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Greta Pilkington had a sense she was in the running to take out the title going into the last day of the ILCA (Laser) national championships in Picton but didn't really know.
The 18-year-old comes from the school of not checking results and standings during a regatta, an approach she's followed since her Optimist days, so knew she won the ILCA 6 (Laser Radial) open women's title only after people started congratulating her.
"It was mostly excitement but also disbelief," Pilkington admitted. "I couldn't really comprehend what I had done. I was in shock.
"I didn't really go in with any expectations. I just wanted to sail to the best of my ability and I probably sailed better than I thought I could."
Pilkington finished four points ahead of Annabelle Rennie-Younger to claim the open women's title, with defending champion Olivia Christie another one point behind in third. What made the result even more notable was the fact it was Pilkington's first nationals since graduating from the youth classes.
She's a sailor who has shown considerable promise, having come through the Aon youth programme, and would have represented New Zealand at the youth sailing world championships had it not been for Covid-19.
The battle for the open women's title was among the closest at the ILCA nationals hosted by the Queen Charlotte Yacht Club.
Tom Saunders won the ILCA 7 title while Greta Pilkington (banner image) finished on top of the ILCA 6 open women's standings. Photos: Suellen Hurling / Live Sail Die.
World champion Tom Saunders showed his class in the ILCA 7 fleet, winning seven of the 10 races to claim the title ahead of George Gautrey and Luke Cashmore.
Caleb Armit was even more dominant in the ILCA 6, winning nine of the 10 races in the 30-strong fleet to not only sit on top of the youth standings but the overall standings as well.
George Lane was second overall and first in the open division, with Dylan Forsyth second youth and Zach Stibbe third.
Phil Wild was first in the ILCA 6 masters fleet and Andrew Dellabarca the first master in the ILCA 7 fleet.
Pilkington will concentrate on both her university studies and sailing this year and will look to compete overseas at some time, Covid permitting. In the meantime she'll continue to train with this country's top ILCA sailors but will go in with renewed motivation.
"It's quite cool because I'm the youngest out of the three of us [in the women's squad]," she said. "It shows I am part of their team and not just the rookie straight out of the youth classes.
"[The nationals] also showed that we are all so close and that it's a good team environment. We can all get better if we work together."
Results and standings from the ILCA national championships hosted by the Queen Charlotte Yacht Club in Picton:
ILCA 6 (30 boats)
1st: Caleb Armit (Murrays Bay Sailing Club - youth) 1 1 1 1 (5) 1 1 1 1 1 - 9 points
2nd: George Lane (Hamilton Yacht Club - open) 2 2 (10) 3 1 4 4 8 3 2 - 29 pts
3rd: Dylan Forsyth (Waiheke Boating Club - youth) 5 8 2 2 (31 DSQ) 5 9 3 2 3 - 39 pts
Women
1st: Greta Pilkington (RNZYS) 7 3 9 4 4 3 8 (10) 4 4 - 46 pts
2nd: Annabelle Rennie-Younger (Royal Akarana Yacht Club) 4 5 4 (10) 10 8 2 5 7 5 - 50 pts
3rd: Olivia Christie (Worser Bay Boating Club) 3 (11) 3 5 6 10 5 4 9 6 - 51 pts
Masters (21 boats)
1st: Phil Wild (Manly Sailing Club - apprentice) 2 1 2 1 1 2 1 1 1 (22 DNS) - 12 pts
2nd: Edmund Tam (WBBC - master) 4 2 1 3 2 5 2 2 (6) 2 - 23 pts
3rd: Werner Hennig (Hamilton Yacht Club - grand master) 5 3 4 2 (8) 1 3 7 7 8 - 40 pts
ILCA 7 (41 boats)
1st: Tom Saunders (Tauranga Yacht & Power Boat Club) 1 1 1 2 1 1 (3) 1 2 1 - 11 pts
2nd: George Gautrey (Muritai Yacht Club) 2 2 2 1 2 2 1 2 1 (6) - 15 pts
3rd: Luke Cashmore (Wakatere Boating Club) 3 4 5 7 3 4 4 3 (8) 2 - 35 pts
