Nine sailors have been named in the 2013 NZL Yachting Trust Youth Team to represent New Zealand at the prestigious ISAF Youth Sailing World Championships.
Limmasol, Cyprus will play host to this year’s regatta which gathers together national teams from around the world and runs from 13-20 July 2013.
Hosted once again by Bucklands Beach Yacht Club, an encouragingly increased number of nine Townson 32s entered for this year’s Championships together with seven Townsons for the Regatta on Saturday 13 April.
Saturday dawned bright and clear with heavy dew and glassy calm and forecast 23 degrees. No wind of any significance was reported anywhere. Both fleets congregated at the entrance to the Tamaki River, bobbed around to the Waitemata slop from box boats and ferries and all hurried up and did nothing all day until Peter Stewart, the Race Officer gave up and called it quits for the day at 1400.
Brothers Sean Herbert (11 years old) and Liam Herbert (13 years old) from Manly Sailing Club went across to Perth, WA during the Easter weekend to compete in the 4th Australian O'pen Bic Nationals.
Taking the Girl’s 420 spot on the NZL Sailing Team are Napier sailors 17 year old Olivia Mackay and 15 year old Abi Goodwin.
Placing second overall in the 420 at 2013 Oceanbridge Sail Auckland, and top girls, Olivia and Abi were in good shape for the selection in February, but left everyone in no doubt when they beat the boys and took the Open 420 National Championship for 2013 at the regatta sailed in gorgeous conditions off Takapuna at Easter.
The calibre of the owner drivers in the 2013 Young 88 fleet is enough to put the heat on the most seasoned professionals. Members of Emirates Team New Zealand have entered several times and prevailed over the last few years but this year the cat is amongst the pigeons and their desire for a serious one design competition has been foiled by other commitments.
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.
Tauranga sailors feature once again the line-up for the 2013 NZL Yachting Trust Youth Team with Zak Merton and Sam Barnett continuing the stream of talent to come from the Tauranga Yacht & Powerboat Club over recent years.
Sam and Zak have been selected for the boy’s double-handed dinghy spot to sail the 420 at the 2013 ISAF Youth Sailing World Championships on from 13-20 July in Limmasol, Cyprus.
New Zealand’s Markus Sommerville and Jack Simpson have won the 29er division at the 2013 RYA Youth National Championships which wrapped up on April 5th in Largs, Scotland.
The victory bodes well for Markus and Jack, both Wakatere Boating Club sailors, who have been selected to represent New Zealand in the 29er at the 2013 ISAF Sailing Youth World Championships on in July in Cyprus, and were using this regatta as a lead-up event.
The Race Coach course focuses on developing skills to coach groups learning to race, and also sailors moving up from learn-to-sail syllabus (green fleet).
As the season changes I want to congratulate you all for the success and enjoyment you’ve brought to the boating community through the 2012-2013 summer season be in Club Racing, National Championships, recreational yachting or on the world stage. It’s been a busy time for everyone!
Here’s an update of what’s at the ‘top of the pile’ on my desk right now, and matters of interest to the whole yachting and boating community…
Onerahi Yacht Club hosted the Northland Yachting Association Laser and P Class Championships over the weekend of 6th- 7th April. The regatta was also used for the Onerahi Club Champs and the last regatta in the Heart Land Series.
The fourth Reel Brazil Film Festival in Auckland (18-28 April) and Wellington (02-12 May) will feature a documentary which took ten years to be filmed and is about a Brazilian family's round the world trip sailing.
The youngest sailor on the Schürmann family’s round the world journey is five year old, New Zealand born, Kat. She’s a very little girl who gets a very big education: learning hula in Tahiti, horse-riding in Chile, tramping in the frozen desert wilds of Patagonia, while living on board the boat with her family.
Unseasonably warm conditions greeted the 168 sailors who attended the 2013 Toyota Opti Nationals in Timaru over Easter, and although some of the sailors would have wished for more breeze, the local race committee, headed by Les Baker did a fine job of getting away eight good races in the breeze that was available.
An awesome week of sailing at the 2013 ISAF World Cup event here in Palma has just wrapped up. We were greeted with some great conditions over the course of the regatta, with a range of breeze including some windy days with huge waves making for exciting racing!
New Zealand has won three medals at ISAF Sailing World Cup Palma – the first of the major European World Cup Regattas.
Gold to Andy Maloney in the Laser, Silver to Alexandra Maloney and Molly Meech in the 49erFX and Bronze to Sam Meech also in the Laser.
With one day to go at ISAF Sailing World Cup Palma New Zealand has five crews set to line up in the medal races.
The best placed of the kiwis are 49erFX skiff sailors Alexandra Maloney and Molly Meech who have regained 2nd place in the hotly contested fleet which attracted 34 entries in Palma.
Racing at ISAF Sailing World Cup Palma shifted up a gear for the NZL Sailing Team on day four with the first round of finals races now underway pitting the absolute best from around the world against each other in very close racing.
For their 2013 Nationals the Elliott 5.9 Class Association chose to join the Auckland Regatta to celebrate 30 years of Nationals event racing for the E5.9. The fleet is growing steadily and involves some well known sailors, with a successful Traveller Series that focuses on five weekend events each year, followed by the class Nationals.
Dave Shaw (pictured above) has dominated the 2013 Swire Shipping International Paper Tiger Catamaran Championships held over Easter weekend (28 March – 1st April) in a repeat of the 2012 event.
This year, it was New Zealand’s turn to host the Interdominions in the 14-foot Javelin Skiff. The Bay of Islands put on some superb racing conditions for the fleet with sunny weather and anything between 5 and 18 knots of wind.
True to its purpose, the practice race was held in a steady moderate breeze, and even Flying Circus made it around the course upright although stand-in skipper David Rohwetter had never helmed a Javelin before. Both Australian boats left the competition far behind.
The ISAF Sailing World Cup Palma, has hit the midway mark with more racing for the NZL Sailing Team overnight. With day three wrapped the qualification series is done and the regatta now heads into the business end.
New Zealand is in good shape with the Maloney and Meech siblings leading the charge. Three kiwi crews – Laser men Andy Maloney (pictured) and Sam Meech, and 49er pair Alexandra Maloney and Molly Meech - are sitting top three in their fleet.
You know about Burling and Tuke – but have you heard about Marcus Hansen and Josh Porebski? Both just 20 years old they are the NZL Sailing Team’s ‘other’ 49er campaigners, and last year they achieved a major career highlight with a sixth place finish at the 2012 49er World Championships.
It has been another excellent day for the NZL Sailing Team in Spain for ISAF Sailing World Cup Palma, where day two racing has just wrapped up.
Among the New Zealand sailors to climb up the standings were Andy Maloney, up to 4th in the Laser; Josh Junior, moving four places to 6th in the Finn, and Paul Snow-Hansen and Daniel Willcox rising to 5th overall in the Men’s 470.
For the first time in years the Nelson Yacht Club’s Kaiteriteri Regatta tempted a group of young sailors from Golden Bay’s Pohara Yacht Club to cross the Takaka Hill and be part of the action.
Wind and waves delivered exciting and challenging racing on day one as competition got underway for the NZL Sailing Team sailors in Palma de Mallorca, Spain at the ISAF Sailing World Cup Palma, also known as Trofeo Princesa Sofia Regatta.
Sam Meech was New Zealand’s standout of the day placing 2nd in his two races today in the Laser fleet, with team mate Andy Maloney also on the pace with a 5th and a 3rd. Overall they sit 3rd (equal) and 7th respectively in what is the largest fleet in Palma comprising around 110 sailors split into two fleets for qualifying racing.
The first European stop of this world sailing circuit starts tomorrow with the practice race with strong winds forecasted in the bay of Palma.
The Princesa Sofia Mapfre Absolute winner trophy has the names of the 43 winners of the regatta engraved. Among them, the King of Spain and five times Olympic medallist Ben Ainslie
This drill is designed to create situations for boats already on the start line, and others trying to find a space from the pin end. Set a start line and lay a mark off the pin end.
New Zealand’s new major yacht race - the A2B Ocean Race will set sail from Auckland on the 9th of February 2014.
It will travel the length of the country, departing our largest city - Auckland and arriving in our smallest port town – Bluff. On route, it will head up through the Bay of Islands, round Cape Reinga, down the West Coast before rounding the base of the South Island and into the town famous for its oysters and southern hospitality – Bluff.
