hone my sailing skills enough to have a career in a sport I really love. A bit of hard work and dedication and anyone of these kids could one day be sailing for Emirates Team New Zealand.”
Also present were two former New Zealand Optimist champions, and household names in sailing- Ray Davies and Peter Burling reliving former glories, although both have gone on to achieve international acclaim in the sport.
Davies who, among so many other achievements, has won the Volvo Ocean race commented on the importance of doing your best as a youngster no matter what. “Each regatta and each result are all stepping stones to where you end up later in life, whether it be in sailing or in other areas. It’s about making constant improvements and striving to be the best you can each day. This is still so important even to us trying to win back the America’s Cup.
Burling continued: “For the kids who have done well this week, they will use it as a real boost to continue to excel in the opti’s before moving onto another class. For those that haven’t it is all about taking the lessons and learning as much as possible.”
“We just wanted to be here to give them a pat on the back and say well done, and give them a bit more inspiration to say you to could be sailing in the America’s Cup, or the Olympics one day- the main thing is to just enjoy the sport each and every time you go out on the water.”
The regatta was won by Archie Cropley - one of a sizeable contingent of Australian sailors that travelled over for the event – edging out his Woollahra sailing club teammate Lachie Brewer, while Murrays Bay sailing club's Henry Wilson was the top-ranked local competitor in third.
One of the final words of the regatta prize giving came from Emirates Team New Zealand skipper Glenn Ashby with a small bit of advice for the competitors: “It’s all about having fun, but it is very important to make sure when you are going home, you look Mum and Dad in the eye and say thanks very much for looking after me and getting me there because without them you wouldn’t be here.”
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