A series of IFDS meetings were held in Ireland recently as part of the ISAF Annual Conference, and the SKUD was confirmed for 2016 & 2020. Here's the scoop, and an opportunity to buy one of your own!

Every year, the Inspiration Voyage on the Spirit of New Zealand gives the incredible opportunity for 30 young people with physical disabilities from all around the country to embark on a special 5-day voyage. F

Competitors from Whangarei and the BOIC battled it out over seven races of the Festival of Fifteens on 10 & 11 Nov. Six races were simple windward-leeward laps, and one bay race which took them to Brampton Buoy, Russell and up and down Veronica Channel. Rob Ward and Bruce Yovich sailed Fflying Colours to a convincing win.

Be sure to let your friends know about these opportunities in the New Year.

Auckland Opti sailors heading south for the popular Interisland Regatta on in Picton in February can register interest now for truck transport for your boats. Mark Shapland and Big Chill have generously arranged for truck transportation to be available for Opti sailors to attend the 2013 Interisland Regatta in Picton which is being held from Friday February 22 to Sunday February 24th.

FMJ Racing have Dominated the 2012 New Zealand Match Racing Nationals with the strongest fleet the nationals have ever seen! The line up for the Nationals was tough with some great teams including Luna Rossa with former world number one Francesco Bruni on the helm, Emirates Team New Zealand coach Rod Davis and former Americas Cup skipper and Volvo veteran Gavin Brady to name a few. With this caliber of competition the regatta ranked for us as one of the toughest this year! For the first time racing was held in the new Elliot 7 youth boats replacing the Farr MRX from previous years. With fourteen entries one of the biggest fleets ever, racing started with a round robin.

Fly Emirates Business Class to the European destination of your choice and support NZ Optimist Coaching Emirates Airline and Emirates Team New Zealand are supporting New Zealand junior sailing by auctioning two Business Class return tickets from Auckland to any one of Emirates’ 33 European destinations.*

Will Tiller wins the RNZYS 2012 New Zealand match Racing Championships beating fellow RNZYS Lion Foundation Youth Training Graduate Gavin Brady 3-2. In what was a nail biting finish Skipper Will Tiller, Brad Farrand, Harry Thurston and Shaun Mason from Full Metal Jacket Racing have taken out Gavin Brady and his crack crew of Ryan Houston, Rob Salthouse and John Cutler to win the title.

After three days of meetings, the ISAF Annual Conference drew to a close today as the final decisions affecting the sport moving forward were made. Hosted in Dun Laoghaire, Ireland, hundreds of delegates gathered from 1 November 2012 to discuss sailing across the world.

New Zealand’s Adrienne Greenwood has been elected as a vice-President of the International Sailing Federation (ISAF) when ISAF announced the new members of the ISAF Council, the final decision-making body of ISAF yesterday. Greenwood, is a former Chief Executive of Yachting Zealand and huge contributor to the sport internationally having held multiple positions with ISAF over recent years. In May of 2007 she was recognised by the International Olympic Committee with a diploma as one of three women nominated for the World “Women and Sport” Trophy 2007.