News library

This year the Lake Taupo Yacht Club will host the Secondary School Team Racing Nationals, one of the larger sailing events of the year and also one of the larger secondary school sporting events in general. Twenty nine teams will be competing for the honours of best New Zealand secondary school, as well as the right to represent New Zealand at the Inter Dominions ANZAC Teams Sailing Regatta in Brisbane.

The 2013 Hutchwilco Boat Show will provide an exciting promotional opportunity and Yacht Clubs are encouraged to come and be part of the ‘Sailing Central’ pavilion. “Sailing Central, being held as part of the Hutchwilco Boat Show is free for yacht clubs,” explains Miranda Powrie, Coordinator for Sailing Central.

Shades of Hitchcock, Dark, dramatic skies, more than a flock of Starlings. A weather forecast that promised breeze this late in the season for the South Island, vital ingredients for a successful 2013 Starling National Championships. 108 boats in the Open fleet sailing on the Queen Charlotte Sound outside Picton Harbour, just a handful of 'Development' Fleet boats on the inner Harbour, plenty of enthusiastic sailors, supporters, coaches and officials.

In mid April, the NZ Access Class Association’s two 303’s (available with thanks to AMP) moved to their new home – at the lake ‘outpost’ of the Wanganui Sailing Club. With support from the Class Association, Halberg Disability Sport Foundation, Sailability Taranaki Volunteers and YNZ Staff, there is now the potential for one more club to become accessible next season.

Racing at the Americas Cup World Series event in Naples wrapped up today with what organisers call “Super Sunday” - a final fleet race that is worth triple points. That sets the scene for what is essentially a winner-takes-all last fleet race. Emirates Team New Zealand’s winning streak from yesterday did not continue and the team had to settle for 6th place, finishing the fleet racing championship third overall, behind Luna Rossa Swordfish and Oracle Team USA.

Despite some very wet weather twelve sailors took to the water aiming to get their name on the Waller Cup; Sailability Auckland's Regional Championship held on April 20 & 21. After years of trying, John Toole finally got his name on the cup!

There was extensive surface flooding across the coastal Bay of Plenty over the weekend. “We can assume that all flood water is potentially contaminated with farm run-off, faecal matter from feral and domestic animals, and, in some cases, sewage,” says Medical Officer of Health, Dr Phil Shoemack. There are potential health risks associated with contaminated flood water and the Medical Officer of Health has provided the following advice to help prevent illness in the community.

Helena Horswell gives us her insight from the 2013 Access Class Asia Pacific Championships: I had been told that last time a kiwi contingent went to an Access Class event here, there was a huge problem with weed in the lake, but apart from the rather murky colour, the only issue this time was the low level, causing berthing issues at the dock for Libertys and Skuds.

Recent crew changes haven't stopped the steam train that is the NZ Blind Sailing Worlds Team, deep in preparation with just one training camp left before the 2013 IFDS Blind Fleet Racing World and International Championships next month.

Royal Akarana Yacht Club (RAYC) is proud to announce the 2014 Sail Fiji offshore yacht race with confirmed 2014 dates for the classic Auckland to Fiji ocean race and passage cruise rally.The Cruising Rally will start from Monday the second of June 2014 and the Premier Race will start on Saturday the 7th of June 2014.

A tough contingent of Australians will meet a brilliant but lone majority New Zealand crew for the ANZAC long weekend running of stage two of the TP52 Southern Cross Cup at Sandringham Yacht Club, April 26-28. Australian and New Zealand comrades will be honoured this coming ANZAC Day for fighting side-by-side, a tradition which began on the bloody shores of Gallipoli during WWI. In keeping with the modern day rivalry between the two great sporting nations eight TP52s will square off on the waters of Port Phillip in Victoria the following day to begin the quest for the series’ perpetual trophy.

Racing at ISAF Sailing World Cup Hyeres is underway with day one of the six day regatta now drawing to a close in Hyeres, France. A solid team of kiwi campaigners are competing including 14 entries across six events including the Laser, Finn, 49er, 49erFX, Men’s 470 and Nacra17. Paul Snow-Hansen and Daniel Willcox have opened with an almost faultless performance in the Men’s 470 class to top the 63 strong fleet after day one of qualifying, sailed in light winds off Hyeres.

There's plenty on with the active Elliott 5.9 Fleet: the 2013 Nationals have just concluded, in this update you can find info on the upcoming traveller series, new boat owners, 2014 Nationals, equipment available and more...

Bucklands Beach Yacht Club has put out a call for yachties from all Auckland area clubs to head down to their waters to race in the PIC Insurance Winter Series 2013. The naming rights sponsor PIC Insurance is putting on a massive load of prizes, and they have discounted the entry fees to attract 'out of club' boats to take part.

The second day of racing in the America’s Cup World Series in Naples started with a bang, literally, for Emirates Team New Zealand. In the first race of the day, a match race with Luna Rossa Swordfish, Dean Barker and his crew got off the start line with a penalty on Francesco Bruni allowing the New Zealand crew to round the first mark with a slim lead.

We have been using the Yacht Bot trackers for training with the NZL Radial Worlds Sailors. The trackers fit easily around the mast and also onto the buoys. Using the trackers data has proved incredibly useful at giving us detailed information for our debrief’s. The focus of our training has been on lane holding and speed upwind, then angles and decision making downwind where huge distances can be gained and lost in the laser.

New Zealand’s most prestigious trophy for sailors with a disability, the Kiwi Cup, has been re-awarded for 2013 after an eligibility appeal was successful regarding the Napier crew of Katy Kenah and Robbie Love.

The NZL Sailing Team is getting set for more action with the final regatta of the 2012-13 ISAF Sailing World Cup Series about to get underway in Hyeres, France. The kiwis will join over 800 of the world’s best Olympic and Paralympic sailors to do battle on the water next week. Racing at ISAF Sailing World Cup Hyeres will take place on the ‘Rade de Hyeres’ starting on Monday 22nd April and running over six days with the medals decided on Saturday 27th April.

Eleven local Queen Charlotte Yacht Club sailors make up the nearly 100 strong Starling Class Open fleet on Queen Charlotte Sound starting Monday April 22nd through to Friday 26th. 12 races are scheduled with a late start to honour Anzac Day.

ISAF Sailing World Cup Hyères will bring the 2012-2013 World Cup series to a close with over 800 of the world’s top sailors across ten Olympic and two Paralympic events ready for action. Touching down in Australia, USA, Spain and finally Hyères, France from 22-27 April the 2012-13 series has welcomed sailors campaigning for the Rio 2016 Olympic Sailing Competition to set an early marker at the beginning of a new quadrennial.

Nine sailors have been named in the 2013 NZL Yachting Trust Youth Team to represent New Zealand at the prestigious ISAF Youth Sailing World Championships. Limmasol, Cyprus will play host to this year’s regatta which gathers together national teams from around the world and runs from 13-20 July 2013.

Hosted once again by Bucklands Beach Yacht Club, an encouragingly increased number of nine Townson 32s entered for this year’s Championships together with seven Townsons for the Regatta on Saturday 13 April. Saturday dawned bright and clear with heavy dew and glassy calm and forecast 23 degrees. No wind of any significance was reported anywhere. Both fleets congregated at the entrance to the Tamaki River, bobbed around to the Waitemata slop from box boats and ferries and all hurried up and did nothing all day until Peter Stewart, the Race Officer gave up and called it quits for the day at 1400.

Brothers Sean Herbert (11 years old) and Liam Herbert (13 years old) from Manly Sailing Club went across to Perth, WA during the Easter weekend to compete in the 4th Australian O'pen Bic Nationals.

Taking the Girl’s 420 spot on the NZL Sailing Team are Napier sailors 17 year old Olivia Mackay and 15 year old Abi Goodwin. Placing second overall in the 420 at 2013 Oceanbridge Sail Auckland, and top girls, Olivia and Abi were in good shape for the selection in February, but left everyone in no doubt when they beat the boys and took the Open 420 National Championship for 2013 at the regatta sailed in gorgeous conditions off Takapuna at Easter.

The calibre of the owner drivers in the 2013 Young 88 fleet is enough to put the heat on the most seasoned professionals. Members of Emirates Team New Zealand have entered several times and prevailed over the last few years but this year the cat is amongst the pigeons and their desire for a serious one design competition has been foiled by other commitments.

Ponsonby Cruising Club extends an invitation to ALL Auckland yachties to join the PCC ANZAC Day Regatta on Wednesday 25th April.

Download the flyer here.  

Here’s a look at the up-coming sailing related events around the country for the next couple of weeks. See the YNZ on-line calendar for full details of these events and those on beyond that. Are you organising an event you would like to see included? Don’t miss out on some free promotion for your sailing events by adding them to the YNZ on-line calendar here.

Tauranga sailors feature once again the line-up for the 2013 NZL Yachting Trust Youth Team with Zak Merton and Sam Barnett continuing the stream of talent to come from the Tauranga Yacht & Powerboat Club over recent years. Sam and Zak have been selected for the boy’s double-handed dinghy spot to sail the 420 at the 2013 ISAF Youth Sailing World Championships on from 13-20 July in Limmasol, Cyprus.

New Zealand’s Markus Sommerville and Jack Simpson have won the 29er division at the 2013 RYA Youth National Championships which wrapped up on April 5th in Largs, Scotland. The victory bodes well for Markus and Jack, both Wakatere Boating Club sailors, who have been selected to represent New Zealand in the 29er at the 2013 ISAF Sailing Youth World Championships on in July in Cyprus, and were using this regatta as a lead-up event.

The Race Coach course focuses on developing skills to coach groups learning to race, and also sailors moving up from learn-to-sail syllabus (green fleet).