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All ears were tuned into Paul Snow-Hansen during a 2-day AON Clinic for 420 sailors in Napier, as the triple-Olympian shared his knowledge with a group of eager teams.
The clinic was the precursor to the Napier Sailing Club’s Summer Crewed Regatta, which incorporated the North Island 420 Championships.
Yachting New Zealand Youth Manager Sam Mackay worked with Paul alongside the group and attributed much of the week's learnings to the “glamour ocean conditions” Napier is famous for.
“We had 18-25 knots at times with big ocean waves which some of the sailors hadn’t experienced much of,” he explains.
“The group worked really well together, and it was great to have lots of information shared. We focused a lot on boat speed, learning off each other. Most of the seven crews to take part had only been sailing together for a few months and it was an awesome four days together” says Mackay.
The regatta went on to showcase some tight racing in the fleet, with four crews on equal points going into the last race.
Tessa Clinton of Wakatere Boating Club helmed ‘Loose Goose’ to the final victory, taking the top podium position overall.
“Tessa and Nichola did really well to execute under pressure in a race where boats were coming from all sides into the finish – it was really close,” says Mackay.
Second in the fleet was Joe Leith from Murrays Bay Sailing Club in ‘Grace to Glory, closely followed by Cameron Brown from Wakatere Boating Club on ‘Sid’.
There were some notable names over in the Sunburst fleet, with multiple Volvo Ocean Race sailor Daryl Wislang taking out the overall title on ‘Rhythm and Swing’ who was closely followed by Penny Linton and professional sailor Scott Beavis with their crews.
Other fleets competing at the regatta included the Hartley 16’s, 12ft skiffs, and Sports Boats.
A wholesome event for all, other highlights included an Orca whale and calf coming to hang out with the fleet, and the general buzz of a sailing community coming together at Napier Sailing Club – known for it’s relaxed and welcoming atmosphere.
With school over for the year, there’s little rest for the 420 group who are off to the YNZ youth programme national youth camp at Manly Sailing Club next week, with the big goal for many being the Youth Trials next year.
More information and results from the Napier Summer Regatta.
