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Hosted by the Wairoa Yacht Club, the East Coast Junior Sail was a new venture with 20 sailors attending the three day live in camp from Gisborne, Ohope and Wairoa.
With Optis, P Class, Firebugs and Starlings attending, it was a great mix of new and experienced sailors with Wairoa proving to be a great venue.
“Day one saw us sail to the shingle bank near the mouth of the river, great experience for the young sailors as all sorts of things wash up there, even if it was a little rough on the bottom of the boats,” says Wayne Holdt, Yachting New Zealand Regional Development Manager.
“Day two a destination sail up under the bridge in town which was great viewing for the locals. Later that evening the night sail they were all waiting for, with one of the girls saying ‘I can’t sail when it’s daylight how am I going to sail when it’s dark’.”
“Day three heaps of games on and off the water finishing off with the traditional lolly scramble - lollies in balloons on the water. A huge thank you to Jill Metz Mayhead and her helpers from the Wairoa Yacht club, also another huge thank you to the mums from the Gisborne Yacht Club for their feeding out skills, also to the coaches and clubs that lent Ribs. Massive first up effort and will definitely be set in the calendar for next season.”
All the young sailors are now looking forward to catching up with each other at the Port Ohope Regatta this weekend.
