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Iconic New Zealand Yacht Enters Sail Noumea

17 May 2012


 

One of New Zealand’s iconic yachts, Steinlager 2, which recently returned home after several decades abroad, is set to race in the Royal Akarana Yacht Club hosted Auckland to Noumea race, Sail Noumea.

 

Steinlager 2 is best known as the yacht skippered by the late Sir Peter Blake, which won the 1989 Whitbread Round the World race. She won every leg over the line and on handicap, an unprecedented record which still stands. Steinlager 2 was then voted “Yacht of the Year” by the Yachting Magazine, and went on to clock up many more race titles.

 

Following the Whitbread victory, Steinlager 2 sailed under different names and colours such as ‘Safilo’ and ‘Barracuda’ for various owners in Italy. Her most recent Swiss owner Stefan Detjen had a passion for her iconic history and undertook a full refit, restoring her original colours and name. Stefan entered Steinlager 2 into the Volvo Ocean Race Legends Regatta in Alicante, Spain and had a mix of original crew on board plus supporters.  Two of those supporters, Tony Stevenson and William Goodfellow were trustees for the NZ Sailing Trust and started the conversation with Stefan which has resulted in the return home.

 

Steinlager 2 enjoyed a grand entry back to the Viaduct on the 5th of May with original crew and their families on board for the final leg.  She was escorted by a flotilla of yachts including several from Royal Akarana Yacht Club.  She then had a formal Maori welcome, and Mayor Len Brown was on hand to welcome her into Auckland.

 

Steinlager 2 is now part of the NZ Sailing Trust, set up primarily to preserve the yachts Sir Peter Blake sailed on and to ensure the next generation has the opportunity to experience the thrill of maxi-yacht racing on these legendary boats. The Trust also enters these iconic yachts in race events to give people the opportunity of being on the crew, and to engage with the sailing community. The first major activity Steinlager 2 will be undertaking is the Auckland to Noumea leg of Sail Noumea and a great crew has assembled to be a part of the event.

 

The Auckland to Noumea leg of Sail Noumea starts on Saturday 2nd June.  The HMNZS MANAWANUI is the official start boat and traditional cannon will be fired at 1400 hours signalling the start of the race.

 

The start line will be off Orakei with the best vantage points being the Orakei Wharf, Tamaki Drive (near Kelly Taltons) and North Head.

 

The yachts will be fitted with satellite trackers with virtual spectators able to watch the fleet as they race to Cercle Nautique Caledonien in Noumea.

 

For the first time this race is being run in conjunction with Royal Queensland Yacht Squadron who will race from Brisbane to Noumea with the fleets meeting at the finish race.

 

For more information visit www.sailnoumea.com or www.facebook.com/sailnoumea



Vote for Tomo and Mily

17 May 2012

From the forums:

 

Hey guys,
We're getting married and to afford the wedding party in Argentina, we've entered a contest to win $10.000!!!
The idea? bring the outdoors, Indoor, so we made a video and now we need votes to win!!

The link is this one: http://win.hitachiheatpumps.co.nz/user/30

No registration needed, just click on the link, click on VOTE. You can do it once per hour, as many times as you like!

Every vote counts, so please help us and spread the word!!

Hope you liked the video and click Vote Vote Vote!!!!

Thanks,

Tomo & Mily



Young 88 Single Handed Championships

17 May 2012

Bruce Elliott Memorial: 20 May 2012

 

 

Record Fleet of Fifteen Boats Likely

 

The Young 88 fleet is once again proving its popularity as an all purpose racing and cruising boat with a record number of entries for this Sunday’s regatta to be hosted by the Royal Akarana Yacht Club.

 

Short handed sailing is becoming increasingly popular as evidenced by the growing numbers of boats participating in one, two and three handed events.  The Young 88 is ideally suited to this type of sailing with all control lines leading aft, primary winches adjacent to the helm and the option of a non overlapping headsail.

 

Grant Crawford Y88 Association President said “We knew the class was gaining popularity as a great value, all-purpose cruiser racer but the level of interest in this weekend’s single handed event has surpassed expectations”

 

Entrants include the usual Y88 suspects plus well known sailors returning to have a crack at them like yacht designer Greg Elliot.  Greg built some of the first Y88s in the early 80’s before branching out into his own highly successful design business.

 

Last year’s champion, Nathan Williams on Slipstream III will not be back to defend his title this year, as he’s off to find another this weekend at the Elliott 5.9 Regatta in the Bay of Islands.

 

Racing will be harbour course/s around the permanent yellow racing marks.  The current forecast is great, with clear skies and a suitably soft 10kt Southwester.

 

The Y88 shorthanded program continues to build through the winter with the Y88 Two Handed Champs on Sunday June 17th.   The SSANZ Simrad Triple Series follows, starting in July and is always well supported by a good fleet of Y88s.

 

To enter the Y88 Single Handed or Two Handed events click here http://www.rayc.org.nz/young-88/

More information on the Young 88’s can be found online on their website www.young88.org.nz

Results will be made available online on the RAYC website www.rayc.org.nz

Photos and more online “like” the Young88 Facebook page www.facebook.com/youngeightyeight

 

Entrants to date include:

#

Skipper Name

Boat Name

Sail #

Yacht Club

1.

Jeffrey Hopper

Raging Hormones

9105

MBSC

2.

Jacko van Deventer

Sailor Moon

6398

KIYC

3.

Nigel Garland

Heartlight

8202

SSANZ

4.

Ben Tilly

Dilemma

5588

TBA

5.

Brett Elliott

Slip Stream

325

RNZYS

6.

Nick Bastow

Medium Dry

6284

RNZYS

7.

David Stanton

Sister Moonshine

5088

RNZYS

8.

Damon Jolliffe

Sonic

5514

RNZYS

9.

Chris Binning

Heaven 'n' Hell

6940

BBYC

10.

Rick Hackett

Skitzo

884

SSANZ

11.

Grant Crawford

Leglesss

6188

WBC

12.

Greg Elliott

First Class

6088

RNZYS

13.

Bill Dalbeth

Waka Huia

8022

SSANZ


Here's Des

17 May 2012



Two NZL crews in 470 top ten

16 May 2012

The NZL Sailing Team’s last wave of World Championship campaigns for 2012 are underway in Europe for the Finn, 470 and Laser Radial sailors.

Left: Paul Snow Hansen and Jason Saunders at the 470 World Championships in Barcelona, Spain. Photo by Thom Touw.

Six races have now been completed at the 470 World Championships for both Men and Women, ending the qualifying series. Both Olympic bound Kiwi crews are inside the top ten of the gold fleet as they head into six final series races before the double point medal race on Saturday for the top ten boats.

Jo Aleh and Olivia (Polly) Powrie celebrated Jo’s 26th birthday today with an opening race win, and followed that up with a strong fourth. They are currently positioned in third overall, but there is only a five point difference from first to sixth, so this regatta is far from over.

Paul Snow Hansen and Jason Saunders experienced a big jump up the leader board today as they were able to discard their black flag score (penalty for being over the start line too early) from the first race on day one. All their other results have been consistently inside the top seven, and they go into the final series ranked ninth overall.

Dan Slater currently sits 19th overall at the Finn Gold Cup in Falmouth, after sailing today in cold and stormy conditions brought him both his best and worst races of the regatta so far. In the opening race with winds up to 20kn he did well to finish 9th, however a 32nd place finish in the second race became his discard score. 

Just four more series races remain at the Finn Gold Cup before the final medal race for competitors in the top ten overall. Lighter winds are forecast for tomorrow.

The Laser Radial World Championship started today in Boltenhagen, Germany, at the same venue which last week the NZL Sailing Team’s Andy Maloney left with a bronze medal.  Sara Winther made a good clean start with second and 22nd place finishes in the first two races. Ten more races are left to be sailed at the Laser Radial World Championships.

 



2012 Champion of Champions

14 May 2012

 

 

Royal Akarana Yacht Club hosted the 2012 edition of the Champion of Champions regatta over the 11, 12 and 13th May in the Platu 25 keelboats.

 

Seven teams entered the 3 day regatta with 11 races started and finished across a variety of courses on Waitemata Harbour.

 

The Champion of Champions regatta has a long history at RAYC however hadn’t been raced for 20 years.  Past winners include names like Chris Dickson, Rod Davis and Russell Coutts. 

 

The 2012 title went to the Team Elliott 5.9 skippered by Cameron Horne with the crew Grant McKinnon, Andrew Clarke, Phil Quinn and Andy Robertson.  They had a very successful regatta with six bullets, four seconds and a DNS in the final race of the regatta.

 

“We had a fantastic regatta and I’m pretty happy to be the revived Champion of Champions but definitely couldn’t have done it without my awesome crew,” said Horne.

 

“It’s so good to be back at RAYC racing and although the Platus are a bit of a handful, the challenge was great.

 

“Everything about this regatta really made it a brilliant event.  The breakfasts and huge crew lunch packs as well as the dinners and entertainment.  It was awesome to socialise with all the crews before and after racing.

“We really hope to be back next year representing the Elliott 5.9 class again!” continued Horne.

 

Hot on their tails finishing second was team Flying Fifteen skippered by the 1991 Champion of Champions Craig Coulam with the crew Cody Banks, Sally Garrett,  Roger Hall and Chris Field.

 

Wrapping up the podium places with third was team Young 88 skippered by Samantha Osbourne with a crew of Ross Masters, Grant Turnbull, Phil Yuill and John Kensington.

 

The teams were engaged at RAYC for the duration of the event and were the best fed sailors in Auckland!  The entry included breakfast, lunch packs and dinner for the three days with entertainment on Saturday night in the club house.

2012 Final Results
1st           Team Elliott 5.9 (Cameron Horne)
2nd          Team Flying Fifteen (Craig Coulam)
3rd           Team Young 88 (Samantha Osbourne)
4th           Team Laser (Mike Keeton)
5th           Team Farr 727 (Nathan Bonney)
6th           Team Finn (Karl Purdie)
7th           Team Platu 25 (Tristan Campbell)

 

Champion of Champions Honour Board
1981       Doug Elder
1982       Chris Dickson
1983       Chris Dickson
1984       Tom Dodson
1985       Rick Dodson
1986       Russell Coutts
1987       Rod Davis
1988       Rex Watson
1989       Ray Shearer
1990       Ray Shearer
1991       Craig Coulam
1992       Kelvin Harrap
2012       Cameron Horne

 

Champion of Champions will be scheduled in 2013 with class associations invited to nominate their representing skipper and crew.  More information will be made available at the end of the year.

 

The next events on the RAYC program is the Offshore Category 1 race Sail Noumea starting on the 2nd June and then the autumn edition of Sail Akarana on the 16/17 June.  For more information visit www.rayc.org.nz  

 



Tactics

14 May 2012

 

RYC asked Mike for a quick bio and he sent this:

I started boating with the family at a very young age but did not start racing until 1963. I have sailed on a lot of different boats, some of which are -  P class, Cherokee, R class, OK, 470, FD, Laser, Javline, Etchills, Solings, various multi Hulls, Quarter tonner, Half tonners, One tonners, Admirals Cuppers, Local classes like Stuart 34, plus many more boats. I retired from sailing in 1990 (apart from racing Mistral Windsurfers winning Masters titles a few times) and came back sailing as a Masters Laser Sailor in 2002, winning various titles ranging from club champs to open North Harbour & North island, Auckland and national masters titles, Australian Masters title & World Master title in March this year.  

 

Prior to retiring in 1990, I had done a lot of ocean miles including two round the world races (as Watch Skipper and Tactician), plus things like the Fastnet & Sydney Hobart and many races in the Pacific. 

I have also delivered yachts round the pacific, atlantic & Med as well as coached people both locally and internationally.  

 

I worked out many years back that by 1985 I had done 100,000 ocean miles and spent more days in my life on boats than on shore.    

 

I trust this is enough information.  

 

Mike Keeton     

 

 

Surprisingly he didn't mention getting beaten in the 1972 Cherokee Nationals by a certain Crew Ogre (before I became a dedicated cruiser).



Silver again for Burling and Tuke

13 May 2012

From YNZ:

Peter Burling and Blair Tuke, NZ's London 2012 bound 49er Sailors, have achieved a second consecutive silver medal at the 49er World Championships.
  
Left: Peter Burling and Blair Tuke wore the symbolic blue racing bib during the final series as they remained in second on the final three days of racing.  photo by Nikola Šiško

Overnight in Zadar, Croatia, two final series races were sailed and then the double point medal race for the top ten competitors in the gold fleet. Nathan Outteridge and Ian Jensen of Australia won this event for the fourth time.

“We started today with nine points to catch up on them, but we tried a few things in the first race that didn’t quite work out”, said Peter after racing.  

“We lost a couple more points so they had a big enough lead so we couldn’t get to him.” Peter continued.  “For the rest of the day we just had to focus on holding the French back to secure the silver.”

The 19 years old kiwi duo Marcus Hansen and Josh Porebski also had a fantastic result, not only making it into the medal race for the first time at a 49er World Championships, but also taking the race victory in this higher intensity double point race. 

Marcus and Josh finished 6th overall, after obviously putting in heaps of training between this regatta and the 2011 World Championships where they came 32nd.

“It was a blinder for them” Peter said, “and great practice for us”.

As like most of the regatta, the final day was sailed in relatively light winds with an average of a 7-9 knot sea breeze.

Peter (21 years old) and Blair (22 years old) now come home for a short rest before the ISAF Sailing World Cup regatta Skandia Sail for Gold at the Olympic Venue (4-9 June) and then it’s all focus on the games themselves which starts for them on 30 July.

London 2012 will be Peter Burling’s second trip to the Olympic Games, as he went in 2008 at the age of 17 with Carl Evans in the men’s 470 and finished 11th.  Last time, Peter was New Zealand’s youngest Olympic sailor ever, and he is again this year the youngest on the team.

The Olympic class 470 World Championships and Finn Gold Cup start tonight (NZT) with the 470’s in Spain and the Finns at Falmouth from the Royal Cornwall Yacht Club. The Laser Radial World Championships start on May 15th.

May 13th Final standings
49er World Championships
2nd - Peter Burling and Blair Tuke
6th - Marcus Hansen and Josh Porebski

The RS:X World Championships were sailed in March, and JP Tobin came away with a Bronze medal, setting the bar high for the team to follow. Andy Maloney grabbed up a bronze medal at the Laser World Championships which finished on May 10th.

 

Daily updates for all events including results will be posted via the NZL Sailing Team’s Facebook Page and Twitter accounts. Further press releases will be issued from Yachting New Zealand.


- ENDS-

World Championship Schedule

2012 49er World Championships
Venue: Zadar, Croatia
Racing Starts: May 7th
Final Races: May 12th
Representing New Zealand: Peter Burling/Blair Tuke, Marcus Hansen/Josh Porebski
Regatta Website: www.49erworlds.org

2012 Finn World Championships
Venue: Falmouth, England
Racing Starts: May 13th
Final Races: May 18th
Representing New Zealand: Dan Slater, Matt Coutts, Rob Coutts
Regatta Website: www.falmouthfinnfestival.com

2012 470 World Championships
Venue: Barcelona, Spain
Racing Starts: May 13th
Final Races: May 19th
Representing New Zealand: Jo Aleh/ Olivia (Polly) Powrie, Paul Snow Hansen/Jason Saunders
Regatta Website: http://worlds.470.org

2012 Radial World Championships
Venue: Boltenhagen, Germany
Racing Starts: May 15th
Final Races: May 20th
Representing New Zealand: Sara Winther
Regatta Website: www.laserworldchampionship.com/





Star result qualifies NZ's Olympic eligibility

12 May 2012

From YNZ:

 

As a result of their seventh place finish at the Star World Championships overnight, Hamish Pepper and Jim Turner have qualified New Zealand's tenth and last Olympic yachting spot for the London 2012 Olympics.

Left: NZL’s Star fared well in a regatta that brought predominantly light wind. Photo by PierrickContin.fr/Coych.

Although with the final race they dropped one place down the leader board, a seventh place overall finish in this experienced fleet is no small feat for this relatively new Kiwi pairing. First and second overall at these 2012 World Championships went to 2008 Olympic Gold and Silver medallists, the well known Brazillian Robert Scheidt and British Iain Percy. 

Essentially, their collection of one of the final four Olympic qualification spots in the Star class has made them eligible for nomination and selection for London 2012.  

The NZL Sailing Team had another strong day at the 49er World Championships in Zadar, Croatia; Peter and Blair remain in second overall and have slightly closed the gap on reigning World Champions and regatta leader Nathan Outteridge and Iain Jensen.

Peter and Blair finished silver at the 2011 ISAF Sailing World Championship and they are aiming to podium again this year. They go into the final day of racing just 9 points behind the lead boat and with a 21 point buffer on the third placed French boat.

Also doing very well at the 49er worlds is Marcus Hansen and Josh Porebski, Peter and Blair’s training partners. They are currently in 10th place overall and closer to the boats in front than behind.  Tomorrow at the 49er World Championship there may be two more final series races before the double point medal race for the top ten teams only.

New Zealand is now one of the small handful of nations that is qualified in all ten Olympic yachting disciplines, and athlete selection announcements have already been made in seven. Just 75 days remain until the start of the London 2012 Olympic Games.

May 12th Final Standings
Star World Championships
7th - Hamish Pepper and Jim Turner

May 12th Current Standings
49er World Championships
2nd - Peter Burling and Blair Tuke
10th - Marcus Hansen and Josh Porebski

Most other remaining Olympic representatives will be starting their World Championship run later in the week, with the Finns starting at Falmouth and 470’s in Barcelona on Sunday overnight (NZT) and the Laser Radial last to start on Tuesday overnight.

The RS:X World Championships were sailed in March, and JP Tobin came away with a Bronze medal, setting the bar high for the team to follow. Andy Maloney grabbed up a bronze medal at the Laser World Championships which finished on May 10th.

Daily updates for all events including results will be posted via the NZL Sailing Team’s Facebook Page and Twitter accounts. Further press releases will be issued from Yachting New Zealand.




Andy Maloney takes Bronze at Laser World Championships

11 May 2012

From YNZ;

The NZL Sailing Team produced results to remember overnight, lead by Andy Maloney’s bronze medal finish at the 2012 Laser World Championships in Germany.

Star sailors Hamish Pepper and Jim Turner won their race and secured the country’s qualification spot for the Olympic Games, and the 49er men climbed up the leader board to second overall.

Left: Andy Maloney excelled in all wind ranges at the 2012 Laser World Championships. Photo by Johannes Berg

This podium finish is a personal best for Andy, and comes just two weeks after a silver medalling performance at the ISAF World Cup regatta Semaine Olympique Francaise, and five months after his previous personal best of a 13th place at the 2011 ISAF Sailing World Championships.

Sam Meech, who like Andy Maloney is just 21 years old, finished well in 17th and this is his best result so far at the Open World Championships. Sam won the 2011 Laser Junior Worlds and is certainly one to watch in the future.

Andrew Murdoch, New Zealand’s Olympic representative in the Laser class, also finished on a high note by winning the last race. He finished the 2011 ISAF Sailing World Championships with a bronze medal and this 2012 edition in 25th but continues to prove that he has what it takes to stay at the front of the fleet.

Australia’s Tom Slingsby won this World Championship regatta for the fifth time.

May 11th Final Results
Laser World Championahips
3rd  - Andy Maloney
17th  - Sam Meech
25th  - Andrew Murdoch
86th - Thomas Saunders
101st - Michael Cate

Hamish Pepper and Jim Turner also won their race today, and with this they have locked in the country’s qualification in this class at the 2012 Olympic Games. Just one race remains tomorrow at the 2012 Star World Championships in Hyeres, France, and Hamish and Jim will go into it sixth overall, but just five points off the podium.

Peter Burling and Blair Tuke had another strong day at the 49er World Championships in Hyeres, they have progressed up the leader board to now sit second overall behind reigning World Champions Nathan Outteridge and Iain Jensen. Peter and Blair finished silver at the 2011 ISAF Sailing World Championship and are aiming to podium again this year.

Marcus Hansen and Josh Porebski, Peter and Blair’s training partners who are both just 19 years, old are also in fine form, currently 12th. One more full day of racing continues tomorrow before the medal race on Saturday night (NZT).

May 11th Current Standings
Star World Championships
6th - Hamish Pepper and Jim Turner

49er World Championships
2nd - Peter Burling and Blair Tuke
12th - Marcus Hansen and Josh Porebski

Most other remaining Olympic representatives will be starting their World Championship run later in the week, with the Finns starting at Falmouth and 470’s in Barcelona on May 13th, and the Laser Radial last to start on May 15th.

The RS:X World Championships were sailed in March, and JP Tobin came away with a Bronze medal, setting the bar high for the team to follow.

Daily updates for all events including results will be posted via the NZL Sailing Team’s Facebook Page and Twitter accounts. Further press releases will be issued from Yachting New Zealand.