Napier sailors are first females to win 420 National title

by Sail-World on 10 Apr 2013
Napier Sailing Club’s Olivia Mackay (17) and Abby Goodwin (15) are the first females to win the 420 National Championships which were held at the Takapuna Boating Club during the Easter weekend.

Their performance at Takapuna at the 420 National Championships Regatta coupled with their second place at February’s Oceanbridge Sail Auckland Regatta has earned the Napier Sailing Club duo coveted selection to the 2013 NZL Yachting Trust Youth Team – Yachting New Zealand’s team for the ISAF Youth Sailing World Championships on this July in Cyprus.

At the 420 National Championships Olivia and Abby showed strong character to hold onto their lead in the light shifty offshore conditions on Day 4 securing the title by one point ahead of Taylor Burn and Henry Gibbs from Marlborough.

Olivia and Abby lead from the start with good speed, smart tactics and great boat handling. But it was very close racing. Sam Barnett and Zac Merton took third place after a solid performance and the Australian National runners up Xavier Winston Smith and Joshua Dawson added their own style to the mix and kept everyone alert.

For the full results http://www.420sailing.org.nz/blog/2013/4/2/2013-nz-420-class-national-championships-takapuna-boating-cl.html!click_here