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Sean Herbert defended his Starling national title in Wellington this week in one of the most exciting finishes in the events 47-year history.
Sean Herbert won his second Starling national title. Photo: Chris Coad Photography.
In fact, three sailors - Herbert (Torbay Sailing Club), Caleb Armit (Murrary’s Bay Sailing Club) and Oliver Cowley (Worser Bay Boating Club) - were locked on the same points after the final race meaning a countback was needed to pick a winner.
The overall lead changed a number of times across what was a difficult week when the Worser Bay Boating Club was hit by too much wind and not enough wind and most things in between. In the end, 10 races were sailed with Herbert winning five of them.
"It's awesome to go back-to-back," Herbert said. "It's not something that's done by many sailors.
"In both years some of the top Starling sailors have dropped out or moved on meaning there's new growth in the class so it's just as competitive. To perform and get consistent results across all conditions is really pleasing."
Emily Overend (Queen Charlotte Yacht Club) was the top female and 10th overall, with Polly Wright (WBBC) second and Kaya Tobin (Bay of Islands Yacht Club) third. Overend was also the top female in 2016.
Some big names of New Zealand sailing have previously won the Starling national championships, including Russell Coutts, David Barnes, Craig Monk, Dan Slater and Peter Burling, but Herbert joins an elite group as a two-time winner of the John Peet Trophy.
Other two-time winners are Rohan Cooke (1992-93), Tim Christiansen (1999-2000) and Burling (2005-06). No one has ever won it three times.
"I'm pretty proud to be in among that crowd," Herbert said. "We have been talking about whether I go back next year and if I get the chance I will go back again."
It might come down to whether the 16-year-old has time because he has plenty on his plate and had actually been in the Starling only once this year before the nationals.
He's a two-time world champion in the O'pen Bic and has recently been involved in Yachting New Zealand's Aon national youth clinics in the 29er. Next week he's off to the UK to compete in the Wilson's Trophy, one of the world's largest teams racing events, and he's also eyeing up the Waszp world championships in Perth early next year.
Four races were sailed on the final day in Wellington, which was crucial for Herbert because it meant a second drop came into play, but it was touch and go as to whether race management would get through the schedule.
By the third race, 20 knots was blowing in the harbour and combining with big waves to challenge the fleet of 102 entrants.
“We started to see some of the silver fleet being whittled away as they called it a day, and our rescue boats were picking up a bit of work with boats and sailors starting to feel a little worse for wear,” race officer Shayne Priddle said.
“We saw some spectacular gybes on the outer gate giving the spectators on shore a real thrill, although one of our mark boats commented, ‘I’ve never seen such a big grin as they rounded the mark and caught that first wave’. I’m sure a couple of our older sailors were feeling 16 again.
“The conditions for the last scheduled race were getting towards the upper limit, with the occasional puffs of 23-25 knots against an incoming tide pushing up some decent waves. With the last race allowing a second drop, you could sense that the sailors in the top half of both fleets were pretty keen to get another race under their belts. While we were thinking about next steps, the wind dropped a couple of knots, allowing the last race to get underway.”
Next year's Starling nationals will be at the Taipa Sailing Club next April.
Results and standings after the Starling national championships at the Worser Bay Boating Club:
1st: Sean Herbert (Torbay Sailing Club) (7) 4 1 (5) 1 1 2 1 1 5 - 16 points
2nd: Caleb Armit (Murrays Bay Sailing Club) 1 1 (5) 1 1 (5) 4 3 2 3 - 16 pts
3rd: Oliver Cowley (Worser Bay Boating Club) 1 (14) 1 (12) 3 2 3 2 3 1 - 16 pts
Female
1st: Emily Overend (Queen Charlotte Yacht Club) 9 11 5 6 4 (29) 9 14 (18) 11 - 69 pts
2nd: Polly Wright (WBBC) 7 17 20 (UFD 52) (38) 9 10 12 10 9 - 94 pts
3rd: Kaya Tobin (Bay of Islands Yacht Club) 10 16 15 11 (34) 7 (30) 22 27 28 - 136 pts
Full results can be found here.
