News

Oceanbridge Sail Auckland 2013 is pleased to announce a progressive travel rebate for Olympic and Paralympic class competitors from outside the Auckland region. The rebate is to encourage New Zealand wide Olympic and Paralympic sailors to join in New Zealand’s only ISAF Grade 1 regatta at Royal Akarana Yacht Club 2-5 February 2013.

TV3 reporter Greg Pearson went for a ride on Emirates Team New Zealand’s AC72 and talks with Dean Barker and Grant Dalton. His report:

A whopping 163 young sailors descended on Lake Taupo for the Optimist North Island Championships November 16-18 in extremely challenging weather conditions. A wide range of wind strengths and cold temperatures did not get in the way of completing a full programme of twelve races.

It was great to see all 14 entered boats make the start line. Only Marilyn (sunburn) and Farrago II (mast damage) didn’t quite make it. Congratulations to Team Vodafone Sailing who set a new multihull race record. They beat their own record that they set in 2010 by just 3 minutes and 2 seconds. They completed the race in 27 hours 11 minutes and 58 seconds. Brilliant effort!

Sailors and spectators are invited to mark their diaries now for one of the world's oldest sailing regattas, incorporating events for all types of yachts big and small, dragon boats, tugboats remote controlled yachts, and more. Harking back to the days when sailing was a true national sport, Auckland Anniversary Regatta is a spectacle of a birthday present for a city that is encircled by water.

In just five days Melbourne will welcome the Olympic sailing world for the first ISAF Sailing World Cup regatta of the 2012-2013 series. The 49erFX will be seen on the world stage for the first time at a major international regatta and with seven entries, five from Australia, one from Norway and one from New Zealand, it marks the start of the road to Rio.