Five months pregnant Ferris to compete in Yngling
by Peter Thorley, Northern Advocate on 28 Dec 2007
Sharon Ferris and Team Insipration racing in a light to moderate breeze in the European Yngling Championships Dwight Rompas
Diets often go out the window during the festive season, but the Northland Yngling yachting crew now have a compelling reason to watch their waistlines: Skipper Sharon Ferris is pregnant with her first child.
Rather than being a threat to the crew's Beijing Olympic Games campaign, the main concern about the pregnancy is about the combined weight of the crew at the upcoming Yngling World Championships in Miami, Florida.
The 'Team Inspiration' crew hope to win a medal to confirm their place on the New Zealand Olympic team.
They need to stay under the 205kg combined weight limit imposed on the teams in the Yngling class.
Ferris said that was being 'managed' by the other crew members over the break. 'I'm personally not expecting the weight thing to be an issue; I got as heavy as I possibly could before the worlds (last July in Portugal) because we were at a windy venue and we wanted the weight to be at the back of the boat ... so I've been transferring that fat to the baby and I've only put on two kilograms so far,' she said.
Crewmates Raynor Smeal and Olivia Powrie would have to balance things and lose a kilo apiece before the world championships, which follow the Miami OCR regatta at the end of January, Ferris said.
The baby is due in May, allowing mother and child time plenty of time before the Olympics start in August.
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