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Yachting New Zealand have been working hard on behalf of members keen to return to sailing and boating as lockdown restrictions are eased.

Team Jolly (Jo Aleh and Polly Powrie) went into the 2016 Rio Olympics as one of the favourites for gold but plenty went against them in a dramatic regatta that saw them disqualified from two races.

Updated: April 16, 2020

It's now more important than ever to stay connected and there are a number of ways people in the sailing community can do this while in lockdown but also when life returns to some semblance of normality.

Peter Burling and Blair Tuke are Olympic champions, multiple world champions and America's Cup winners and in 2018/19 they attempted to add Volvo Ocean Race champions to that list.

Yachting New Zealand today launched the first episode of their new podcast - Broad Reach Radio - with an in-depth interview with Peter Burling and Blair Tuke.

Ben Beasley and Nick Gardiner were not only the youngest competitors in the recent Round North Island Race, at 19 and 20 respectively, but also on the smallest boat in the fleet.

The Optimist national championships were due to get under way in Wellington this weekend but will now take place in November, making the Optis one of the first classes to identify new dates in what has been a severely interrupted year.

Like many people, I'm encouraged by the progress this country is making in tackling Covid-19 but now is not the time to take our foot off the pedal.

In our regular focus on the regions, regional support officer Hayden Whitburn takes a look at what's been happening in the top half of the northern area.

Ian Darby never thought the first week in his new job would look like this. After all, being a Yachting New Zealand regional support officer involves getting out and about and connecting with the yacht clubs and their members in his region.

One of the things than can normally be relied on when sailing at Bream Bay is steady winds. Except when the Flying Fifteen national championships rolls into town.

Micah Wilkinson and Erica Dawson took possession of a new boat recently and took it for a short 30-minute sail before the lockdown.

We normally run a segment called Regional Roundup but these are not normal times. South Island regional support officer Ian Gardiner offers some advice to clubs and also takes a look at some of the things happening in his region.

Graeme Sutherland made some big strides at last year's Moth world championships and that showed when he took out last weekend's national title. 

Kia ora

It has been a whirlwind 24 hours and, like me, I'm sure you are all trying to get your head around what your world looks like right now.

Many clubs and class associations are facing huge challenges right now due to the Covid-19 pandemic, and it’s a similar story at Yachting New Zealand where we are facing the same issues. We are, as it were, all in the same waka.

Find all the latest information here about the Covid-19 outbreak and what it might mean for your club, class association, course or regatta.

The team on Honda Marine felt a range of emotions yesterday after winning a third-straight JJ Giltinan Trophy but the overriding one was still elation.

Yachting New Zealand have made the difficult decision to cancel next weekend's Oceanbridge NZL Sailing Regatta due to the Covid-19 virus but will look to run some coach-led racing instead.

This weekend sees the usual fleet of rock stars and weekend warriors mixing it up for the running of the 35th Harken Young 88 national championships, New Zealand's largest national one-design keelboat fleet.

Antonio Cozzolino can see a good future for himself in windfoiling and demonstrated that last weekend when he took out the Giltrap Audi New Zealand Windfoil Championships at the Manly Sailing Club.

The start of the Elliott 5.9 Traveller Series is only a couple of weeks away which will see a weekend of competitive racing in Napier and organisers are expecting a fleet of at least 10 boats.

Mason Mulcahy and Andre Van Dam achieved a near-perfect scorecard on their way to winning the 420 national title in Wellington over the weekend.

You will all be aware the Covid-19 outbreak is a rapidly-evolving situation and we are getting updates constantly from the Ministry of Health and medical teams at High Performance Sport New Zealand and Sport New Zealand.

The Royal New Zealand Yacht Squadron are now accepting applications from sailors to be part of their Youth America’s Cup team in 2021.

Find out more about cruising in the Pacific Islands during an informative evening next week at the Devonport Yacht Club.

Rebecca Hume will line up for her seventh PredictWind Girls Champs at Kohimarama on March 21 and will probably take a moment to remember her first.

Clockwork Racing co-skipper Steve Mair said years of planning went into their success at the Evolution Sails Round North Island Race, when they took out the overall title.

In our regular focus on the regions, Raynor Haagh dives into what has been going on in the southern area of the northern region.

The past, present and future of New Zealand windsurfing will come together later this week as the sport continues to experience a rejuvenation due to foiling.

Craig Edwards and his crew on Flying Machine lived up to their name at the 2020 North Sails Young 88 South Island championships in Lyttelton recently.