News

Sport Auckland has announced the nominees and finalists for the 2012 Sporting Excellence Awards and two yachting crews are among the finalists. Andrew McKenzie is a finalist in the Junior Sportsman category, and Jo Aleh and Olivia Powrie are finalists in the Team of the Year category. In all categories a large number of quality sportsmen and women were nominated. The announcement of the winners of each category as well as the overall winner of the 2012 Sport Auckland Sporting Excellence Awards will take place on Thursday November 29th at 6pm at Top of the Park, Alexandra Park Raceway.

A new series of championship regattas will be organised in Europe next year, under the name EUROSAF Champions Sailing League® using the above logo. The new series, which incorporates all Olympic disciplines, had previously been announced in May of this year. These regattas will incorporate new innovations in race formats that will make sailing easier to follow and more attractive for sailors, media and spectators alike. The EUROSAF Champions Sailing League® will be staged over five professionally organised events, starting in May 2013 at the Fraglia Vela Riva, Lake Garda, Italy. The Dutch Delta Lloyd Regatta in Medemblik is next, followed by Sail for Gold at the 2012 Olympic venue of Weymouth & Portland in the UK. Kieler Woche in Germany will be the fourth event in the series, which will conclude later in the year with the Semaine Olympique Française, at La Rochelle, France. The first four events take place in the ISAF defined ‘European Window’ and all five events qualify for ISAF ranking points.

The first of the season’s Zone Development Clinics for the Otago Region took place over the weekend of the 13th and 14th October at the Macandrew Bay Boating Club on the Otago Harbour. The Zone Development Clinic was targeted at the growing fleet of Starling sailors in the area at present. The goal was to see these sailors competing with confidence at the Nationals in Picton later in the year as well as other significant regattas both within the region and the greater South Island.

At the opening of the 2012-13 Summer Sailing season recently the Port Chalmers Yacht Club was able to display some yachting history, both of regional and national significance. Two miniature trophies awarded by the late Mr George.A.Wiseman were shown to members for the first time in many years. The trophies date back to 1925 and are exact silver replicas of the actual trophies that Mr Wiseman won that year.

Specialists in marine medical training and supply Yacht Lifeline has two medical courses scheduled in Auckland, in November.

The LiteClub programme is proving popular with 16 yacht clubs around the North Island already on board and freeing up money through the energy efficiency service offered. As part of this completely free service, the LiteClub team visits clubs and shows them ways to be more efficient with electricity, water and waste management. 16 yacht clubs are now working with LiteClub including the Ponsonby Cruising Club, who was one of the most recent to be visited.

If you are racing in the NZMYC Coastal Classic today and wanting a wet fast ride, you will be thrilled. If you want to bask in the sun and enjoy the scenery, not so much. 20-30 knots is expected at the startline at Devonport Wharf in Auckland today and the 170 expected starters, including around 1,000 sailing crew, are looking at achieving some of the fastest times ever posted in the 30 year old race.