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A new record was set in New Zealand Teams Sailing with Kerikeri High School’s open team winning their fifth consecutive national title, which has never been done in the regatta’s 30 year history.
The event was held at Algies Bay over the week of April 27th – May 3rd, and saw 32 teams compete for the National title.
The regatta started off with good wind for the first two days and saw Kerikeri High’s open team win 9 out of their 10 races, placing them in the number one spot after the first Round Robin. It took the next three days to complete the second Round Robin as the winds became almost non-existent at times.
The Kerikeri team dominated the rest of the gold fleet winning all their races in this round making them the clear winners. The event ended with the Keri team winning a total of 19 out of 20 races for the regatta, finishing up with two points.
The second place team, Auckland Grammar, accumulated six.
The Kerikeri team, made of up students from years 9 – 13, has been coached for the past eight years by Reuben Corbett, a former student of the Kerikeri High School and now an international match racer. He shares his fifth national win with team member Matt Bindon, who has now also won the title five times.
This is not the first win for three other team members, Alex Bryning and Shae Donahoe with four wins each and Chris Smith with two national wins. It was the first win for new team members Connor Bartlett, Jack Bunce, Laurie Chaplin and Frankie Dair.
Kerikeri High School also entered a girls sailing team and was the only high school to send two teams to the National event. The girls are in their second year of competing and have shown great improvement by winning over half their races in the bronze fleet.
The open team will take a short break before heading back to Algies Bay to compete in the Interdomion Regatta, which will be held at the end of September. The Keri team, along with Auckland Grammar and McLean’s College, is looking forward to competing against the top three Australia teams with hopes of bringing the title back to New Zealand.
