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Day two of the North Island Optimist Champs dawned grey and overcast with a light drizzle and no wind. As the morning progressed the rain set in and any chance of wind disappeared so PRO Gerald Martin made a great call and postponed racing for three hours.

The four top seeded teams after Round Robin will go through to the Semi Finals of the RNZYS New Zealand Match Racing tomorrow morning after light winds caused racing to be delayed a number of times in the first three days of the regatta.

The NZIODA North Island Champs commenced today in light and shifty conditions for the Open Fleet in New Plymouth. With over 100 entries the fleet has been split into two and it was with a great deal of skill PRO Gerald Martin completed three races in the qualifying series before the end of the day.

The International Association for Disabled Sailing (IFDS) and International Sailing Federation (ISAF) have both unanimously agreed to merge as the 2013 ISAF Annual Conference drew to a close in Muscat, Sultanate of Oman.

Australia is one of the top nations on the Paralympic sailing scene and as past International Association for Disabled Sailing (IFDS) Vice President and current President of Sailability Victoria, David Staley, explains, a strong focus of Paralympic sailors leading to Rio will be on the ISAF Sailing World Cup - Melbourne (Sail Melbourne) over the next three years.

Australian Mathew Belcher and New Zealanders Jo Aleh & Olivia ‘Polly’ Powrie were named male and female winners of the 2013 ISAF Rolex World Sailor of the Year Awards during a ceremony held in Muscat, Sultanate of Oman on Tuesday 12 November.

As current Olympic and World Champions Jo Aleh and Polly Powrie have established themselves as the class act in Women’s 470 fleet racing. The pair announced their intentions to go for gold at Rio 2016 in January 2013 and they hit the ground running, never finishing off the podium across a busy year of racing.

Otago yachting identity and boat builder Darcy Price has passed away. “Darcy’s prime era was the 60s and 70s and a bit in the early 80’s, during which time he built something like 39 yachts which all were raced then changed hands and became part of the local fleet or ended up in the likes of Bluff (where I was a kid at the time) and elsewhere,” says Otago RSO Graeme Wall.

On Sunday the 10th November Wakatere Boating Club launched a fleet of six RS Fevers.

New Zealand Olympic class sailors Jo Aleh and Polly Powrie have been named Rolex ISAF Female Sailor of the Year for 2013. They were announced the winner, of four finalists, at a presentation ceremony just staged in Muscat, Oman (on Tuesday 12th November) at the end of year ISAF Conference.

Here’s an opportunity for those in Auckland to hear Ross Blackman, Business Manager for Emirates Team New Zealand, talk about behind the scenes at the recent dramatic America’s Cup battle in San Francisco.

Tickets are racing out the door for the 2013 Volvo Yachting Excellence Awards so act now if you’re keen to come but are yet to order your tickets.

New Zealand’s aspiring youth sailors are learning from the best with NZL Sailing Team sailors contributing their time and expertise at Yachting New Zealand run Youth Development Clinics around the country.

Ten sailors or teams have been selected to receive a Yachting New Zealand Performance Award in 2013 recognising an outstanding performance and/or exceptional performances in the sport of yachting over the past twelve months.

Fourteen World Class Teams will do battle on the water this week at the Royal New Zealand Yacht Squadron, including an abundance of raw kiwi talent & internationally renowned sailors, all striving to be crowned the 2013 New Zealand Match Racing Champions.

Parents of past and present high performance Olympic class sailors have been selected as the four finalists for the 2013 Partridge Jewellers Golden Anniversary Prize. One of the four mums or dads below will be presented with a Partridge Jewellers timepiece or jewellery of their choice to the value of $5000 NZD in recognition of their selfless contributions.

Here’s a look at the up-coming sailing related events around the country for the next couple of weeks. See the YNZ on-line calendar for full details of these events and those on beyond that.

Isn’t this a great photo of Akaroa Yacht Club’s junior sailors at the Learn to Sail!

We are seeking a Coach that can work Saturdays and/or Sundays Starting ASAP and probably till the end of March or even April.

Yachting Victoria is pleased to confirm IFDS Classification will occur for IFDS Athletes at this year’s ISAF Sailing World Cup Melbourne on Sunday 1st December at Sandringham Yacht Club.

Here’s a great opportunity to upskill yourself and learn how to include physically disabled young people in sports programmes and events you are involved in. Monday 2 December, 1:30pm - 3:30pm

Sailing Events Takapuna are proud to present the 2014 A Class Catamaran World Championships as sanctioned by the IACA in February 2014. The event will be held at the picturesque Takapuna Boating Club right on the foreshore of Takapuna Beach on Auckland’s North Shore from the 5th to the 16th February. These waters are the home and testing grounds for Grant Dalton and the crew of ETNZ.

The 2014 NZ Open Keelboat championships will be held on the 1st & 2nd March 2014 and will be run by the Royal NZ Yacht Squadron.

In 2014 the H28 Yacht Owners Association Inc celebrates its 40th anniversary year. It’s planning an H28 Rally/Regatta over 25th to 27th April in the Auckland area and all H28s are welcome to join in.

It’s time to plan your entry for the 2014 NZ Women’s Keelboat National Championships.

In Sir Peter Blake’s memory the Torbay Sailing Club hosts the largest small yacht regatta in the southern hemisphere on the first weekend in December each year. This year’s edition of the Sir Peter Blake Torbay Regatta is on the weekend of 7/8 December. Around 400 competitors are expected from all over New Zealand and a major theme for this year’s regatta will be based around integrity and sportsmanship. These are values that were lived by Sir Peter Blake and also shown by Emirates Team New Zealand during this years America’s Cup. Skipper Dean Barker will speak with competitors and award prizes from around 4pm on Sunday at the regatta marquee.

The 2013 ISAF Annual Conference will take place in Muscat, Sultanate of Oman from 9-16 November. ISAF Committee, Sub-committee and Commission members will head to Oman where they will be joined by ISAF Member National Authorities (MNAs), Class Associations, sailors, event organisers, boat manufacturers and many more.

Reporting to the Team Services Director the Team Services Coordinator – Nanjing 2014 will work with the Youth Chef de Mission and the Team Planning/Leadership group to coordinate and deliver key aspects of the planning and operations of the Nanjing 2014 team. Nanjing 2014 is the 2nd Summer Youth Olympic Games and will be held in Nanjing China from 16 to 28 August 2014. This role is a fulltime, fixed term position until 26 September 2014, based in our Auckland office.

Yachting New Zealand’s National Sail Training Programme is now internationally recognised after gaining full accreditation from the International Sailing Federation (ISAF) following an ISAF Recognized Training audit visit from 27th – 30th October 2013.

Here’s a look at the up-coming sailing related events around the country for the next couple of weeks. See the YNZ on-line calendar for full details of these events and those on beyond that. Are you organising an event you would like to see included? Don’t miss out on some free promotion for your sailing events by adding them to the YNZ on-line calendar here.

Ten New Zealand Optimist sailors, as part of the 2013 New Zealand International Optimist Association Development Team, aged between 10 and 12 years old from throughout the country, spent ten days in Noumea training then competing in the New Caledonian Optimist Nationals - a four day regatta - held in Noumea.

Jo Aleh and Olivia Powrie's (NZL) strong week ended up with gold in the Women's 470. China's Hui Feng and Lizhu Huang came through in second with Qian Fu and Liyun Liu (CHN) in third.