Issue date
Nicholas Gardiner and Nicholas Williams (Nick and Nick), both students from Marlborough Boys College and members of Marlborough Venturers, Queen Charlotte Yacht Club, Waikawa Boating Club and Marlborough Boys College Sailing team, were selected to represent New Zealand at the William I Koch International Cup, Long Beach California.
The bi-annual regatta, sponsored by William (Bill) Koch (a former America's Cup skipper and winner) aims to support the development of youth sailing. The event is limited to 40 double handed teams from around the world.
Named after William I. Koch, the Palm Beach businessman who won the 1992 America’s Cup, the sailing event brings sailors together from around the world to build camaraderie and friendship together with world class sailing.
More than 80 young men and women from ten countries converge upon the Long Beach Sea Base and the Long Beach Yacht Club, sailing two member CFJs on courses in Long Beach Harbor and Alamitos Bay. The event was underwritten by Oxbow Carbon LLC, which has operated a carbon storage facility in Long Beach harbor for the past four decades.
Sailors are divided into two flights, after a preliminary round, the championship flight (Gold Fleet) which comprised the Koch Cup a Silver Fleet Kiwi Cup.
Nicholas Gardiner competed in the event in 2014 with Seren Adams and finished a creditable 4th place. Subsequently, Nick Gardiner teamed up with Nick Williams with the goal of being the first ever New Zealand crew to win the prestigious trophy.
18 months ago the team put together a training and regatta plan as a buildup and the ultimate goal the, William I Koch International Cup.
The sailing duo first had to win the right to represent New Zealand and they won the New Zealand trials convincingly in September 2015. From there the team had a full-on training schedule during the summer at the Queen Charlotte Yacht Club
Both are keen sailors, having started sailing some seven years ago. Williams started his sailing career on a keelboat and now teamed up with Gardiner in the 420. Gardiner in the past has sailed Optimist, Starlings, Lasers and Paper Tigers before moving up to the 420. Gardiner also skippers a 7.5 m sports boat.
Both sailors have been inducted into the Marlborough District Council / Sport Tasman Hall of fame following their successes in the Team Sailing inter-dominions held at Canberra last year.
The team has been campaigning in a 420 (two-handed dinghy) being crowned South Island Champions in February. At the 420 Class Nationals, Nick and Nick competed strongly, were well placed and were offered a place in the New Zealand Team competing at the 420 Open Worlds in Italy.
As this event clashes with the Koch Cup, the team decided to continue with the Koch Cup campaign in place of going to the 420 worlds. Since the Nationals, Nick and Nick have been sailing as part of the Marlborough Boys College sailing team, just returning from a creditable 5th place among 30 teams.
Final points for the event saw the Kiwis on 15 points, well ahead of USA31 on 32 points and Finland on 34 points. This made the Kiwis the first overseas team to win the Koch Cup and by the biggest margin win in the history of the cup.
William I Koch presented the cup to the winning team, but the Cup, made by the same silversmith as the America’s Cup and two inches bigger is valued at over USD $250,000, is not allowed to leave the country and goes back into the display vault in Houston Texas.
