Hamish Hooper's VIDEOs from this week:  

Day 28 on the AC72 - time to push it 

A day in the life of sailing coach Joe Allen.

Chris Cameron's picture gallery from Day 28 is here 

New Zealand’s 2012 Olympic gold medal winning sailing pair have announced that they will campaign again with the 2016 Rio Olympic Games in their sights. Gold medallists in the Women’s 470, Jo Aleh and Olivia Powrie declared their intention to get back in the boat and do it all again at a sponsor function hosted by Apollo Projects in Christchurch last Thursday.

The young New Zealand crew of Alexandra Maloney and Molly Meech has taken out the 49erFX skiff at the 2012-2013 ISAF Sailing World Cup series opener (Sail Melbourne), just wrapped up today. The 49er FX is the women’s skiff class that will make its debut as an Olympic event in Rio 2016; and 2012 Sail Melbourne marks the class’s entrance into the ISAF Sailing World Cup Series.

Yachting New Zealand is pleased to welcome two new Sailability groups as Non Commercial Members: Sailability Taranaki and Sailability Wellington.

Wellington Ocean Sports is pleased to announce that it has launched a new Stand Up Paddleboard club “Port Nic Paddlers”.

For only $100 a year you can join Port Nic Paddlers and enjoy the following,

Welcome to the 2013 Port Nicholson Regatta - Your chance to be a Double National Champion.

Royal Port Nicholson Yacht Club is proud to launch the 2013 Port Nicholson Regatta - it's going to be a ripper!

The official ISAF film of the London 2012 Olympic Sailing Competition is available to order on DVD now.

The first book about Sir Peter Blake for younger readers Sir Peter Blake was a New Zealand hero – sailor, adventurer, leader and environmentalist. With the passing of over 10 years since his tragic death, the time is ripe for children and young adults to know more about his life and legacy. In The Story of Sir Peter Blake, award-winning author Tessa Duder tells Sir Peter’s life story for young readers, revealing what made him an inspirational leader and sailing legend.

Here’s a look at the up-coming sailing related events around the country for the next couple of weeks. See the YNZ on-line calendar for full details of these events and those on in January and beyond. Don’t see your event in there? Don’t miss out on some free promotion for your sailing events by adding them to the YNZ on-line calendar here.

It is an exciting time of the yachting year – event announcements, local yachting now in full swing and Awards recognition for many deserving yachties. Heading into the festive season I’d like to wish everyone a happy and safe Christmas whether cruising or racing. If you happen to be parked in a nice bay somewhere on our fantastic New Zealand coastline take a minute to remind yourself that we all need to continue to actively protect and preserve those magic spots for all recreational users – at Yachting New Zealand we certainly put it high on our priority list.