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31 sailors turned out for this year’s Wellington Optisail hosted recently by the Titahi Bay Boating Club.

Hosted by the Wairoa Yacht Club, the East Coast Junior Sail was a new venture with 20 sailors attending the three day live in camp from Gisborne, Ohope and Wairoa.

After four days of compelling racing on the Waitemata Harbour, 2014 Oceanbridge Sail Auckland has come to a close with winners crowned at prize-giving following racing today at the Royal Akarana Yacht Club.

After another stunning day on Auckland’s Waitemata the scene is set for a great finale to 2014 Oceanbridge Sail Auckland with the regatta set to wrap up tomorrow and the winners crowned after racing.

It’s been a big and successful few years for Graeme Robinson in the F15 world. Despite the personal challenges of working intensively with Christchurch's earthquake recovery, in 2011 he won the first heat of the 18th World Championships at Hayling Island with James Sandall after 25 years of trying.

There was little change across the fleet leaders on day two of 2014 Oceanbridge Sail Auckland despite a day of tricky conditions on the water for all in Auckland today. There was more close racing as the regatta now hits the mid-way mark for most, and the OK Dinghy and Flying Fifteen winners are crowned. Conditions in Auckland today tested Race Officials and sailors alike with shifty, funky winds seeing luck play a stronger part in race results today. Some abandonments and plenty of re-set courses were the result of fickle winds that came and went throughout the day.

2014 Oceanbridge Sail Auckland is underway with compelling racing unfolding across all the Olympic, Paralympic and Invited classes taking part in the ISAF 100 point regatta being sailed on the Waitemata Harbour.

Entries are already coming in for the 2014 NZ Open Keelboat National Championships.

Oceanbridge Sail Auckland 2014, sailed at the home club of Auckland’s disabled sailing programme, is about to play host to one of New Zealand’s biggest ever Paralympic Class fleets. Four 2.4mR, four SKUD 18 and two Sonars will take part in the regatta which kicks off tomorrow.

The 2014 29er Nationals concluded on Monday at Murrays Bay Sailing Club, with the top three as follows:

Things are starting to heat up in Auckland in the final build-up to 2014 Oceanbridge Sail Auckland with racing set to get underway this Saturday, 1st February on the Waitemata.

Right now, you can buy a new XC60 or XC70 at Volvo Dealers and get over $15,000* worth of luxury enhancements absolutely free. That means Yachting New Zealand members get a free Luxury pack plus a 4% discount.

The Island Cruising Association (ICA) are pleased to announce a new partnership with the Royal New Zealand Yacht Squadron (RNZYS), that will see the ICA running coastal and offshore cruising events and rallies in conjunction with the RNZYS.

And so another Bay of Islands Sailing Week comes to a close. Hey everybody – what a buzz. Mother Nature was kind to us; the first two days of racing with perky breezes and on day three the bay breeze coming to the party at about 1400 hours.

The boat that capsizes the least wins..... That theory was tested and found true at the Nacra 17 Nationals Champs held at Murrays Bay over the weekend of 25th and 26th January. NZL Sailing Team members Gemma Jones and Jason Saunders gave out a lesson in heavy wind Catamaran sailing to the two newer crews of Rachel Basevi (helm) and Tomer Simhony, (crew), and Taylor Burn ( helm) and Vicky Francis (crew) on the third boat.

The New Zealand Millennium Cup, the highly regarded sailing regatta for superyachts, will next be contested as part of the Bay of Islands Sailing Week in January 2015.

The 2014 Starling Class National Match Racing Championship concluded on Thursday in Auckland in controversial circumstances with the winner being decided on count back.

Stunning Conditions again for the final day We were fortunate to enjoy another stunning blue sky day with a great sea breeze for the final day of the National Laser Champs in Nelson.

Our international forecaster Mike Quilter advised of high pressure out in the Tasman with a southerly flow on the front of the high. Light winds to start with, expecting a NE sea breeze to build in the afternoon. And that’s what happened.

Your opportunity to catch New Zealand’s best in action, here on Auckland Harbour is just one week away! 2014 Oceanbridge Sail Auckland is New Zealand’s annual ISAF ranked Olympic and Paralympic class regatta featuring NZL Sailing Team sailors including Jo Aleh and Polly Powrie (Women’s 470), Peter Burling and Blair Tuke (49er), Alexandra Maloney and Molly Meech (49erFX)to name a few.

Boat Coat – New Zealand’s dedicated specialists in marine vinyl wrapping and finishing – are proud to sponsor 19-year-old Kiwi sailor Cory McLennan in his bid to become the youngest person ever to take on the Solo Trans-Tasman Challenge yacht race this April.

With just over two weeks to go, the countdown is on to the upcoming 2014 A-Class Catamaran World Championships. With some of the biggest names on the global sailing scene signing on to join the already stellar line up, it is shaping up to be an event to remember.

The Hamilton Yacht Club held its annual Optisail last week; OptiSail Co-ordinator and Club Coach Dave Smith tells the story…

President of the Kiteboard Racing Class, Mike Pepper has filed this blow by blow account of the first ever Kiteboard Racing National Championships held in December 2013.

Racing gets underway today at 2014 Bay of Islands Sailing Week – the winner of the 2013 Yachting New Zealand President’s Award. If you’re not lucky enough to be there you can follow the action through the regatta website or Facebook page where photos are being posted regularly.

Emirates Team New Zealand will return to the Extreme 40 circuit this year, skipper Dean Barker announced today. The first regatta will be held next month. Barker says the team needs to start developing the sailing team for the 35th America’s Cup while integrating Peter Burling and Blair Tuke into the squad.

The NZL Sailing Team and Maersk Line are together putting on a Sausage Sizzle at Oceanbridge Sail Auckland, free for all competitors, volunteers and sponsors of the event. From 4:00pm (after racing) on Monday Februrary 3rd, you are invited to join the NZL Sailing Team for some casual food and drink at the Royal Akarana Yacht

The quality of racing in both the men’s and women’s Olympic skiff events at 2014 Oceanbridge Sail Auckland is guaranteed to be world class with both fleets featuring not only both reigning world champions but the also men’s silver medallists from the 2013 Worlds, and top female 49erFX crews from the Netherlands, Japan and Australia.

A record 15 New Zealand Optimist sailors made the short trip to Melbourne for the 2014 Australian Optimist Nationals. The Australian Optimist fleet has grown rapidly over the last few years, so with 350 entries across the Green, Intermediate and Open fleets, it was the largest one design regatta held in the Southern Hemisphere.

It is run out of Willow Park Camp, which is right on the beach at Eastern Beach in Auckland. It is designed to support and advance our top Opti sailors as they develop their sailing and racing capabilities. It has a cap of 60 sailors with some of NZL’s top coaches assisting the sailors, as well as some guest speakers.

Firstly- you may be wondering what IS a classifier? A classifier is a person with both a sailing and medical background that conducts functional testing on sailors with a physical disability, in order to determine their ‘class’ or points allocation for competition in Paralympic class boats. They are volunteers, like other race officials, and have a structured education pathway not too unsimilar to that of a Judge or Race Officer.