Emirates Team New Zealand Youth Training Programme
Coaches Report
Saturday 29th August
Rain!
Sunday 30th August
SW 17 knots gusting 30
Last Saturday was the final North Sails Winter Series race for the year, and once again our athletes were spread across the fleet, racing hard. With a lot of rain and not much wind forecast, a few boats pulled out of the race, leaving some of our sailors without a ride. JK came to the party and said, “Just take my boat,” meaning that with a makeshift team, these sailors were still able to get out on the water. It was great to see them making the most of the opportunity. A big thanks to JK for letting them loose on the Sham Pain!
For the second week in a row, Sunday brought windy conditions, meaning the best option once again was a harbour course. This week we were on the newer North Sails A5s, which have a nice cut, high clew and great shape. It was a super simple course, starting between TK and ODM, heading to Flax Point to starboard, then back to the finish off ODM. With a tight A5 angle, it was a test of whether taking the higher ground, with less tide assistance but more disturbance from the city, was the way to go, versus staying low and tight or heading straight up the guts. Up the guts was the way to go, with boats on the low road having to drop and re hoist. After North Head, the boats really started moving, reaching top speeds around the 20 knot mark, with the teams absolutely loving the send! The upwind leg was long and hard but highly tactical, with teams working to get out of the tide and into flatter water. To top it all off, a pod of Orcas was out and about, an incredible sight to see while racing!
This Friday, we head to Sydney for our first regatta of the season, the John Messenger Women’s Regatta, sailed in Elliott 7s. We have a great team led by Teaghan Denney, with Api Baker, Charlie Wren, Georgia Howlett and Gretel Satterthwaite backing her up. We’ll arrive on Friday for a training day, with racing kicking off on Saturday and Sunday. Stay tuned to our socials for results and updates!
