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Inspired by Emirates Team New Zealand, and new heroes in Olympic yachting classes, up to 300 youth will set sail in the Stack Winter Champs 2013 at Murrays Bay Yacht Club in October, and with an eye to a career in sailing, many are now focused on high tech sailing classes.
The Stack Winter Champs 2013, which mark the end of winter training, and the official start of the summer season, include two days of high performance coaching, before the regatta begins. Youth sailors from all clubs are invited.
The club emphasizes the traditional youth sailing classes, but is also nurturing young sailors in the 29er skiffs - it now has a fleet of eight boats, which are an important precursor to the 49erFX, in which New Zealanders Alexandra Maloney and Molly Meech are currently ranked first in the world, and the 49er, in which Peter Burling and Blair Tuke won Silver at the 2012 Olympic Games. The duo were also part of the team that recently won the Youth America’s Cup.
“These boats are physically and mentally demanding, and some of the sailors that can hold their own in the 29er and go on to the 49er can potentially have the ability to go on to be up there in the world. The skiffs demand speed and agility, like we saw on the America’s Cup racecourse,” says race sponsor David Gunn, of Stack Interiors.
A big feature of the regatta is two days of intensive coaching, on Tuesday 1 and Wednesday 2 October. The coaching, run by Andrew Brown of Force Racing, is designed to give young sailors extra tutelage from high performance sailors, and a flying start to the race season.
12-14 divisions are expected, ranging from the traditional junior classes Optimists, Starlings and P-classes, up to Lasers, RSX and Techno Boards, 420s and Javelins, Paper Tigers, and Zephyrs. The racecourse is the water between Murrays Bay and Rangitoto.
Stack Business Interiors supports youth by supporting sailing
This is the fourth year that Stack Business Interiors, which specialises in the design and management of office space and business interiors, has supported the Stack Winter Champs, and the business sees the event as a great way to invest in bright, ambitious young people.
Company founder David Gunn has been involved with Murrays Bay Sailing Club since his son started sailing at the age of eight, and David is now its Commodore.
“Sailing is about innovation, resilience, ambition, working hard, and attention to detail, and we felt that we could support this in the next generation, by helping the club nurture these attributes through the Winter Champs,” he says.
Stack's design work has won a number of awards over the years, and its portfolio includes office design and construction management for HSBC, AMP Capital, THL, MacDow, Les Mills International, Mercedes-benz, The Warehouse and many more of New Zealand's leading organisations.
For more information on Stack Business Interiors, visit www.stack.co.nz, and to find out about the Stack Winter Champs visit www.murraysbay.org.nz
