Takahashi-Fry leads five stong NZ Optimist Worlds Team

by Event Media on 26 Apr 2011
The Open fleet Championship, at the Toyota Optimist Nationals has been won by Aucklander 13 year old Leonard Takahashi-Fry of Murrays Bay Sailing Club. Leonard drew ahead of his competitors by sailing a very consistent series, with only one race outside the top ten placings.

In second place is Isaac McHardie of Hamilton/Tauranga who also sailed a consistent series; and in third place is local Wakatere BC sailor Markus Somerville. Takahashi-Fry, McHardie and Somerville make up the New Zealand Optimist World Championship team along with fourth placed William McKenzie of Kohimarama YC and fifth placed Nathaniel Deverell of the Bay of Islands.

The final day of racing concluded with three races beginning later in the day as a mark of respect for ANZAC day. The full quota of 14 races scheduled for the series were sailed with the race committee, headed by Napier's Gerald Martin and his team from Napier with support from Wakatere Club, working hard over five days to achieve this. This regatta is the largest single class regatta in New Zealand with 310 boats racing, it is the selection regatta for the New Zealand World Championship Optimist team, and it has also been a test run for the 2011 World Championship to be held in Napier at the end of this year.

Today conditions were wet, with moderate north easterly winds coming onshore which gusted up to 18 knots as rain squalls blew through. With the outgoing tide the sea whipped up into a one metre chop typical of the inner harbour. Eleven year old Blake Nicholson, first-time open fleeter from Murrays Bay, confirmed that the tide was a dominant factor throughout the regatta. At times it was quite difficult to find a space on the startline, especially with 65 boats, as the tide was pushed the boats towards a particular end of the line.

For full results in the Open Fleet http://www.wakatere.org.nz/Results/2011%20OptiNats/OptiNtsOpn.html!click_here and in the Green Fleet http://www.wakatere.org.nz/Results/2011%20OptiNats/OptiNtsGrn.html!click_here