As it happened: 2026 Oceanbridge Sail Auckland at Torbay Sailing Club, Day 4

Sun 1 Feb 2026

2026 Oceanbridge Sail Auckland results:

29er fleet
1. Blake Batten/Hugo Smith
2. Will Leech/William Mason
3. Nelsen Meacham/Oli Stone
4. Mia Austin/Zara Marks (Australia)
5. Bella Jenkins/Jess Handley
10. Greta Hutton/Amelia Higson

49er fleet
1. Seb Menzies/George Lee Rush
2. Sebastian Schneiter/Arno De Planta (Switzerland)
3. Mattias Coutts/Oscar Gunn

49erFX fleet
1. Nicola Hume/Rebecca Hume
2. Darcy Robbins/Eva Attwood (Australia)
3. Erin Kee/Isla Kee

ILCA 6
1. Maud Jayet (Switzerland)
2. Erika Reineke (USA)
3. Tom Pilkington
4. Greta Pilkington
5. Filippo Bassano (Italy)
6. George Lane

ILCA 7
1. Michael Beckett (GBR)
2. George Gautrey
3. Caleb Armit

420
1. Zofia Wells/Charlotte Handley
2. Amber Hughes/Phoebe Willis
3. Hamish Brown/Nathan Soper

Kitefoil
1. Jannis Maus (Germany)
2. Jan Voester (Germany)
3. Oscar Timm
8. Jessie Kampman (Netherlands)
9. Breiana Whitehead (Australia)
10. Ellie Aldridge (GBR)

iQFOiL 7.3m
1. Aimee Bright
2. Maya Gysler (Norway)
3. Stella Bilger

iQFOiL 8m
1. Rory Meehan (Australia)
2. Josh Armit
3. Eli Liefting

Wingfoil
1. Adam Mark
2. Liam Parker
3. Charlie Solly

That's a wrap for 2026!

That concludes our live coverage of the 2026 Oceanbridge Sail Auckland regatta! Thank you for joining us. See you again next year.

Mauss crowned kite king

Jannis Maus has won the only completed race of the kitefoil grand final to secure the overall title. Jan Voester, who headed into the medal series as the overall leader, finished second overall, with New Zealand’s Oscar Timm claiming third.

Post-race reaction from Seb Menzies, helm of the winning 49er team, alongside George Lee Rush:

"It was a good week for us. We certainly liked the light airs, which worked in our favour. We sailed fast and smart, so overall, it was a solid week. We're focusing on improving in stronger breezes, as that's definitely our weakness, and that's where we'll be putting in the work. If we can improve our speed in those conditions, then hopefully we can do even better."

No wind for windfoilers

It's been another day of waiting ashore for the iQFOiL sailors due to the marginal conditions, and principal race officer Ian Clouston has just hoisted AP over A.

Late ILCA 7 drama

We’re almost done with the action on the water, but there’s been some drama in the jury room. George Gautrey has been forced to retire from the first race today, which he had won, following a successful protest from a competitor. As a result, Gautrey will be overtaken on the overall leaderboard by Micky Beckett, who now claims the 2026 Oceanbridge Sail Auckland title. Gautrey finishes 5 points behind the British star, with Caleb Armit still in third.

420: No stopping Wells and Handley

Meanwhile, Zofia Wells and Charlotte Handley secured the 420 title with a flawless final day, winning both of today’s races - and the last five consecutively. They finished 6 points ahead of Amber Hughes and Phoebe Willis, with Hamish Brown and Nathan Soper taking third.

Batten and Smith top in the 29er!

Blake Batten and Hugo Smith closed out the regatta with back-to-back victories to secure the 29er crown, finishing 10 points ahead of 2025 NZL Sailing Foundation youth team members Will Leech and Will Mason. Nelsen Meacham and Oli Stone took third. Mia Austin and Zara Marks were the top female team, finishing fourth overall, followed by Bella Jenkins and Jess Handley in fifth, and Greta Hutton and Amelia Higson in 10th.

Humes clinch 49erFX title

Nicola and Rebecca Hume are the 2026 Oceanbridge Sail Auckland 49erFX champions, having won all but one of the 15 races in the three-boat fleet. Australians Darcy Robbins and Eva Attwood finished second, with Erin and Isla Kee taking third.

49er: Menzies and Lee Rush do it again!

Seb Menzies and George Lee Rush have officially defended their Oceanbridge Sail Auckland title, clinching the 49er crown by an impressive 34.5 points. The Kiwi duo won six of the 15 races and finished outside the top five only twice. In second place are Swiss team Sebastian Schneiter and Arno De Planta, while Kiwis Mattias Coutts and Oscar Gunn rounded off the regatta with a strong finish, securing third place.

29er fleet almost decided

Blake Batten and Hugo Smith have won Race 14 in the 29er competition, all but securing their names on the trophy this year. The Kiwi duo now lead Australian pair Mia Austin and Zara Marks by 6 points, with only one race remaining. Nelsen Meacham and Oli Stone finished second in the race, while Will Leech and Will Mason took third.

Gautrey pips Beckett in ILCA 7 thriller

As expected, the ILCA 7 competition came down to the wire, with George Gautrey securing the title in the final race. Gautrey, who started the day in second place behind European and former world champion Michael Beckett, overtook the British sailor by winning the first two races. He then held on with a second-place finish in the final race, securing the crown by just 3 points. There was also an intense battle for third, with rising Kiwi stars Caleb Armit and George Pilkington, with Armit edging out Pilkington by a single point.

Maud Jayet on the depth of the domestic ILCA 6 fleet:

"I think it was good for us to have light winds because there were a few boats with good pace, both upwind and downwind, and they were fighting with us at the top. Maybe a bit less racing experience, which sometimes showed, and that’s why it was easier to have good races. But in general, I was really happily surprised by the overall level of the fleet."

Maud Jayet on sailing in New Zealand:

"This is pretty exceptional. I’m in the SailGP team, so it’s kind of like, I was in Perth two weeks ago. And now, obviously, with the lead-up to the Auckland event, it made sense for me to come here and train, instead of going all the way back to Europe and having to manage jet lag. So, I’ll be here until just before the Sydney event. I’m looking forward to spending the summer here."

Maud Jayet on her regatta:

"It was really good, lots of racing, which is nice to start the season. It was really nice racing with Erika Reineke and Greta (Pilkington). We’ve been sailing together a bit over the last couple of weeks. It was great racing against each other and also sailing with the rest of the New Zealand fleet."

Jayet takes out ILCA 6 title

We have our first (provisional) winner! Maud Jayet has taken the ILCA 6 fleet by the narrowest of margins. The Swiss Olympian and SailGP star beat American Erika Reineke by 1 point, despite finishing fourth in the 10th and final race of the regatta. Tom Pilkington finished as the top Kiwi and first male, after beating his older sister Greta to third place in the last race. Tom finished third in Race 10 to leapfrog Greta (who finished seventh) by one point. Italy’s Filippo Bassano and former men’s world champion George Lane ended the event in second and third place for the male sailors, finishing fifth and sixth overall.

49er: Bacon, McGlashan get on the board

It’s a first race win of the event for Sam Bacon and Blake McGlashan — the seventh different team to claim a bullet in the 49er class. They beat Sebastian Schneiter and Arno De Planta (Switzerland), and Akira Sakai and Russell Williams (Hong Kong) in Race 13. Seb Menzies and George Lee Rush retain the overall lead after finishing sixth.

New leader in 29er fleet

For the first time since halfway through Day 1, the 29er fleet has a new overall leader. Blake Batten and Hugo Smith (pictured) have just moved into the top spot after finishing third in Race 13. Previous leaders Mia Austin and Zara Marks finished sixth, dropping to second overall, with Will Leech and Will Mason in third. Bella Jenkins and Jess Handley have won their second race of the day and are now level on points with Leech and Mason.

420: Wells, Handley make it 4 from 4

Zofia Wells and Charlotte Handley are on course to claim the 420 crown. The young team have just won their fourth-straight race - and their sixth in the last seven - to cement their spot atop the leaderboard, ahead of Amber Hughes and Phoebe Willis, and Nathan Soper and Hamish Brown.

Jayet edges Reineke in ILCA 6 opener

The top four on the leaderboard have all finished in the top four of the first ILCA 6 race of the day. Swiss leader Maud Jayet crossed the line first, extending her lead over second-placed Erika Reineke of the US to 3 points. Reineke and Jayet have been neck and neck for most of the regatta and look set to take it all the way down to the wire. Kiwi hopeful Greta Pilkington finished just behind Jayet in the day's first race, followed by her younger brother Tom (pictured) in fourth. The siblings now sit third and fourth overall.

Gautrey closes gap in ILCA 7

There’s no shortage of drama on Course C either, where George Gautrey (pictured) has won the first ILCA 7 race of Day 4, closing the gap to fleet leader Mickey Beckett to just 1 point. Beckett scored a 3 in the race, behind Gautrey and George Pilkington, and now sits on 18 points. Caleb Armit is holding on to third overall for the time being, with Pilkington now just 2 points behind him.

Kitefoil: Walton-Keim and Timm into final

Back to Course B for the kitefoil semifinal, where Lukas Walton-Keim and Oscar Timm have booked their spots in the decider. Walton-Keim won the semi, with Timm finishing second, and they will now meet Germans Jan Voester and Jannis Maus in the grand final. Meanwhile, the regatta has ended for Dutch sailor Duuk van Hees and young Kiwi Toby Wigglesworth, whose competition ended in the semifinal after finishing third and fourth (with a DNF).

Humes win ninth FX race

Nicola and Rebecca Hume are not letting up on their dominance in the 49erFX fleet. The Kiwi sisters have won their ninth race and now lead by 6 points over Darcy Robbins and Eva Attwood of Australia.

49er: Menzies, Lee Rush moving closer to title

Staying on Course A, Seb Menzies and George Lee Rush have all but secured the title in the 49er fleet. Another race win to start the day - their sixth in 12 races - sees them extend their lead to 20.5 points over second-placed Nevin Snow and Ian Macdiarmid (USA), with Australians Otto Henry and Shaun Connor in third. Mattias Coutts and Oscar Gunn are the next best Kiwi team, sitting in fifth.

29er: Jenkins and Handley pushing for podium

Bella Jenkins and Jess Handley have started Day 4 on a bright note, taking out Race 12 in the 29er fleet - the first of three scheduled for today. It’s the pair’s first race win of the regatta, moving them into fifth place, just 2 points off third. Matteo Barker and Leo Brown finished second, with Nelsen Meacham and Oli Stone in third. Mia Austin and Zara Marks still lead overall but are now level on points with Blake Batten and Hugo Smith.

Kitefoil quarterfinals take shape

We have our first set of results in, and it's from the kitefoil fleet, where the final two fleet races have been completed to determine who will advance to the knockout stage of the competition. As the overall leader after the qualifying series, Germany's Jan Voester goes straight into the grand final, carrying with him 1 point. He’s joined by his countryman (and second-placed qualifier) Jannis Maus, who does not carry over any points. Third and fourth-placed qualifiers, Kiwis Lukas Walton-Keim (pictured) and Toby Wigglesworth, will advance straight to the semifinals. At the same time, four sailors - Oscar Timm, Duuk van Hees, Lochy Naismith, and Jessie Kampman - will battle it out in the quarterfinals.

Time for the big finale!

Welcome to Day Four — the final day — of the 2026 Oceanbridge Sail Auckland, hosted by the fantastic team at Torbay Sailing Club.

After three days of close racing across 10 fleets, today we’ll be crowning our champions.

Conditions started light this morning, but the fleets are now on the water and ready for racing to get underway.

Here’s a recap of the Day 3 leaderboard:

29er
1. Mia Austin/Zara Marks (Australia)
2. Blake Batten/Hugo Smith (NZ)
3. Will Leech/Will Mason (NZ)
4. Nelsen Meacham/Oli Stone (NZ)
6. Bella Jenkins/Jess Handley (NZ)
9. Tessa Clinton/Zenon Nicholas (NZ)
12. Greta Hutton/Amelia Higson (NZ)

49er
1. Seb Menzies/George Lee Rush (NZ)
2. Otto Henry/Shaun Connor (Aus)
3. Nevin Snow/Ian Macdiarmid (USA)

49erFX
1. Nicola Hume/Rebecca Hume (NZ)
2. Darcy Robbins/Eva Attwood (Australia)
3. Erin Kee/Isla Kee (NZ)

ILCA 6
1. Maud Jayet (Switzerland)
2. Erika Reineke (USA)
3. Greta Pilkington (NZ)
4. Tom Pilkington (NZ)
5. Arran Begic (NZ)
6. Filippo Bassano (Italy)

ILCA 7
1. Michael Beckett (Great Britain)
2. George Gautrey (NZ)
3. Caleb Armit (NZ)

420
1. Zofia Wells/Charlotte Handley (NZ)
2. Amber Hughes/Phoebe Willis (NZ)
3. Hamish Brown/Nathan Soper (NZ)

Kitefoil
1. Jan Voester (Germany)
2. Jannis Maus (Germany)
3. Lukas Walton-Keim (NZ)
8. Jessie Kampman (Netherlands)
9. Breiana Whitehead (Australia)
10. Ellie Aldridge (Great Britain)

iQFOiL 7.3m
1. Aimee Bright (NZ)
2. Maya Gysler (Norway)
3. Stella Bilger (NZ)

iQFOiL 8m
1. Rory Meehan (Australia)
2. Josh Armit (NZ)
3. Eli Liefting (NZ)

Wingfoil
1. Adam Mark (NZ)
2. Liam Parker (NZ)
3. Charlie Solly (NZ)