Classic Yacht Association Journal

ANDREW AITKEN ANDY ANDERSON BEACON MARINE COLIN & PATRICA CARRAN COLOURWORX ROY DICKSON DODSON JAPANESE PARTSWORLD DOYLE SAILS GRAEME EDWARDS GERALD FLYNN MATTHEW FLYNN GALBRAITH FAMILY DON GRAYSON HARKEN NZ PHILLIP HART HOPMAN FAMILY ICEFIRE LTD KZ RACE FURLERS LIGHTHOUSE MARINE EQUIPMENT LUCAS FAMILY MIKE MAHONEY STEVE MAIR MCKEOGH FAMILY MULCAHY ENGINEERING DAVID NATHAN NEW WORLD BIRKENHEAD PAGANI PORK CHOP RACING ANDREW REID SAVINGS WORKS JOHN & KATHRYN SINCLAIR SOUTHERN SPARS/ RIGPRO WASHTECH WESTHAVEN ROTARY WINDOWMAKERS HUGH L WRIGHT YACHTING DEVELOPMENTS ZHIK

SUPPORTERS Nick Egnot-Johnson and his Knots Racing crew victorious in the Theland Open Keelboat Nationals.

Our new RNZYS Performance Programme squad has been announced for the 2021/22 season. The squad includes some returning sailors as well as some new ones who have graduated up from the Mastercard Youth Training Programme.

The full list is: Nick Egnot-Johnson, Bradley McLaughlin, Sam Barnett, Zak Merton, Megan Thomson, Chelsea Rees, Serena Woodall, Josi Andres, Anna Merchant, Ellie Copeland, Robbie McCutcheon, Chester Duffett, Sam Street, Jack Frewin, Alastair Gifford, Max South, Frankie Dair, Niall Malone, Rachael Willison, Sam Hume, Ash Edwards.

We also had plenty of sailors graduate from the programme in April at a graduation ceremony held at the RNZYS. We wish them all the best with their future sailing endeavours. The honours list included: Lisa Dartnall - 1 year; Hunter Gardyne - 1 year; Will Clough - 1 year; George Angus - 2 years; Mitch Jackson - 2 years; Jordan Stevenson - 2 years; Jake Erson - 2 years; Alison Kent - 2 years; Celia Willison - 2 years; Paige Cook - 2 years; Charlotte Porter - 2 years.

Many of the new squad were in action during the busy month of May, including Nick Egnot-Johnson and his team who took out the Theland NZ Open Keelboat National Championship for the second time in three years.

Others competing in this event included Robbie McCutcheon and his team, who finished in seventh place overall. Their result could have been better if it wasn’t for a tough final day, where they recorded two 10th place finishes. McCutcheon and his newly named GCH Racing Team are going to be a solid addition to the squad; they are a keen young team and already have some great match racing and fleet racing experience – and results – to their name. Other members of the squad also took part in the event, including Niall Malone who was the bowman on board with PP Graduate Chris Steele and his Theland Race Team, as well as Alastair Gifford who was part of the successful Knots Racing victory. Megan Thomson’s 2.0 Racing Team had a brilliant result at the Barfoot & Thompson NZ Women’s Keelboat Nationals, finishing third in a very experienced fleet. They also had a solid result two weeks later at the Theland event, finishing in sixth place overall in what was again a very competitive fleet. In terms of major fleet or match racing regattas, that is it until the summer season begins later this year. However the sailors will be doing plenty of training throughout the winter months on the Elliott 7’s and the newly acquired Flying Phantom foiling catamarans. Many of the squad will also be doing big boat sailing throughout the Doyle Sails Winter Series, gaining valuable all round experience as they push forward with their sailing careers. By Andrew Delves

MASTERCARD YOUTH TRAINING PROGRAMME

The Mastercard Youth Training Programme (YTP) season kicked off with a new influx of sailors at the beginning of April. This followed shortly after the Harken National Secondary Schools Keelboat Championships, which saw a tight fight between two Westlake Boys High School teams resulting in Brayden Hamilton’s team taking the win over the other Westlake team comprised of YTP members Josh Hyde, Zac Fong, and Cody Coughlan, who tied and narrowly missed out on countback, ending up in 2nd place.

The 2021 Barfoot & Thompson NZ Women’s National Keelboat Championship followed shortly after in light and shifty conditions. YTP member Bella Boyd sailed with Sally Garrett, finishing up in 5th place and recent YTP Graduate Josi Andres sailed with Nurria Ferres, wrapping up the event in 7th. Our Performance Programme (PP) team 2.0 Racing helmed by Megan Thomson, improved on last year’s result by one place finishing in 3rd. With the continuous increase of girls in YTP, we’re hoping to see the flow-on effects of this through growth in our fleet for the Ladies Series and at the Women’s Keelboat Nationals in the near future.

From one extreme to the next, the 2021 Theland NZ Open National Keelboat Championships saw considerable breeze. The event brimmed with RNZYS YTP and PP members and graduates. YTP graduate Chris Steele returned to the RNZYS with his sponsored all-star Theland team, but it was our current PP team KNOTS Racing helmed by Nick Egnot-Johnson that came away with the win.

Mixing it up amongst the fleet was again our women’s PP team 2.0 Racing helmed by Megan Thomson, who claimed 6th place followed by recent YTP graduate and new PP team helmed by Robbie McCutcheon in 7th. Our one and only YTP team helmed by Max McLachlan finished in 9th, showing great promise by collecting a couple of results in the top five over the weekend.

We are continuously looking at ways we can offer more training and a broader ranger of skillsets to our sailors. YTP has recently been offered the invitation to participate in our RNZYS Boat Driver Training, which includes learning to safely drive a RIB at night.

Another new initiative, actioned by our new Fleet Manager Geoff Dawson, is our evening classes kicking off in June with an expert organised to teach our YTP and PP sailors to splice, followed by a number of other industryrelevant skills.

The season ahead is an exciting and busy one with our first inhouse match racing regatta kicking off in June and the Auckland Match Race Championships fast approaching in August. A big thank you to our YTP Race Management team who volunteer their time almost every weekend to provide our YTP and PP sailors with great events on the water. Reuben Corbett YTP Training Manager

Megan Thomson and crew racing in the Theland NZ Open National Keelboat Championships.