Top sailors line up for Open Teams Racing Nationals

by Laurie Jury on 26 May 2009

The Open Teams Racing Nationals will be held at Bucklands Beach Yacht Club from the 30th May to the 1st of June.

Over 70 sailors will take part, including defending national teams racing champions ‘Black Sheep’ who finished 3rd in the 2009 world Teams racing championships.

Although this team , led by Rueben Corbett will go into the regatta as favorites there will be plenty of tough competition.

Other teams to look out for are:

• Logan Sutherlands ‘Shags’, past national Teams Racing Champions and 3rd in the 2007 world Championships.

• Jamie Dawson’s ‘O for Awesome’. Including past Opti World Champion Chris Steel, as well as current Staling National Champion and three times school Teams Racing Champion Tom Saunders.

• Dylan Wichman’s ‘WSK’, including top Match Racer Adrian Short, and laser radial under 21 world champion Jason Sandal.

• Stephanie Hazard’s all girls’ teams including three members of the Olympic Match racing Squad as well as top Laser radial sailor Rachael Basevi.

• Mahurangi College school team, five times silver medalist at the school teams racing nationals and silver medalists at last year’s open nationals.

• Then there are three local Buckland Beach Teams,; Micheal Rodgers ‘Cull Cats’ have boosted their Macleans School Team with past Macleans Student Hayden Coburn. The Saint Kentigern's team has brought in two time world teams racing champion and BBYC coach Andrew Ardern to strengthen their team.

• Ash Hammond (silver medalist at Youth Teams Racing worlds 09), has teamed up with Luke Deegan (3rd Laser Radial Nationals) and Nick Gun (1st School Teams Racing Nationals) to provide another very strong team.

In total 12 teams of six sailors will sail in provided 420 boats, three boats in each team.

Races are 10 min sprints; the combined finish results of the three boats determine which team scores a win. The format is a full round robin, then a top 6 knockout finals.


Teams
1 Black Sheep RNZYS
2 Silver Sails RNZYS
3 WSK KKYC
4 Common Browns BBYC
5 Cull Cats BBYC
6 Saint Kentigernts College BBYC
7 Mahurangi College SYC
8 Shags RNZYS
9 O for Awesome MBYC
10 Taranaki Terrors NPYC
11 Boom Town Hero’s NPYC
12 Whangarei WCC