Editorial-Hugh Poole honoured by Yachting NZ
by . on 6 Oct 2008
Welcome to Sail-World.Com's New Zealand newsletter for 6 October 2008.
One of the stalwarts of yachting in New Zealand was honoured on Saturday at the Yachting New Zealand Annual General Meeting when Life Membership was conferred on Hugh Poole of Wellington.
Poole began his long sailing career in 1939 at Heretaunga Boating Club and had a long career in National and Olympic classes, as well as being one of the key players in yachting administration over a 45 year period. He was twice manager of the NZ Olympic Team and also served a term as President of the then New Zealand Yachting Federation.
After serving his second stint as Olympic Team Manager at the 1968 Olympics in Mexico, Poole turned back to the competitive side of the Olympics trying for selection in 1972, before gaining selection at the 1976 Olympics.
He continued to race keelboats in Wellington and was still winning season trophies in 1997, almost sixty years on from his P class days.
The question was asked at the AGM as to why it had taken so long to recognise Hugh Poole in this way, and the reply was that most thought he was already a life member. However a search of the records quickly revealed that this was not the case, and a glaring omission was quickly righted.
The Award is expected to be formally presented to Hugh at the Sailor of the Year function in November. The occasion will be a great opportunity for Hugh's former competitors and crew to make their own personal tributes to a fierce foe. Tickets for the function will be available from the Yachting New Zealand office.
Staying with New Zealand sailing, It was great to see another stalwart of the New Zealand sailing scene, Roy Dickson win the 2008 IRC Nationals sailing his Stewart 34 Playbuoy, a design that has been around since the mid-sixties. Dickson won sailing with a crew drawn from the Royal New Zealand Yacht Squadron/Lion Foundation Youth Program. A great opportunity for young sailors to sail with one of the true masters of New Zealand sailing. And maybe Roy picked up a tip or two as well!
The first of the In Port races has been sailed in the 2008/09 Volvo Ocean Race with Telefonica Blue, (Bouwe Bekking/Iker Martinez) winning both races and will start Stage 1, next weekend with maximum points.
Racing in the In Port event was notable for two issues. Firstly the collision between the previous race winner, ABN Amro One, now Delta Lloyd (with two New Zealanders as watch captains) and Team Russia. This incident resulted in damage to Delta Lloyd, necessitating her being slipped for two days for repairs.
The other issue was the use of the massive Code Zero by PUMA Racing Team, which saw Ken Read (USA) and his crew leading for most of the short course second race, before being overtaken by the series leader, Telefonica (ESP) on the final leg. The race was a good recovery for the US entry after finishing sixth out of eight boats in the first race.
We have featured reports and images from the first day of racing, including the start line collision involving Team Russia. Off the water the drama has already started with Ericsson 3 being penalised by the International Jury for not completely filling some voids in her keel, and for using a different method to that agreed to rectify the discrepancy. The total weight involved in just over .6kg, for which she will carry a penalty of a point a leg. The issue is being appealed.
It is understood that the main issue for the International Jury is one of compliance with the requirement to have a valid measurement certificate, rather than the consequences of the breech. Currently Ericsson 3 does not have a measurement certificate and will attract a points penalty for each leg and in Port race she contests.
The peace talks in America's Cup Legal continue, with little by way of announcement, leaving the media to read the tea-leaves and smoke-signals to ascertain the real state of play.
As previously reported, Emirates Team NZ announced their new TP52 campaign on Thursday in Auckland, NZ. There it was confirmed that there had been offer and counter-offer in their legal dispute with Alinghi. Later it has been revealed that the only sticking point in Emirates TNZ dropping their case, is their requirement that there is certainty on a multi challenger event in 2011 - two years on from the original agreement of 2009.
Certainly there now seems to be a real will to resolve the issues, and that is very positive.
The world speed sailing record has been broken, not one but twice by French sailors, and now stands at 50.57kts. Alexandre Caizerues who turned in three runs over the 50kt mark in Namiba. We have full reports on both this record and the previous day when Sebastien Cattelan (FRA) became the first person to break the elusive 50kt mark.
Don't forget to get down to Sailors Corner, Westhaven to check out the great offer from www.line7.co.nz!Line_7, who are offering a massive almost $200 discount on their line of offshore gear, plus a free gear Line 7 bag, priced at $100. It's a great deal, for some great gear - but it is only available at Sailors Corner in Westhaven. Be in while it lasts, the contact details for Sailors Corner are in the story in this issue.
Line 7 is the Official Clothing Supplier to the Coastal Classic and a Race Division sponsor, and this is a great deal if you need some new kit, or someone you know is a little wanting in this regard.
Good sailing!
Richard Gladwell
NZ Editor
nzeditor@sail-world.com
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