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The NZL Sailing Team and Southern Spars, World leaders in carbon spar design have formed a unique partnership, with the New Zealand marine industry heavy-weight helping out with a special request from Yachting New Zealand.
49erFX sailors Molly Meech (left) and Alexandra Maloney (right) outside the Southern Spars facility with Simon Briscoe of High Performance Sport New Zealand
When the NZL Sailing Team’s mast bending jig was built in early 2014 it was temporarily housed in a warehouse space, but a more permanent home was needed for the new piece of technical kit, which is used by New Zealand’s Olympic sailing campaigners to better ‘bend test’ and understand their boats’ masts.
When Jez Fanstone, High Performance Director at Yachting New Zealand approached Southern Spars’ Mark Hauser a generous offer to accommodate the piece of equipment at the company’s Auckland headquarters in Rosebank was made. The jig was then moved to its new home.
The commitment wasn’t just about floor space, as the NZL Sailing Team requires frequent access to the jig particularly during the New Zealand summer months and not always within normal business hours.
Performance and Technical Analyst to the NZL Sailing Team, Simon Briscoe of High Performance Sport New Zealand who was instrumental in the concept, design and build of the jig, and he regularly spends time with sailors and their coaches at the Southern Spars facility.
Briscoe says, “It’s a great partnership and we are very grateful to Southern Spars. The jig is used by all of the Olympic classes and it helps us to make good decisions as we prepare for the coming season of international competition.”
“The Southern Spars facility is a brilliant space, and the environment there is highly professional, so it fits very well with the NZL Sailing Team approach.”
