NZ success at 2016 Swire Shipping Paper Tiger Internationals

Mark Orams (Torbay) has won the 2016 Swire Shipping Paper Tiger International Championships which were hosted by Royal Akarana Yacht Club in Auckland over the Easter long weekend.

The regatta saw a very strong 37 boat fleet compete over four days in very difficult conditions which included light shifty breezes, choppy seas, ferry traffic, and lots of seaweed.

The event saw the overall International Individual title, the International Teams title and a range of age-group titles contested meaning that there was plenty up for grabs when the fleet hit the water.

Orams took the overall International Title following a consistent performance during the entire regatta, finishing on the podium 6 out of the 7 races. Orams finished with a 6 point lead over Hayden Percy (Napier) who sailed a great regatta and is one to watch in the future, while Matt Vincent (Nelson) rounded out the top three after a strong performance in his first regatta in a Paper Tiger for a number of years.

The junior title was dominated by defending Junior International Champion Dylan Taylor (New Plymouth) who picked up his 4th Junior title in a row. After nine tight races Taylor finished the regatta in 11th overall.

The Women's Title was taken away by Wellington sailor Lynley Manning in 28th place overall.

The International Teams Trophy is competed for between the New Zealand Kiwi Team & the Australian Kangaroo Team who are the selected top 10 based from each countries National Championships.
The Kiwi team dominated the event this year, taking out their third consecutive teams titles. However, they have a long way to go to match the Australian’s record run of 15 consecutive years from 1983 to 1998.

A huge thanks to the team at Royal Akarana Yacht Club, to Mark and Ann Hatch, and Annie Taylor from NZPTOA, and the Australians for making the huge effort to get across the ditch! Without all of you working so hard these regattas would not happen!

Full results and photos can be found here.

Overall results decided during the event include: