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Susannah Pyatt competed in the 2012 Olympics, as bowman in the women’s Elliot 6 match racing class. She has since made the switch to a Laser radial which she is now campaigning towards the 2016. Susanna is also one of NZ’s top optimist coaches and is currently coaching the NZ optimist team at the North Americans in Mexico. I caught up with Susannah while she was defending her NZ National Women’s Match racing title.

It was a long, tough day for the NZL Yachting Trust Youth Team in Tavira, Portugal on day two of the 2014 ISAF Youth Sailing World Championships.

The Royal New Zealand Yacht Squadron has been appointed by the VOR stop over managers Mayo and Limited (MAL) to conduct the race management and on water activities in co-operation with VOR, the Maritime Police, Harbour Master and Ports Authority.

Jo Aleh and Polly Powrie have taken the bronze medal at the 2014 Women’s 470 Open European Championships which wrapped up in Athens, Greece today.

In June I ran a match racing clinic out of the RNZYS using the Elliot 7meters, the clinic was for team Siesta, a Japanese Match racing team I have coached for the last 5 years. This was the second time the team had been to NZ, they competed in the 2009 NZ match racing nationals.

Yachting New Zealand is offering a workshop on Teams Sailing coaching, this is a four hour course spread over two weeknights in September. this course will be run by some of New Zealands top team sailing coaches and will cover a lot of information around teams sailing.

The two NZL 420 crews in Ouistreham, Normandy, have one of those days that is best forgotten. The day started very cloudy and not that warm for Summer, the small French Warship was pretty impressive as it navigated the Harbour locks as the 420 fleet was about to launch but on the course, the two races that were held for each flight were marred by many Black Flag Disqualifications.

The cover of the July 2014 issue of FINNFARE features Andrew Murdoch (NZL) on his way to securing 10th place in the European Championship in La Rochelle. The event was won by Giles Scott (GBR) who is the 'opening shot' for the magazine, published on Monday 14 July.

Yachting New Zealand is looking for a NZCT Regional Support Officer for the upper South Island region, including Canterbury, Marlborough, Nelson and the West Coast.

Racing started today at the 2014 ISAF Youth Sailing World Championships in Tavira, Portugal where a 12-strong New Zealand team is competing with a representative in all eight classes.

Jo Aleh and Polly Powrie have climbed into 2nd overall and are assured of a podium finish at the 2014 470 Open European Championships in Athens with just the top ten medal race remaining.

Happy Bastille Day! To the roar of jets, low flying large transport craft and helicopters flying past, the French National 420 Championships got underway just off Ouistreham beach, known as 'Sword Beach', 70 years ago with the Normandy D Day landings in 1944.

Be part of a fantastic, fun celebration of sailing with the races scheduled for starts at 10.00hrs as a practice race and the “Record Breaker” set to start at 14:00 with separate keelboat and a dinghy race courses.

As the OK Dinghy class heads into its European Championship next weekend, the July release of the World Ranking list sheds some light on the current form as virtually all of the top European sailors will be present.

New Zealand has won gold and bronze at the 2014 49er and 49erFX European Championships in Helsinki with Peter Burling and Blair Tuke successfully defending their title and Alexandra Maloney and Molly Meech taking bronze also repeating their 2013 performance.

New Zealand is well placed to collect medals at the 49er and 49erFX European Championship in Helsinki with both Peter Burling and Blair Tuke, and Alexandra Maloney and Molly Meech leading going into the final day of the regatta.

New Zealander Howard Spencer and his Menace crew have taken an early lead in the MC38 Harbour Regatta hosted by the Royal Sydney Yacht Squadron this afternoon.

Today belonged to the NZL Sailing Team’s top Olympic skiff sailors both on fire in their quest for their respective 2014 European Championship titles in Helsinki.

Jo Aleh and Polly Powrie are leading at the 2014 Women’s 470 European Championships which got underway today in Athens. Meanwhile, in Helsinki at the 49er and 49erFX European Champs Alexandra Maloney and Molly Meech knocked out three great races to lift their overall rank, and Peter Burling and Blair Tuke returned a couple of bullets in exhilarating conditions.

Counting no worse than second places World Champions Billy Besson and Marie Riou lead the overall standings after five races at the Nacra 17 European Championships at La Grande Motte as the fleet split into a 40 strong Gold fleet and 31 Silver fleet. Two further races were sailed in very variable, shifty offshore and cross offshore winds which rose and fell between 5 and 25kts. Besson and Riou were the most consistent in the fleet posting two secure second places, matched for best aggregate tally for the day by Australian cousins Jason Waterhouse and Lisa Darman who scored 1,3 to qualify in fourth, just ahead of compatriots Euan McNicol and Lucinda Whitty and Spain’s Iker Martinez and Tara Pachecho.

Coastguard Boating Education is holding a Boating Safety Conference at the Voyager NZ Maritime Museum in Auckland on 28 August 2014. Please find the agenda and flyer available for download below.

Gemma Jones and Jason Saunders were the only NZL Sailing Team sailors to hit the water for racing today at the 2014 European Champs for the Olympic Nacra 17 multihull in La Grande Motte. Light winds postponed and then cancelled racing in Helsinki at the 2014 49er and 49erFX European Champs.

For those amongst us who have made this a regular event on their calendar, it is worth noting that The 2015 Oceanbridge Sail Auckland will be held about a month later next year. The dates will be 26 February - 1 March 2015, and it will include, amongst others, Hansa 303, Liberty and SKUD18 classes, 2.4mR and Sonars.

While many of the more active sailors have been involved in sailing with their local clubs over summer, adapting to change has been the name of the game with others, as Blind Sailing is no longer centred in Auckland.

Racing is underway at the European Championships for the Olympic 49er and 49erFX skiffs (in Helsinki) and also for the Olympic Nacra 17 multihull (in La Grande Motte).

In June at 15 years of age Dylan became the youngest ever sailor to be named Otago Yachtsperson of the year. Dylan Edwards is a Kings High School pupil and member of Macandrew Bay Boating Club. Some of his achievements this year are listed below.

Peter Graham, from the Port Chalmers Yacht Club, was the instigator of the successful Otago Optimist Summer Series (OOSS) now in its third year.

If the loss of the first day of racing at the Nacra 17 European Championships due to too little wind was the price to be paid in order to have great Mistral conditions today off La Grande Motte then many of the 71 competing crews would accept that as a worthwhile tax. Today’s payback was a cross offshore, NW’ly Mistral averaging 17to 19kts but up to 23kts at times which was peppered with lighter holes and big shifts in direction creating a spectacular opening to the regatta.

YNZ are looking a new Safety and Technical Officer to carry on the work of Michael Churchouse who will be retiring this year.

The SSANZ Safety at Sea Two-Handed Triple Series is about to kick off with the opening 50-miler set for this Saturday 12th July.

Did you know that when taking part in overseas regattas, there is usually a requirement from the race committee to have Marine Third Party Liability Insurance extended for racing in place?

The 2015 New Zealand Hansa Class Nationals, incorporating The Kiwi Cup are going to be hosted by Sailability Wellington from 17 – 19 January 2015 (Wellington Anniversary Weekend) and will operate out of the Lowry Bay Yacht Club at Seaview, Lower Hutt.