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October's secondary schools team sailing national championships will see the return of the interdominion championships, with teams from Australia crossing the ditch for the first time in a few years.
The secondary schools nationals will be held at the Sandspit Yacht Club in Algies Bay on October 3-7. The nationals were postponed earlier this year due to Covid-19.
Entries are open for the nationals, with all the details found here.
There's been some team sailing over the winter, including a group of 20 young teams racing sailors from Dunedin to Kerikeri who travelled to Rarotonga for a sailing camp during their school holidays.
The New Zealand Teams Sailing Association have organised groups of young sailors to sail on the turquoise waters of Muri lagoon since 2004. The initiative began to support the development of competitive sailing in Rarotonga and has been an annual event ever since.
The teams this year experienced the thrill of Vaka sailing, which is a traditional-style outrigger sailing vessel ideal for the local conditions. When the storm surge kept all other boats off the water, the Kiwi sailors were able to ride over the waves and had a blast.
The Vaka crews raced for a new award, the Sean Dickey Memorial trophy, which was fittingly won by the team from Wanaka - Sean’s hometown - one point ahead of Northland. NZTSA now have a fleet of six Vaka and it's intended that many more New Zealand sailors of all ages venture to Rarotonga to enjoy the excitement and challenge of sailing the class.
On top of that, the sailors were able to hone their teams racing skills in the fleet of 24 Sunbursts and there were also some low-key evening coaching sessions.
