Issue date
Seb Menzies won the recent national title in Napier, confirming his status as the country's best Optimist sailor.
The 12-year-old has now won all four major Optimist regattas - national, North Island, Auckland and Interislander championships - and assumes the country's No 1 ranking.
He collected six wins from the eight races in Napier, also adding a second and a sixth. It was a significant return for the Murrays Bay sailor considering the large swells and shifty conditions which challenged the 250 sailors, including 28 from Australia, New Caledonia and Tahiti, who contested the event over Easter weekend.
The regatta was held in the wake of Cyclone Debbie which battered the upper North Island. The conditions were unusual for most of the sailors but the fleet coped well. The seas settled over the course of the weekend but shifty winds tested the skills of the 177 sailors in the open fleet.
The green fleet (73 competitors) took the ethos of non-competitiveness and fun to the limits and the race officer had the sailors out on the water throughout the five days for the maximum time with maximum enjoyment.
The final format of two days' sailing then teams racing and a final two days was excellent for both sailors and supporters.
Variable and extremely light wind conditions meant the open fleet’s last two days saw only two races – enough for a result - with Menzies emerging as overall champion.
He will head a team of five who will contest July's Optimist world championships in Thailand. Teams will also compete in the European, North American, Asian and Noumean championships,
Results from the Toyota Optimist national championships at Napier Sailing Club
For full results see here
Open fleet
1st - Seb Menzies (Murrays Bay) 1 1 1 1 1 2 (6) 1 - 8 points
2nd - David Buchanan (Charteris Bay YC) 13 2 10 1 3 2 1 1 (14) - 20 points
3rd - Blake Wilson (Southport YC AUS) 14 2 6 2 9 2 1 2 (21) - 24 points
Green fleet
1st - Sean Kensington (Kohimara YC) (15) 6 2 1 1 10 1 - 21 points
2nd - Jack Parr (New Plymouth YC) 1 1 8 9 4 (17) 8 - 31 points
3rd - Benjamin Brighouse (Murrays Bay YC) (30) 12 9 21 3 4 3 - 52 points
