Yachting NZ - TQ3 Sailor of the Year 2005

by Richard Gladwell on 12 Nov 2005 Northland's top offshore and ocean racing skipper, Ray Hasler, one of the legends of NZ Yachting won the TQ3 Sailor of the Year Award for his efforts in winning the Auckland Suva Race in Jive Talkin' and also for the instrumental role he plays in the organisation of the popular Bay of Islands Race Week regatta each year.

Junior Sailor of the Year was Paul Snow-Hansen, who is the first ever competitor to win the Tanner and Tauranga Cups and the Optimist Nationals in the one year.

Also presented were Merit Awards recognising outstanding sailing achievements by NZ competitors over the past year, and a large number of Honours Awards presented for sterling service to the sport over a number of years, or a lifetime.

The awards were presented at a fully sold out gala dinner at the Royal New Zealand Yacht Squadron at Westhaven, addressed by double Olympic Gold and Silver medal winner, Ben Ainslie, who has also won an unprecedented four World Finn Championships. Ainslie spoke of his early experiences in New Zealand, where he sailed in a National Laser Championship in 1993 at the age of 16 years.

Ainslie was a particular hero of the young sailors at the dinner, and spoke personally with several of them, including the NZ Optimist team.

TQ3 Navigant Sailor of the Year 2005 Finalists:

• Charles St Clair Brown and Bill Buckley,
• Sharon Ferris
• Ray Haslar
• Hamish Pepper

As winner of the Sailor of the Year, Ray Haslar’s name will be added to the Sir Bernhard Fergusson Trophy sitting alongside the likes of Sir Peter Blake, Barbara Kendall, Grant Dalton and Team New Zealand. It is over forty years since the trophy was first presented and the title represents the best of the best in New Zealand sailing recognising achievement and service in the sport.

Haslar’s award was greeted very enthusiastically by his supporters, two tables of whom had travelled down from Northland especially for the evening.

All told the night was a good one for the North, with Sharon Ferris and crew, Andrew Murdoch and Ray Haslar receiving a Merit Awards and SOY respectively. Along with Andrew Maloney who was a finalist in the Young Sailor of the Year.

Haslar took TQ3 Navigant Sailor of the Year over three other finalists all of whom have achieved significant results in their particular fields in the past year.

Also from Northland, Sharon Ferris lead a newly formed crew to a silver medal at the Yngling World Championships in Austria this year and was part of the winning crew aboard Doha in the Oryx Round the World Quest.

Charles St Clair Brown and Bill Buckley were nominated for the international results they have achieved on board their NZ designed and built super-maxi, Maximus. This year they won the Trans-Atlantic Race and took line honours in the Fastnet race.

The fourth finalist was Americas cup sailor Hamish Pepper for a string of successes in World Championship keelboat racing, notably as a crewmember in the Farr 40 and Mumm 30 class competing in international and world championships regattas..

Competition was extremely tough in the Young Sailor of the Year category for 2005. Paul Snow-Hansen took the title over the six other finalist nominees which included Peter Burling of Tauranga and Splash sailor Andy Maloney from Kerikeri.

Paul Snow-Hansen was the first to claim the 'triple crown' of Junior Sailing by winning three major titles in the same season. He added the Optimist National Championship title over the Easter weekend to his wins in the Tanner Cup and Tauranga Cup at New Year. Snow-Hansen won the Optimist Nationals in Taipa, Northland a convincing eight points clear of second, clinching the top spot with one race still to sail.

He claims the Young Sailor of the Year for the second time after being a crucial part of the New Zealand Optimist Team 2004 who were joint winners of the title a year ago.

The other Young Sailor of the Year Finalists were: Peter Burling; Carl Evans; Bruce Kennedy; Andrew Maloney; Blair McLay; New Zealand Optimist Team to the World Championships 2005 (Luke Deegan, Carl Evans, Jason Saunders, Paul Snow-Hansen and Daniel Willcox ).

There were audible gasps from the audience as the sailing achievements of the Junior Sailors were read out by Master of Ceremonies, Peter Montgomery. Each had performed outstandingly in their own way, and the task of the selectors for this award was appreciably very difficult indeed.

Although the Award is for sailors under 20 years, most of those nominated were only 14-15 years old and there can be no doubt that the future of NZ sailing is well assured.

Yachting New Zealand Merit Awards went to six individuals and teams for performances over the past year. Two teams to presented with the Award of Merit are the New Zealand Optimist Team of 2005 and Team Inspiration, who claimed the Yngling World Championship 2005 silver medal.

Charles Brown and Bill Buckley of the Maximus project received a Merit Award as did three New Zealand Laser representatives for the recent results at the World Championships in Brazil. Andrew Murdoch won bronze in the Open class, Murray Thom took out the Laser Masters World Championship title and Dr Mark Orams won the Laser Radial Apprentice Master division.

The President's Award for the top Club program/event in New Zealand for the past year went to Auckland's Royal Akarana yacht Club, for staging a highly successful Auckland Suva race, and the Flying Fifteen Worlds, construction of a new marina and the introduction of several new dinghy racing and training programs to produce a club that caters for Learn to Sail in Optimists to Offshore keelboat racing.

Fourteen Yachting New Zealand Honour Awards were presented at the Ceremony to a list with representatives from around New Zealand. The Award goes to those who have demonstrated outstanding sportsmanship or services to yachting at Club, Regional, National or International Level.

Notable amongst these were Des Townson, the prolific and long-time designer and builder long line of dinghies and keelboats which are unique to the New Zealand sailing scene. Harold Kidd and Robin Elliott were honoured for their long serving efforts to preserve, record and publish NZ sailing history. Jim McElrea was recognised for over 35 years of service in keelboat measurement in New Zealand. The other recipients were nominated for their services to yacht clubs and regions and it was humbling to hear of the years of service and achievement given by so many to a sport they love.

Glenn and Judy Bartlett from Panmure Yacht Club were the sole recipients of the Yachting New Zealand Cruising Award for 2005.