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New Zealand’s dominance in the international O’pen skiff fleet shows no signs of abating, with Kiwis sweeping two divisions at a major regatta in Italy a fortnight ago, ahead of the class world championships starting tonight (NZ time).
Manly Sailing Club’s Ewan Brazle won the under-15 category of the fifth Italian national ranking regatta in Cagliari by a commanding 20 points from compatriot and teammate Hugo Smith, with Orlando Botha ensuring a 1-2-3 for club and country.
Between them, the Kiwi sailors won five of the 10 completed races.
Ewan Brazle won the under-15 division at the fifth Italian national ranking regatta. Photo / Elena Giolai
Oliver Tiedemann claimed gold in the under-12 category from local sailor Pietro Dedoni, courtesy of a hattrick of race wins to close out the event.
Italian Niccolò Giommarelli took out the title in the under-17 division - the only group with no New Zealand entry.
Brazle,13, also won the fourth ranking regatta in June, after defeating more than 80 other young sailors from around the world – some two years older than him – to win the O’pen skiff North American championship at the Mission Bay Yacht Club in San Diego in May.
The under-12 title in Cagliari went to Oliver Tiedemann. Photo / Elena Giolai
Brazle will be a strong contender for a medal at the world championships in Rimini, Italy. Almost 300 entries from 13 nations have already been confirmed.
He finished 28th out of 153 competitors in the under-15 category at last year’s event in Maubuisson, France – despite only being 12 at the time.
Brazle is one of seven Kiwis who will be lining up - alongside Smith, Botha, Tiedemann, Robert Abel-Pattinson (under-15), Storm Douwes, and Carl Marshall (both under-17).
Many of the boys have spent the past month in Italy, preparing for the world champs with Sir Russell Coutts. A training camp at Lake Garda was followed by two days in Rimini last week before racing starts.
For more information about the 2023 O’pen skiff world championships, click here.
