2014 Harken Young 88 Nationals underway April 12-13

by Young 88 Assoc on 26 Mar 2014 New Zealand’s premier one design class will embark on a battle of the best at the 2014 Harken Young 88 Nationals set to race 12th and 13th April.

Hosted by Royal New Zealand Yacht Squadron, and raced on the America’s Cup waters outside Rangitoto, this regatta is set to be one of the highlights of the Auckland racing calendar.

Young verse old and professional verse practiced amateurs will ensure some tight and challenging racing with young gun Chris Steele an early favourite to mix it up with the seasoned campaigners.

As New Zealand’s only Optimist World Champion and ranked 19th on the ISAF World Match Racing ladder, Steele is set to cause a stir when he takes the helm of Abracadabra and races against an expected fleet of 25.

Just recently Steele took the helm of the XP44 Lawless in the Jack Tar Auckland Regatta with a full youth crew from the Royal New Zealand Yacht Squadron's Youth Program. After just a handful of training session, Steele secured the wins in both the the IRC and PHRF divisions.

The Youth 88 has a combined crew weight of 616kgs and each boat will be ensuring that sailors on board hit their required target before weigh in commences on Friday 11th April.

Racing will get underway at 1000 hours each day with up to six back to back windward leeward races scheduled. Spectator boats are invited to watch the action unfold.