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Staffan Persson will casually launch a rocket into space tomorrow night before then trying to find his inner warp speed at next week's Laser national championships in Wellington.
Persson, who hails from Stockholm in Sweden, has been in the country since mid-December (he got out of managed isolation on New Year's Eve) to oversee the launch of a small communications satellite being launched by Rocket Lab from their base at Mahia on the East Coast.
They have a small 5-10 minute window to launch the rocket on Saturday night to ensure it then follows a certain orbit in space, 1200km above Earth.
That is Persson's job, and he previously worked for the Swedish Space Corporation from the 1980s, but sailing is his passion and the timing of his visit allows him to compete at the Laser national championships starting at the Worser Bay Boating Club on January 22.
He's a rare international competitor at regattas in this country right now - Eroni Leilua will also compete at the nationals under the Samoan flag but is based in New Zealand - and will contest the grand masters fleet for 55-64 year olds.
Persson plays down his sailing pedigree, saying he's happy to finish in the top half of the fleet, but has contested a couple of European masters Laser championships and is a regular at Swedish masters events.
"Don’t expect me to be some kind of a Laser ace but it’s a wonderful opportunity to do what I like the most," he said. "To have this coincidence of this rocket launch in this beautiful country and a couple of days later I can go to a Laser event is just amazing. Of course, I am a bit nervous knowing Wellington is a windy place.
The main issue Persson usually has to contend with on the lake in Stockholm his club is based is ice and darkness but he goes racing most Tuesday afternoons between April and October.
"Unfortunately, the water we sail on in the middle of Stockholm is very constrained so the winds are very gusty and shifty and we have never seen any waves there, so wave technique is not my best," he explained. "I'm just glad to be here and see how New Zealand Laser sailors are performing. It's a fantastic opportunity for me."
It's also a rare opportunity for Rio Olympic bronze medallist Sam Meech to compete at the national championships, something he's never won before, and he headlines an overall entry list of about 90 competitors that contains a good mix of elite, youth and masters sailors.
Persson is borrowing a boat from a local Worser Bay sailor for the four-day regatta but brought his sailing gear and a race sail with him from Sweden. After that he intends heading to the South Island for a few days touring around before returning to Sweden in early February and his life of rockets and lasers.
