Eight teams attended the regional match racing programme over the July school holidays hosted by the Wellington Youth Scheme and sailed in their Elliott 6s.
Week one had two teams from Queen Charlotte Yacht Club and one team each from Otago and Nelson. The weather was OK for the first two days but turned sour for the last two days, with coach Ben Caundle having to improvise to keep the sailors entertained - which included attendance at the America’s Cup parade.
Two teams from New Plymouth Yacht Club and one each from Napier and Nelson attended the second week. They might have missed the parade but at least had better weather over the four days, making coach Angus Adamson’s job a little easier.
The regional programme has been running for a number of years with four sailors in each team having three days of boat-handling training and a one-day match race regatta. Thanks must go to the Wellington Youth Scheme for making their boats and coaches available for the programme.
The Wellington Youth Scheme recently purchased four new Elliott 6s to replace the old ones. The new boats look great and will be a real asset for the youth scheme sailors.