Plimmerton sailors win Z-class in New Plymouth
by Ross Giblin on 4 Mar 2007
Z-class Nationals 2006 start Hilary Parker
Team work and experience helped Wellington (Plimmerton) duo John Bulleyment and Kevin Saunders win the the Z Class National Championships in New Plymouth at the weekend.
The pair have been together about six years. They won the Nationals in 2005 and came a very close second last year.
'I guess we're getting the hang of it,' quipped Bulleyment moments after hearing he'd won. 'The boat goes fast and we probably work together quite well as a team. When we come to a race we do focus and we talk to each other all the way around.'
Ironically the pair, who sail with the Plimmerton Boating Club, achieved the win in light winds, which is not their preferred condition.'We like the heavy stuff but we're learning to do better in the light stuff. We must be doing better.'
They were just one point ahead of second place getters Brent Griffiths and Aaran Judd from the Paremata Boating Club after six races in two days.
Third place went to last year's National winners Paremata crew Ross Giblin and Chris McCarthy on a count back after they tied with fellow Paremata crew John and Jennie Hargreaves. .
The fleet of 16 boats from around the North Island competed in six races held over Friday and Saturday in the event run by the New Plymouth Boating Club.
The Z Class is one of the oldest sailing fleets still competing in New Zealand with many of the boats handed down through the generations.
Over the years they have been modified to become highly competitive and demanding two handed boats to sail and are now mostly sailed out of Wellington at the Plimmerton and Paremata Boating Clubs.
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