It is run out of Willow Park Camp, which is right on the beach at Eastern Beach in Auckland. It is designed to support and advance our top Opti sailors as they develop their sailing and racing capabilities. It has a cap of 60 sailors with some of NZL’s top coaches assisting the sailors, as well as some guest speakers.

A record 15 New Zealand Optimist sailors made the short trip to Melbourne for the 2014 Australian Optimist Nationals. The Australian Optimist fleet has grown rapidly over the last few years, so with 350 entries across the Green, Intermediate and Open fleets, it was the largest one design regatta held in the Southern Hemisphere.

The quality of racing in both the men’s and women’s Olympic skiff events at 2014 Oceanbridge Sail Auckland is guaranteed to be world class with both fleets featuring not only both reigning world champions but the also men’s silver medallists from the 2013 Worlds, and top female 49erFX crews from the Netherlands, Japan and Australia.

Firstly- you may be wondering what IS a classifier? A classifier is a person with both a sailing and medical background that conducts functional testing on sailors with a physical disability, in order to determine their ‘class’ or points allocation for competition in Paralympic class boats. They are volunteers, like other race officials, and have a structured education pathway not too unsimilar to that of a Judge or Race Officer.

The NZL Sailing Team and Maersk Line are together putting on a Sausage Sizzle at Oceanbridge Sail Auckland, free for all competitors, volunteers and sponsors of the event. From 4:00pm (after racing) on Monday Februrary 3rd, you are invited to join the NZL Sailing Team for some casual food and drink at the Royal Akarana Yacht

Bill Penrose, a Life Member of the Otago Trailer Yacht Squadron and past long serving Secretary passed away on Saturday 18 January 2014.

Emirates Team New Zealand will return to the Extreme 40 circuit this year, skipper Dean Barker announced today. The first regatta will be held next month. Barker says the team needs to start developing the sailing team for the 35th America’s Cup while integrating Peter Burling and Blair Tuke into the squad.

Manukau Yacht & Motorboat Club sailors Robin Williams and Derek Hickman sailing SHAKING LAUNDRY are the winners of the 48th Hartley 16 National Champs held at the Manukau Yacht and Motor Boat Club last weekend.

Recently five New Zealand 420 pairs - Sam Barnett/ Zak Merton, Liv Mackay/Abby Goodwin, Eliza Wilkinson/Kate Stewart, Emma Stenhouse/ Brittany Wornall and Taylor Balogh/Cameron Moss competed at the Australian 420 Nationals and the Australian Youth Championship held at the Sorrento Sailing and Couta Boat Club on the Mornington Peninsula near Melbourne.

The 2014 Oki 24 hour race and 6 hour Optimist Race are only 3 weeks away on the 8th and 9th of February.