Please select your home edition
Edition
Sea Sure 2025

2011 Toyota Optimist NZ Nationals - Race Day 4 Report

by Christine Hansen on 24 Apr 2011
Leonard Takahashi-Fry at the end of day 4. - 2011 Toyota Optimist NZ Nationals, Wakatere Boating Club Christine Hansen

The fourth day of racing has come to a close at the Toyota Optimist Nationals at Wakatere BC and Leonard Takahashi-Fry of Murrays Bay BC has a reasonable buffer between himself and the next contender.

Isaac McHardie of Hamilton is placed second and has a seven points on Bay of Islands sailor Nathaniel Deverall. Between third and fifth there’s a whole lot of shaking going on with positions changing after each race, the remaining three positions in the NZ World Championship team are still up for grabs with one day of racing to come.

With eleven races in hand a second dropped race (taking out the sailor’s worst 2 scores) has come into play. For those with ‘catastrophies’ earlier in the piece, this provides a chance for some to redeem themselves, including a big come-back from top ranked Markus Somerville, Wakatere BC, – moving from 11th to fourth on the leaderboard. 'I’m back' was his comment to the coach after winning three of his four races today.

Also very much in the running are William McKenzie of Kohimarama, Tim Adair of Wakatere BC, George Gautry of Muritai and Trent Rippey of Tauranga.

This was the second of two days with four races in the Open fleet which is quite demanding for the competitors, but necessary after loosing the first day of racing due to a lack of wind. Conditions were reasonably steady, the wind continued to blow from the north-east, during race three it dropped to 5 – 8 knots but in the remaining races was around 10 – 15 knots. The tide changed at midday and remains bit of a mystery for many of the young sailors.

The Green fleet had another two races today, race officer Kim Admore runs a fairly relaxed ship for the inexperienced sailors and his briefings each morning are educational and create a fun atmosphere. Today the top three in 105 boat fleet are Henry Gibbs of Queen Charlotte YC, Vaitea Delvallet of Tahiti and James Grover-Grey of Wakatere BC.

Two races are scheduled for the last day of racing which will begin after midday as a mark of respect for Anzac Day, conditions may be difficult as a ridge of low pressure system moves across the north of the country bringing with it 5 – 25 knot northerly easterly wind and heavy rain.

For full results go to the event website at: www.optimistnationals.org.nz








Henri-Lloyd Dynamic RangeArmstrong 728x90 - HA Foil Range - BOTTOMSwitch One Design

Related Articles

Gran Canaria Gloria Windsurf World Cup Day 2
Philip Köster triumphs again in Pozo Izquierdo The 37th edition of the Gran Canaria Gloria Windsurf World Cup delivered a thrilling second day this Sunday, once again marked by strong winds and the talent of the world's best windsurfers.
Posted on 6 Jul
A perfect start to the 5th annual AEGEAN 600
Cloudless blue skies, crystal clear waters and perfect 12-15 knots of northerly wind At the very southern end of the Greek mainland at Cape Sounion in Attica, today's start to the 5th edition of the AEGEAN 600 was perfect: cloudless blue skies, crystal clear waters and perfect 12-15 knots of northerly wind.
Posted on 6 Jul
29er Europeans at Lake Garda day 4
One race, one storm, and one big lay day vibe With qualification wrapped and the fleet now split into six groups—Gold, Silver, Bronze, Emerald, Purple, and White—Day 4 of the 29er Europeans kicked off with early optimism and an earlier-than-usual launch in pursuit of the morning breeze.
Posted on 6 Jul
iQFOiL Worlds a Aarhus day 1
Full foiling conditions launch the World Championship with four high-intensity races for both fleets The iQFOiL World Championship kicked off today in Aarhus with dynamic and demanding conditions that truly tested the world's top foiling windsurfers. The wind was anything but steady, shifting in both direction and intensity throughout the day.
Posted on 6 Jul
Rolex TP52 Worlds in Cascais overall
American Magic Quantum Racing win Rolex TP52 Worlds after breezy week in Cascais. Doug DeVos' American Magic Quantum Racing crew were crowned 2025 Rolex TP52 World Champions today in Cascais, Portugal.
Posted on 6 Jul
Red Bull Sailing Academy Opens
A new hub for current and future superstars to reach the top of their sport Marina Monfalcone, North Italy, made waves yesterday, as sports superstars gathered to open the Red Bull Sailing Academy, marking the beginning of a new era in the sport.
Posted on 6 Jul
Gran Canaria Gloria Windsurf World Cup Day 1
Philip Köster edges out Marcilio Browne in one of the closest finals ever Philip Köster edges out Marcilio Browne in one of the closest finals ever as Pozo delivers 50 knot winds and waves.
Posted on 6 Jul
America's Cup: French give the Brits the "Hurry-up
Frustration builds between Cup factions over lack of progress with Protocol. Last weekend's missive from the French America's Cup challenge team is further evidence over the building frustration with progress towards the 2027 America's Cup in Naples.
Posted on 6 Jul
The oldest video footage of Moth sailing
A look back into our video archive, to when the name of this class first settled down We delve into our video archive to find the oldest possible videos that show Moth racing. Are these International Moths, British Moths... or was the name still Olive, Inverloch 11ft, National Moth or Brent One-Design?!
Posted on 6 Jul
GKSS Match Cup & Nordea Women's Trophy overall
It is the first time the Match Cup Sweden title has been won by a Danish Skipper Denmark's Jeppe Borch/ Team Borch Match Race, and France's Pauline Courtois/ Match in Pink by Normandy crowned the new champions of Marstrand in a day of fierce weather for the final of 2025 GKSS Match Cup Sweden and Nordea Women's Trophy in Marstrand.
Posted on 6 Jul