Kiwi 49er crew shines as world stars flock to Oceanbridge Sail Auckland

Seb Menzies and George Lee Rush have dominated the 49er fleet at the 2026 Oceanbridge Sail Auckland to defend their title and underline their potential as future contenders in New Zealand's most successful Olympic sailing class of the past two decades.

Menzies and Lee Rush won the men's skiff competition, featuring several international teams who competed at the Paris 2024 Olympics, by more than 30 points, to secure the title they first claimed in March last year.

They ended comfortably ahead of Swiss outfit Sebastian Schneiter and Arno De Planta, with fellow Kiwis Mattias Coutts and Oscar Gunn completing the podium against world-class competitors.

Over 160 sailors from 14 countries, including some of the world’s brightest Olympic sailing talent, descended on the Torbay Sailing Club on Auckland's North Shore for four days of light-breeze sailing, but it was the homegrown stars Menzies and Lee Rush who stole the spotlight. The duo won six of 15 races and sailed consistently well, finishing outside the top five only twice.

"It was a good week for us. We like the light airs, and that was certainly in our favour, but we sailed pretty fast and pretty well," said Menzies. "We are working on sailing in stronger breeze, which is definitely still a weakness for us. If we can get quicker in those conditions, hopefully we can improve even more over the next year or so."

The duo first announced themselves on the world stage by winning the European Championships in Thessaloniki, Greece, in similarly light conditions in June last year, securing the gold medal with a day and the medal race to spare. They also qualified for the gold fleet at the World Championships in Cagliari in October.

"Last year was a pretty good one for us in our very first full year in the senior fleet," said Lee Rush. "The world champs didn't quite go as well as we had hoped, but we're happy with our progression. The Olympics are coming around pretty quickly, and that's the goal for us, so there's plenty more work to do."

Menzies and Lee Rush are one of four strong young teams in the class, alongside Coutts and Gunn, Sam Bacon and Blake McGlashan, and Francesco Kayrouz and Hamish McLaren. Their success over the past 12 months has them among the favourites to secure the New Zealand spot for the Los Angeles 2028 Olympic Games, recently vacated by Isaac McHardie and Will McKenzie.

McHardie and McKenzie, known as the McKiwis following their silver medal at Paris 2024, announced last week that they would be stepping back from campaigning for the next Olympics in the class which has seen the country medal at the last four Games, stretching back to London 2012.

"It is a bit of a double-edged sword for us with Isaac and Will stepping aside, because on the one hand, they're obviously incredibly good, so it was going to be pretty tough for us to beat them," Lee Rush said. "But equally, over in Cagliari, we had a really good training camp with them, and we get along very well with both of them. So yes, it's one less boat we need to beat, but it was really good training against them, and they've got a lot of knowledge."

Another Kiwi sailor who impressed in Torbay was George Gautrey. The Wellingtonian initially claimed the ILCA 7 title in the final race after coming from behind to beat British star Micky Beckett, but a disqualification in the protest room later saw him drop to second overall.

The ILCA 6 was a close contest between Switzerland's Maud Jayet and Erika Reineke of the USA, with little to separate them all week. Jayet, also part of the Swiss team for the ITM New Zealand Sail Grand Prix in Auckland later this month, won the regatta by a single point despite finishing behind Reineke in the final race. Greta Pilkington was the top Kiwi female, finishing fourth overall.

"It was a really good week with lots of racing, which is a nice way to start the season," Jayet said. "It was great racing against Erika and Greta and with the rest of the New Zealand fleet."

Jayet praised the depth of the ILCA 6 fleet, which included rising New Zealand stars such as Pilkington's younger brother, Tom, who finished third overall and first male, and under-17 world champion Chloe Turner. Tom Pilkington and Turner were crowned youth winners in the class.

"It was good for us to have light winds because there were a few boats with good pace, both upwind and downwind, and they were fighting with us at the top," Jayet said. "They lacked a bit of racing experience, which sometimes showed, but in general, I was really pleasantly surprised by the overall level of the fleet."

In other results, Nicola and Rebecca Hume won the 49erFX competition over the Australian pair of Darcy Robbins and Eva Attwood, while Blake Batten and Hugo Smith claimed a highly competitive 29er event despite only sailing together in the class for a few weeks.

Zofia Wells and Charlotte Handley, crowned world champions in the RS Feva in Italy in August, comfortably won the 420 class, taking seven of 10 races, including the last five in a row.

Marginal conditions limited the kitefoil and iQFOiL (windfoil) fleets for much of the week. German Jannis Maus was crowned 2026 kitefoil champion after winning the grand final, despite qualifying second to countryman Jan Voester. Kiwi Oscar Timm finished third overall, while the Netherlands' Jessie Kampman was first female, followed by Breiana Whitehead (Australia) and Ellie Aldridge (Great Britain).

No races were possible on the final day for the men’s and women’s iQFOiL fleets. Australian Rory Meehan beat Kiwi Olympian Josh Armit on countback after both finished level on points on Saturday. Rising talent Aimee Bright, second at the under-23 world championships in Portugal last September, defeated several more experienced riders, including New Zealand’s top female windfoiler Veerle ten Have and Norway’s Maya Gysler.

Yachting New Zealand chief executive Steve Armitage praised the sailors and volunteers for their determination in challenging conditions.

"To the sailors, race committee and volunteers – a huge thank you for your work over four tough days. The conditions were not easy, and the racing was close throughout. Hopefully, everyone comes away feeling sharper after competing against such strong fleets."

Armitage also highlighted the impressive international contingent, the strongest seen in years at the regatta.

"It's not every day we have so many Olympic sailors and world champions racing in our backyard against the best New Zealand has to offer," he said. "It shows the esteem in which our country is held as a sailing destination and reinforces the importance of attracting more world-class events like this."

Final results and standings available here.