Three Medals for NZL Sailing Team at Delta Lloyd Regatta

by Jodie Bakewell-White, Yachting on 31 May 2015 The NZL Sailing Team has won three medals at 2015 Delta Lloyd Regatta for Olympic and Paralympic classes which concluded overnight in Medemblik, the Netherlands.

Marcus Hansen and Josh Porebski won the Silver medal in the 49er skiff, Josh Junior has taken bronze in the Finn and New Zealand’s Nacra 17 pair Gemma Jones and Jason Saunders also won bronze.

Raced over five days, Delta Lloyd Regatta is part of the Eurosaf Champions Sailing Cup and a qualifier for the upcoming ISAF Sailing World Cup Weymouth (8-14 June 2015) where a strong contingent of NZL Sailing Team will be back in action.

Today’s medal races were sailed in strong breeze and while that will often play to the kiwi sailors’ strengths, unfortunately it resulted in an uncharacteristic capsize for New Zealand Marcus Hansen and Josh Porebski who were leading in the 49er skiff event.

The mishap put Hansen and Porebski to the back of the ten boat medal race fleet, collecting maximum 20 points for the medal race and out of the gold medal spot.

“Tough finish at the Delta Lloyd Regatta,” report Hansen and Porebski. “We capsized at the top mark on the last lap in front of the Spanish and Aussies and came away with silver.”

Despite today’s events the young kiwis have sailed a brilliant series in the 56 boat fleet with two race wins and top four finishes in all but one of the nine qualifying races.

The Nacra 17 medal race was the last of the day and strongly anticipated, with the top three teams, including our own Gemma Jones and Jason Saunders, all separated by just a point and ready to do battle for gold.

But today fortunes went the way of the two Danish crews and Jones and Saunders had to settle for bronze after coming home eighth in the medal race.

The kiwis can be heartened by this podium performance which comes in a fleet of 42 and includes plenty of big names of the Olympic mixed multihull scene.

Josh Junior recently won silver at the 2015 Finn European Championships and has now added another podium result with this bronze in Medemblik’s Delta Lloyd Regatta. The 25 year old was fourth on the water in today’s Finn medal race and concludes the regatta just one point off the silver medal.

A young New Zealand Nacra 17 crew of Olivia Mackay and Micah Wilkinson were also competing in Medemblik; they placed 28th overall. And Susannah Pyatt finished the series in 35th in the Laser Radial class.

The next major event for the NZL Sailing Team is ISAF Sailing World Cup Weymouth which runs from 8-14 June.

2015 Delta Lloyd Regatta
New Zealand’s Results Click here for full results

2nd Marcus Hansen and Josh Porebski, NZL Sailing Team (49er)
3rd Josh Junior, NZL Sailing Team (Finn)
3rd Gemma Jones and Jason Saunders, NZL Sailing Team (Nacra 17)
28th Olivia Mackay and Micah Wilkinson, (Nacra 17)
35th Susannah Pyatt,( Laser Radial)