News library

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.

The International Sailing Federation (ISAF) has presented the ISAF President Development Award to London 2012 Olympic Sailing Competition manager Rob Andrews. The Award recognizes outstanding achievement in the development of sailing. Rob Andrews already had a long and illustrious career in sailing when he was appointed to the role of Sailing Manager for London 2012. Through his tireless work in this role he has contributed enormously to a significant lasting legacy for sailing.

Laurie Jury, Francesco Bruni, Will Tiller and Gavin Brady are through to semi final in the New Zealand Match Racing Championships. Seven flights were completed this morning and the top eight skippers went through to the Quarter Finals this afternoon. Will Tiller and his team of Bradley Farrand, Harry Thurston and Shaun Mason were undefeated on the water today winning all of their five races, including a win over Francesco Bruni who failed to complete his penalty turn handing Tiller the win. This put Tiller at the top of the table at the completion of the Round Robin with a total of 12 wins.

Laurie Jury leads by 1 point over fellow kiwi Will Tiller and Italy’s Francisco Bruni after Day Two of the New Zealand Match Racing Championships.

Yachting New Zealand is proud to announce that New Zealand’s premier Olympic and Paralympic Class regatta has a new name: Oceanbridge Sail Auckland. Oceanbridge, a New Zealand owned and operated international shipping and freight specialist, has come on board as the naming rights sponsor for this annual regatta which will next be held from 2-5 February 2013.

It has been a huge day out on the water today for day one of the New Zealand Match racing Championship. 14 Skippers and 10 boats requires incredible logistics and timing for all involved. A huge thank you to the Race Officers, Umpires and Boat drivers for all their efforts. PRO Megan Kensington said earlier today the weather was always forecast to be shifty and difficult but the goal was to get in as many Flights as possible.

Safety on board the AC72’s has always and will always be paramount. In the event of a capsize, people first, boat second. Whenever the AC72 sails, two paramedic divers are on the chase boat standing by in the case of capsize and injury. Members of the sailing crew have undergone safety training nothing quite as dramatic as this week’s session at an Auckland swimming pool.

Our learn to windsurf programme is running alongside our Junior Sailing programme on Sunday mornings from 9am at the Maraetai Sailing Club for ages 8 and above. Give it a go - first trial free.

 

Last month, the Halberg Trust changed name to become known as the 'Halberg Disability Sport Foundation', with its community-based disability sport programme becoming 'AllSports'.

Chief Executive, David Abercrombie will be writing monthly to let you know about the hot topics around the Yachting New Zealand office, opportunities and services on offer and ensuring you don’t miss any important announcements.

This weekend, 10th and 11th of November is the annual 12 and 18ft Skiff Auckland Champs being sailed out of the Auckland Sailing Club, Okahu Bay. The series will comprise of six races, with racing starting each day at 1pm. The event marks the first major regatta for the 18s since returning from San Francisco in late September with ten boats competing. This is the most New Zealand based 18s racing since the fleets resurgence in Auckland and is a significant step forward for the class as it looks towards the JJ Giltinan’s in Sydney early next year.

Yachting New Zealand is sad to learn of the passing of Life Member Harry Julian who passed away on October 27, 2012, at home.

Here’s a look at the up-coming sailing events around the country for November. See the YNZ on-line calendar for full details of these events and those on in November. Don’t see your event in there? Don’t miss out on some free promotion for your sailing events

The Youth Selection Policy for 2013 has now been published on the Yachting New Zealand - click here to download the Policy. This Regulation sets out the criteria and procedure for selecting sailors to be part of the 2013 NZL Yachting Trust Youth Team to attend the ISAF Youth Worlds Sailing Championships which are scheduled to be held between 11 and 20 July 2013 in Limassol, Cyprus.

The submission period closes this Friday (9th of November) to have your say on the proposed 24 hectare farm in the Whangaroa Harbour.

It is important that boaties have their say.

To be named 2012 Singapore Airlines Young Sailor of the Year is a huge achievement – it means joining the likes of Peter Burling, Paul Snow-Hansen and Andrew Murdoch who all have their name engraved on the trophy, which was first presented in 1996. This year there are six finalists and the winner will be named at the 2012 Yachting Excellence Awards on the evening of Friday 23rd November in front of a packed audience at the Royal New Zealand Yacht Squadron.

Ten year old Sean Herbert of Auckland’s Manly Sailing Club has won the Under 13 division of the World O’pen Bic Cup competing in the USA. The regatta staged at the Miami Yacht Club from November 1st – 3rd, included three age categories with racing for girls and boys. “Conditions in Miami were moderately light which was to be expected especially after hurricane Sandy. The second day of racing was probably the most frustrating with event organizers trying to get in races with the light wind and extreme heat,” explains Sean’s Mum Amanda Herbert.

Outstanding sailing performance; exceptional achievement – the Yachting New Zealand Performance Award is earned by those reaching pinnacle points in their sailing careers and delivering results that make all of New Zealand proud. Those being awarded in this category are the sailors that achieve what our young up-and-comers aspire to – they are the next generation’s role models. The 2012 Yachting Excellence Awards is on the evening of Friday 23rd November – just over two weeks from now, with an afternoon of celebration planned in the lead-up.

Miami, USA has been named as the fifth venue of the ISAF Sailing World Cup. Set to be held at US Sailing Center Miami from 26 January to 2 February 2013, the regatta will form part of the ISAF Sailing World Cup until 2016 and will be the second stop in the 2012-2013 series following on from Melbourne, Australia and preceding Palma, Spain and Hyeres, France.

Once again New Zealand’s biggest sailing regatta is here. Register today in order to participate in an amazing event with a huge prize pool of quality sailing gear that is simply unequalled by any other sailing event in New Zealand.

The Hartley 16 class North Island champs, hosted by the Ngaroto Boating Club came down to a tie break between eventual winner Rumbo sailed by Wayne Holdt and Jeremy Pritt and defending North Island champion Stratos Simon Holdt and Nathan McAthur, both boats from New Plymouth.

The Owaka Yacht Club launched its new rescue boat on Sunday the 28 October. The launching was the culmination of some fund raising and securing of funders undertaken by the Club. This in large measure was spearheaded by Annette White, the Club’s Treasurer, which saw her enthusiasm and a number of applications later being rewarded with the Club being allocated by Yachting New Zealand one of the Optimist World Championship rescue boats.

It’s been a big year for the sport and Yachting New Zealand invites all sailing enthusiasts to join the fun on Friday 23rd November at our Celebrate Sailing afternoon. Friday 23rd November, starting 4:30pm Royal New Zealand Yacht Squadron (at the eastern entrance steps) Westhaven Marina, Auckland

Picton Harbour was a hive of activity at Marlborough anniversary weekend as the Queen Charlotte Yacht Club held high performance clinics for its young optimist and starling class sailors.

Rudderless sailing and sailing with your eyes closed. These are the two drills of the month and we explore why and how to teach these skills, including some helpful tips on how to run the exercise.

The election of Officers of the International Sailing Federation, will take place at the ISAF General Assembly in Dun Laoghaire, Ireland on 10 November 2012. The ISAF Annual General Meeting is held at the close of the Annual Conference, and every fourth year is known as the General Assembly and brings together all of the Member National Authorities (MNAs), who represent the nations within ISAF. At the 2012 General Assembly attendees will go about their usual business which includes reviews of subscriptions, applications for full or affiliate membership, ISAF Class Championships and any regulations made or amended.

Olympian and New Zealand 5000m record holder Adrian Blincoe is helping identify and develop New Zealand’s future sporting champions, in a new job at High Performance Sport New Zealand (HPSNZ). In his role as High Performance Athlete Development Advisor, Blincoe will work together with Athlete Development Consultant Vanessa Paun across targeted national sport organisations to put systems in place to both identify and develop athletes so they can succeed at international level.

What does one of the world’s top yachties do on her weekends off the water? If you are Olympic gold medallist, Jo Aleh, you ‘relax’ by riding one of New Zealand’s toughest mountain bike races, the Magellan Whaka 100, in Rotorua’s legendary Whakarewarewa Forest at Labour Weekend. “I figure if I am going to do a bike race, I may as well do the hardest bike race... why go easy when you can go hard.” says Aleh, who won gold at the London Olympics in the 470 class with team-mate, Olivia Powrie. “I did the Whaka 100 in 2011 and really enjoyed it, so it was just cool to come back again and give it another go. I beat my last year’s time by nearly an hour, so all good.”

Last week EUROSAF announced the dates of a new series of regattas in Europe, under the name EUROSAF Champions Sailing League. After due consideration, it has been decided that the series should be renamed EUROSAF Champions Sailing Cup. The aim of the EUROSAF Champions Sailing Cup is to provide the best possible competition for Olympic and Paralympic Classes. The series is based on established regattas within Europe, in order to guarantee the highest level of event and race management.

Coach Rod Davis blogs on how the big cat sends a shiver down the spine of even a hardened offshore sailor….. As things stand now, it’s intimidating, standing 40 metres tall and weighing less than 6000 kilos. The power and potential “doomsday scenarios” of the new AC72 can send a shiver down even the most hardened round-the-world sailor’s back. That will diminish with the new cat’s every outing.