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Upcoming events    2009 Lake Pupuke Winter Series every Sunday, racing starts 1.30pm. July School holiday Training New Zealand Sailing Academy -  Group one 6th-10 July, advanced boat handling focus. Group two 11th-15th July, sport psychology focus. Both cost $750 and will be run at Narrow Neck Beach, Auckland 9am - 3pm.For more information please contact Laurence@nzsailingacademy.co.nz on 021 527791. Enrolment is open for the 2010 NZSA Opti Team. Season starts November until April. Please contact Laurence@nzsailingacademy.co.nz for more information. NZIODA boat is available for use by clubs for events and training, Please contact Rob Capon acapon@xtra.co.nz or 415 6798 to book the boat.                                                                                                                 Optimist Nationals 2009 Worser Bay Wellington                                                                                       The Optimist Nationals were organised by Richard and Ali Middleton, with help from numerous others. A big thank you to them all for their hard work and for a spectacular event. The Open Fleet sailed a total of 14 races over 5 days of very changeable weather. Congratulations to Taylor Burn - 1st Open and 2009 National Champion!  Click here for full open fleet results. The top ten places were as follows; Taylor Burn 1st Taylor Burn, Queen Charlotte 2nd Naomi Mannering, Napier 3rd Erica Dawson, Murrays Bay 4th Paris Stowell, Australia 5th Keith Inglis, Napier 6th Douglas Campbell, Australia 7th Jack Collinson, Wakatere 8th Jayvee Buchanan, Charteris Bay/Murray's Bay 9th Trent Rippey, Tauranga 10th James Parsons, Murrays Bay The travelling teams are sponsored by NZ Sailing please see link to their website www.nzsailing.net                                                                                                                   Thank you for your support with our uniforms and life jackets.   The Green fleet sailed a total of 7 races in varying conditions, for full results click here. 1st place went to Isaac McHardie (12) Tauranga, 2nd Nick Thyne (12), Worser Bay,  and 3rd Mathew Bindon, (12), Kerikeri. The next 7 placings are as follows; 4th Ali Nightingale  (12) Charteris Bay 5 5th Chris Coleman (11)  Wakatere  6th Oakley Marsh (11) Worser Bay 7th Leonard Takahashi (11) Murray's Bay 8th Harry MacIntosh (11) Waiheke Island 9th Ethan Hall (12) Sandspit Photos and report will follow. Current  Rankings Post Nationals                                                                                     The current rankings post Nationals may be viewed by clicking here.                                                                                                                                                                                               Auckland Sailing Champs - Howick            The Auckland Sailing Champs were held over the weekend at Howick Sailing Club. Please click here for open fleet results and here for green fleet, a report will follow.                                                                                          Interisland Challenge/ South Island Optimist Champs   The Port Marlborough Splash Nationals and the InterIslander Optimist Challenge/South Island Optimist Champs was the biggest regatta ever held at Queen Charlotte Yacht Club. Late entries brought the total number of sailors to 159 including the green fleet.12 races were scheduled over three days and were held in all conditions, from very light and shifty to very wet, windy and shifty. The third day saw beautiful conditions building to a stiff breeze that was challenging to some. Even with major course changes, the Race management Team lead by Gerald Martin managed to catch up and get all 12 Splash races in, and 11 for the Optimist Open Fleet. There was a great team of local club members helped by some Auckland and Whangarei Club members, the Aucklanders were not used to pulling up anchors from 40 metres down, the comment was that they stayed warm in the rain. All the help was really appreciated.   The open Optimists was won by Jayvee Buchanan of Charteris Bay Club, Olivia Mackay of Napier, 2nd, Keith Inglis, Taupo 3rd. Top QCYC sailor Taylor Burn was 4th. The first InterIslander Optimist Challenge, 'Island of Origin' was tied on equal points, the trophy going to the South Island as the individual winner, Jayvee Buchanan, is a South Islander. Green Fleet Optimists, sailed in the inner Picton harbour was won by Carmen Haybittle, of Naval Point Yacht Club, Nick Tyne 2nd, Oakley Marsh 3rd, both sailors form Worser Bay Sailing Club. The Green Fleeters completed 7 scheduled races. For full results go to www.qcyc.org.nz      Photos: Kimberley Somerville SOUTH ISLAND OPTIMIST CHAMPIONSHIP, PICTON   The Queen Charlotte Yacht Club recently had one of its biggest events on record as it was host to a three day regatta concluding on 1 March 2009, featuring the South Island Optimist Championships (Incorporating a NZ Teams Selection Trials), the new Inter-Islander Optimist Challenge, as well as co-hosting the NZ Splash National Championship.   The regatta venue at Picton (located at the heart of Picton’s busy tourism centre) was unique.  The club is situated in a prime spot located at Shelly Beach, amongst a stunning Marina, opposite the Cook Strait Ferry Terminal with fabulous views out to Queen Charlotte Sound.    The Optimist open fleet racing was held on open water on Queen Charlotte Sound approximately 3km from the club, south of Lochmora Bay, a 12 race series which attracted a strong fleet of 87 competitors being made up of 50 sailors from the North Island and 37 from the South.  The Optimist green fleet racing was held outside the club with great viewing enjoyed by parents, supporters and tourists alike, an 8 race series enjoyed by 40 sailors mostly from Worser Bay and the South Island.   The welcome and hospitality was wonderful in true Marlborough style setting the scene for a great regatta under the direction of Rob and Carolyn Burns who obviously have put their heart and soles into this event.  The race management and support team was also top class, having run the event impeccably without a hitch, under the direction and experience of Napier’s prized asset, Gerald Martin.    The open fleet regatta got underway on Friday in generally light conditions, with a shifty north easterly wind which challenged most sailors.  Early starting and undesirable general recalls were quickly ironed out by Gerald, not hesitating to switch from a code flag Z to Black early in the regatta, a necessity to get through the tight racing schedule.  The racing was very competitive and there were opportunities for big gains in picking the smallest of wind shifts and being at the right location at the right time avoiding wind pockets which seemed to result in a big spread in the fleet during some races.  Friday racing concluded with 3 open fleet races completed with the 4th race being abandoned for the day due to the shifty conditions. On Saturday, the north easterly wind which varied in strength from 8 to 15+ knots came in early amongst steady rain, enabling 4 open fleet races to be completed again, challenging most sailors in varying, shifty, wet and cool conditions.  Sunday proved to be a most pleasant day which provided sailors with a generally warm and light breeze from the north, which was again shifty tending to the northwest and generally gaining strength as the afternoon sailing progressed.  4 open fleet races were sailed on Sunday allowing sailor’s two worst scores to be dropped, with racing concluding one race short of the 12 races scheduled.  The shifty conditions appeared be evident on the score board where consistency was hard to achieve resulting in most sailors having some good and bad races. Jayvee Buchanan from Charteris Bay won the open fleet championship probably sailing most consistently for the regatta.  Jayvee was followed closely by Olivia MacKay from Napier (2nd place) who was in turn followed by Keith Inglis representing Lake Taupo, (3rd place). Taylor Burn representing Queen Charlotte came in strongly on his home waters in 4th place, followed by Trent Rippey from Tauranga (5th place).  Naomi Mannering from Napier achieved 6th place. Other sailors who were able to hold a top 10 position included Markus Somerville from Wakatere (7th place), Charlotte Corston from Charteris Bay, (8th place), Liam Closey from Murrays Bay (9th place) and Ryan Amlehn from Nelson (10th place).  Carmen Haybittle from Naval Point won the green fleet event followed closely by Nick Thyne from Worser Bay (2nd place) who was in turn followed by Oakley Marsh also from Worser Bay (3rd place).  The new Inter-Islander Challenge proved to be a great success due to the number of North Islanders who supported the event.  The winner of the cup was based on points scored from North versus South.  The results were perplexingly tied with both North and South on equal points.  The winner of the open fleet competition was consequently nominated as the Inter-Islander Challenge winner, this being the South Island.  Charteris Bay Yacht Club got to hold the cup for 2009.   In summary the regatta was a great success thanks to the organizing committee and the huge support of the North Islanders who not only took time to travel south for the contest but also for so willingly helped out with the running of the event.  This was a great warm up regatta for the upcoming Open National Championship scheduled for Worser Bay during Easter. ( Winton Buchanan)                                             Entries for 2009 Toyota Optimist National Championships   So that we can complete Entries for the Nationals, we must receive ALL items as listed on the Entry forms.  Open fleet Please include all measurement certificates: sail, hull, sprit, boom, mast, and foils, as well as Proof of club membership. Birth certificates are required only if sailors are entering their first Nationals. Open fleet Registration Pack: www.optimistnationals.org.nz/forms/21-nor-open  Green fleet Please include registration numbers for items above, and bring any measurement certificates you have with you to the regatta. Certificates are not required at time of entry. Birth certificates are required only if sailors are entering their first Nationals. Green fleet Registration Pack: www.optimistnationals.org.nz/forms/22-nor-green  All sailors must be current financial members of the NZIODA. An application form is available on the NZIODA website: www.optimist.org.nz/  If there is any change in equipment between time of entry and the Nationals, then PLEASE let us know, and you will need to bring any new certificates with you to the event. Otherwise, your paperwork is done and registration at the event will be a breeze!   If we receive incomplete entries, they will be returned to you. Closing date for entries is Friday 20th March, however there is a limit for entry numbers and we are expecting to reach that before the closing date.  Don’t delay!  Please keep an eye on the regatta website for news and updates of the event. Many thanks  Optimist Nationals Organising Team  www.optimistnationals.org.nz                                               Auckland Anniversary Day Regatta by Taylor Burn The Auckland Anniversary Day Regatta was a new experience for me as I live in the South Island and are not usually in Auckland when it is on! This year my family was heading back from the P Class and Starling Nationals in Whangarei and decided to stay two nights in Auckland visiting our friends, the Le Penn family, who are from Noumea, New Caledonia. Etienne and his brother Mael were sailing in the regatta so I thought it would be cool to sail in New Zealands largest one day regatta and help celebrate Aucklands 169th birthday. It was the best day with the weather being perfect, hot, sunny 30 degrees and some nice breeze which is important for us sailors.The regatta was held at the Kohimarama Yacht Club and there were four races with lunch on shore which was good as the food at Kohi is always great. Rigging up my boat I could see lots of people walking past the club or sitting under the trees having picnics and watching everything and I could see hundreds of boats of all shapes and sizes on the harbour all going in different directions.When I launched my boat and sailed out to the course it felt exciting. It was awesome seeing all the old tall ships under full rig sailing past Rangitoto Island. I could see the Americas Cup boats up the harbour but unfortunately they didn’t come near our course. It was a fantastic sight to see so many boats on the Auckland Harbour and I really enjoyed being part of it, I just wondered where the start and finish lines were for all the other races! The morning races where sailed in a light shifty Southerly breeze and in the afternoon a good 15-20 knot seabreeze came in so good conditions. James Parsons had a good regatta with three firsts but because there where no drops he had to carry a 24th, so finished 3rd. I needed to beat Eliza Wilkinson in the 4th race to win the event and I finished two places ahead of her so she was second and I was first. I am looking forward to going to the Official Prizegiving as it is to be held at the Royal New Zealand Yacht Squadron on Sunday March 9th which will be real cool! Thanks to all the other competitors and Kohi Club for the race management it was a real fun day!                                                                               Optimist Clinic Report 2009.                        January 13-16 at Eastern Beach Willow Park Camp. The annual ‘live in’ 4 day racing coaching clinic.   This year there were 71 sailors ranging from 9 years to 14 years old. Attending were 4 sailors from Noumea and the rest from all over the country including this year 12 from the south island. The group was made up of 23 girls and 48 boys. The large group had loads of fun and many new friendships were made. The sailors were seeded into 6 groups with each group having 2 coaches with 1 coach from each moving groups each day to spread their skills throughout the sailors.  The coaches again were of very high standard. Lead by Andrew Wills of North Sails. New Zealands most experienced Optimist coach.  NZIODA imported Martin Jenkins, 2 times world Optimist champion to coach at the clinic and then to travel the country to take the regional clinics. Martin gave good talks and covered a lot of technical points of racing at a high level at each clinic.  There were 4 international coaches and 10 of our top local coaches to pass on their knowledge to the Opti sailors. Every single sailor learned more about yacht racing and preparation, probably more than they realize.  Each day started with the fitness session ‘like it or not’. John Lythe from Performance Parameters ‘olympic fitness coach’ really cranked the kids up with new exercises and very useful talks on stretches, diets and preparation. Everyone definitely went home fitter than when they arrived.  Each Evening the kids had some inspirational talks. Simon Cooke spoke on how he prepares and his mental focus for contests. Also great talks from John Lythe on fitness. Andrew Wills, Opti regattas and Martin Jenkins, Opti worlds.  The weather again this year was near perfect. Generally light with the exception of the last day, the regatta day. A gusty 20 knot breeze and choppy seas saw a few of the smaller sailors coming in after race 2, mostly running out of energy after the big week. In the last race start the coaches were having trouble holding back the fired up sailors so they pulled out the black flag and started sending the premature starters to the beach. It ended up almost half the fleet!! This Shows how keen they all were to get a good start and win. There were some very mixed up results due to the huge shifts off the land. The regatta was won by Alice Noyer.  A big thankyou to all the parents who supported the clinic with parent help at the camp, organising and delivering boats and gear, also some hosting overseas sailors. This year we also had several companies generously giving us sailing gear and hats for the prizegiving.  Thanks to North Sails, NZ sail.com and Helly Hansen for their support. The group of sailors this year have learnt more good skills for the up and coming regattas the busy Optimist schedule has to offer. There are a lot of very talented young sailors coming through who we will see popping out at the front of fleets throughout the country. Next January we hope to see a lot of this group again and more new up and coming Opti racers.  Nigel Rippey.  Clinic organiser                                                                  NZIODA Team Selection Process & Class Development 2008/09    Introduction A change in the selection process for Optimist teams traveling overseas is to be introduced for the 2008/09 sailing season. A ranking system will be used, with the selected regattas notified at the start of the season so as many sailors as possible can participate in the ranking regattas.      Aims      1. to encourage class development in the Optimist dinghy, and to encourage          good quality regattas and competition to establish a broader skill base in the          fleet.      2. to have the fairest possible selection criteria for all opti sailors.          The changes will be explained in detail at the Opti North Islands in Taupo on          November 22 and 23.       Worlds Team       Selection for the Worlds’ Team will remain unchanged, with the top five competitors at the nationals gaining selection for the team. The Worlds regatta is run             over six days, plus a teams racing day. Our nationals are the closest reflection of this and are considered a best policy for this team selection.      Teams 2 and 3      Teams 2 and 3 will be taken from the new ranking system.       Development Squads       Development teams are not based on the new ranking system, but solely on results at the nationals.       Selection Policy: Teams 1 - 3       The NZIODA team selected to represent NZ are the top 15 sailors from the ranking system explained within this document.       As part of the NZIODA team the sailors will be invited to training clinics and regatta’s where NZIODA will assist in the funding of these events where possible.       For the 2008-09 season these are as follows;       • NZ Nationals (60% not able to be dropped)         Competitors may compete in two or all three of the following regattas if they wish and select their best two results to complete their ranking points for the                 NZIODA team. Two of the 20% regattas complete the NZIODA ranking system.       • South Islands (20%)       • Auckland Champs (20%)       • Sail Auckland (20%)       NZIODA will endeavor to have the selection regattas in a timeframe which correlates to the dates of the Optimist World Championships for each particular year         so these selection regattas may vary from year to year, accordingly. Consistency of race management and umpiring will be promoted at all selection regattas.      Selection Policy: Development Teams      NZIODA will invite some sailors to participate in some development squads. These will be selected solely from results from the NZ Optimist Nationals and not           from the ranking list. These teams will be supported by NZIODA wherever possible but will not be funded by NZIODA.      • Bermuda – Top rookie      • Noumea Nationals - Top 5, 11 year olds, and top 5 12 year olds in open fleet      • Singapore Nationals – Offered to the top 5 sailors not ranked in teams 1-3      • Australian Nationals – Offered to the next 5 sailors after the Singapore team not ranked in teams 1-3 Kevin Brown, NZIODA president outlined the new plan for Class development and selection as outlined above, at the Optimist North Island Regatta, November 22 and 23, in Taupo.  Example Optimist National Ranking Table Qualifying Regatta's National National National Regatta 1 Regatta 2  Regatta 3 Ranking Championships Ranking Ranking Entries 100 80 100 Score 160 Score 1st Sailor-1 1 3 4 4 1 2.2 2nd Sailor-2 3 1 2 3 2 2.4 3rd Sailor-3 2 2 3 4 4 4.0 4th Sailor-4 6 8 1 7 3 4.6 5th Sailor-5 4 4 6 8 11 9.8 6th Sailor-6 8 6 5 11 9 9.8 7th Sailor-7 9 10 14 19 5 10.6 8th Sailor-8 7 9 7 14 10 11.6 9th Sailor-9 12 7 101 19 8 12.4 10th Sailor-10 14 11 10 21 16 18.0 11th Sailor-11 23 5 8 13 22 18.4 12th Sailor-12 16 25 9 25 15 19.0 13th Sailor-14 15 14 15 29 13 19.4 14th Sailor-13 13 12 11 23 17 19.4 15th Sailor-15 17 16 13 29 14 20.0 16th Sailor-16 18 22 17 35 18 24.8 17th Sailor-17 11 13 12 23 28 26.0 18th Sailor-18 19 21 18 37 19 26.2 19th Sailor-24 10 18 21 28 25 26.2 20th Sailor-19 20 20 16 36 20 26.4 21st Sailor-20 24 26 25 49 12 26.8 22nd Sailor-21 22 17 22 39 23 29.4 23rd Sailor-22 27 23 20 43 21 29.8 24th Sailor-23 21 19 23 40 24 30.4 25th Sailor-25 26 15 24 39 26 31.2 26th Sailor-26 25 24 19 43 27 33.4 27th Sailor-27 5 81 101 86 7 38.6 28th Sailor-28 101 81 101 182 6 76.4 =sum of lowest two results in qualifying regatta's National Ranking Ties will be solved through lowest score at national championship Sailors not competing at a regatta will get a score equal to number of entries +1 Top 5 sailors at Nationals make the worlds team Other national teams selected as per National Ranking's Development teams selected from Nationals and not by National Rankings Examples 9th Sailor who sails two qualifying regatta's and does well at nationals 11th Sailor who does better in qualifying regatta's than at nationals 13th/14th TIE RESOLUTION 21st Sailor who does better at nationals than in qualifying regatta's 27th Sailor who sails one qualifying regatta and does well at nationals 28th Sailor who does not sail any qualifying regatta's and does well at nationals Pre Nats Pre-Nats Ranking = 60% National Result + 40% of Pre National Ranking (20% each of best two) Pre-nats Ranking will be published directly after the last qualifying regatta SIR PETER BLAKE REGATTA TORBAY 6-7 DECEMBER 08     The Sir Peter Blake Regatta was sailed in light conditions with blue skies. The open fleet had 72 entries with Taylor Burn (MBSC/ Queen Charlotte) winning the regatta, Douglas Campbell (Royal Perth YC) second and Trent Rippey from Tauranga third. Jack Collinson (Wakaktere) and Olivia Mackay (Napier) both had 39 points coming 4th and 5th place consecutively. Both Trent and Markus Somerville from Wakatere sailed an impressive regatta for their 12 years  - well done. For full results click here. The green fleet attracted 45 entries with Jeremy Mitchell (MBSC) in first place, Stefan-Sanford Scutt (Taipa) 2nd and Tessa Hunt (Kohi) in 3rd place. For green fleet results click here.                                                                                                OPTI NORTH ISLAND CHAMPS 22 -23 November 08 The North Island Champs attracted 175 entries, 113 in the open fleet and 62 in the green fleet. The weather was fine and clear with shifty lake conditions. A total of seven races were sailed with one drop.Erica Dawson sailed an excellent regatta and claimed first place in the open fleet. Trent Rippey built on his recent experience in Qatar to finish just 3 points behind Erica, in second place. Keith Inglis from Taupo came 3rd with Taylor Burn from QCYC/MBSC in 4th place. Jamie Middleton from Worser Bay, Wellington ( 5th place) and Eliza Wilkinson from Kohi (9th place) revelled in the conditions and secured first placings in a race each.  Well done girls. For full results click here for open fleet results . The Green Fleet also sailed 7 races with Dylan McKinlay (Tauranga) coming first,  Libby Porter (Kohi) 2nd and James Jennings (MBSC) in 3rd place. Click here for green fleet results.     News - good luck to all our sailors attending international regattas!  NZ Team Noumea 2008 Eight and final day here in Noumea today and what a day we have had. This morning at 6am there was no breeze but decided to built throughout the day until the last race was approxi 18+ knots. The sea state was much the same as the breeze starting very flat to reasonable good sized waves with a small well by late this afternoon. Waves being very close together making to hard on the upwind beats. The day finished with a small prize giving including some speeches made by some of the team, in French I may add. And the Haka as a treat for the locals. A team dinner to close tonight and pack the bags for the early voyage home tomorrow morning.   Thank you to everyone that has played a part in organising for this great event, we have all enjoyed ourselves and are looking forward to the next trip away. Most of the team wanted to stay on for a year or two. Signing off for the last time I Noumea. Seventh Day here in Noumea and the weather has changed to what was expected. The trade wind direction was in this morning with approximately 10 knots at 7AM which is not what we have had thus far so we knew we were in for something different today from the get go. The breeze built throughout the day to roughly 15 knots and gusting a little higher with very small shifts from left to right. A very constant breeze maintained. The sea state was also up from what we have seen which kept everyone on their toes. It gave us spectators some great viewing watching these little ones surfing down wind and have a ball. They all seem to love it and come in with huge smiles at the bottom mark rounding. Great stuff. We are expecting much the same tomorrow and possible a little more. So at this stage we have had a good regatta with light winds and now medium making it very fair all round. Click here to see results   Sixth day here in Noumea and the weather is staying very light and four races scheduled. First race today was 9:30 and extremely light. If we were in NZ we probably would have had a postponement. Anyway they got underway straight away and had to read the shifts to get anywhere, proving difficult for some and not others. The breeze built a little by 11am and stayed for the rest of the day very light with some breezes coming and going with the sea state staying flat with no real waves. Not as hot as yesterday which is noce for the longer day today on the water. The team overall had a great day so check out the results. Fifth day here in Noumea and finally getting started. Three races today with two in the morning and one after lunch. Conditions are a little tricky with the range I would guess to be 4-8 knots with some small shifts through the day and the breeze coming and going. Very very hot today so we all slip slopped slapped. All the team had a lot of fun and are looking forward to tomorrow with four races scheduled and a little more wind we think!!! No issues on the water, they all sailed well with some good results. I have also attached a photo with the results off the board at the club..   Forth day in Noumea. Today was a lay day for team Noumea and a chance to recharge the batteries and see a little outside of the hotel and yacht club. We all headed for the local markets this morning to see how the locals trade in all the fresh produce. Small fishing boat arrived and offloaded their nets with fish for the market. Some of the team checked out some of the funny looking fish caught here. Back in the cars and off to the Tjibaou Cultural Centre which is a meeting place of culture and arts. The centre gives visitors a chance to see the architecture and beautiful landscaped native gardens. It is full of more that 800 works including paintings. We then retired to the beach for an afternoon full of fun. All ten in the sailing team spent a few hours windsurfing and playing in the tropical waters right next door to the hotel. It is very hard to get used to believe me. We had a great meal together and a little team building. It was also Markus's 12th birthday today which went off very well this evening, we had balloons, cake,candles and the girls in the team bought him a special gift to parade around in. All went well and early to bed before the first big day tomorrow. Third day here in Noumea, and the first full days sailing which consisted of two sailing sessions. One in the morning and one in the afternoon. A regatta day schedule was planned for today to make sure all of the logistics where in place for when we start racing this Saturday. The day started with breakfast in room 107 or 10.7 as Kevin calls it at 7am sharp before leaving the hotel at 8am for the yacht club. The yachts are rigged and briefing started by 9am and in the water for the morning session. The breeze this morning is a very light 4-5 knots building a little before lunch time. Susannah had the kids back for lunch at 12pm for a one hour break to re fuel and back on the water by 1pm. Most of the kids where looking a little tired after the morning session so the afternoon was a little short to take the tiredness into consideration. by 2:30pm we had the see breeze coming in with a small swell developing with it and by 3pm we had about 12 knots before the team headed back to pack up for the day and a little play time at the beach after debrief with Susannah. The mood here is good throughout the team. The weather is changing at lot and we are not sure what to expect for the regatta. We are looking forward to having tomorrow off. The team need a break before the big push through the four day regatta. NZL team at the 2008 Asian Champs in Qatar - reports and photos supplied by Donn Roberts  For full results on the Qatar Event website click here  Training Team with coach James holding on tight Friday 31st - The Final Day Man what a day. Sailing conditions made in heavan. 13-15Kn rising to 18 by the end of the last race. A nice lumpy sea to sort the men from the boys. Our team was "smokin" one false start with a general recall then under way clean. Trent was on fire leading round the top, wing and gates. He was over hauled by the eventual winner within 10m of the finish so came 2nd. James got 8th and was finishing fast in conditions better suited to sailors with a fuller figure and over 1.0m tall. All the Kiwis did well in the first race in the 10's and 20's. The second race was quickly set in a blustery 15+Kn. White caps were forming and rolling continuous with the waves sets. It was noticable that the kids were intermitantly bailing and hiking. Jack decision to take hiking paints was proving worth it. All team NZ had a good start. Individual Recall was signalled but no one came back. Jack was 7th at the top mark with James, Trent and Taylor all close behind. Charlote a few places back and Alice to follow. (Cole found conditions too testing and had gone in) Trent was quick on the reach and run passing Jack and rounding the gates in 6th. One of the top Malays was left to bail their boat on the run. James came Left from the gate and made good gains on the singaporean and Thai in front of him. Trent was first Kiwi in 6th having come up the middle. Jack 16th James 17th, Taylor 20's, Charlotte then Alice. Well done Kiwi sailing Team Qatar. That was a great way for James to celebrate his last sail in an Opti. On the run back in James stood on the side of his boat and jumped in to the 25 degree Persian Gulf. They are now getting derigged and drying sails before getting gear packed for home. The preparations for tonites prize giving are under way. Donn PS placings are provisional and yet to be confirmed by Doha Sailing Club. - Note also parents counting places of their kids on a pitching boat, with salt laden glasses have been known to be unreliable Thursday 30th - Teams Racing The conditions are sappingly hot. The Singaporians are trying to drink 2.5 liters of water a day. We freeze down bottles and wet towels and have them in chilly bins so the kids can get Max effect out on the race track. Normal temp is 30 -35 degrees cloudless skys. The wind seems to be about 1-3m off the surface too so the water surface doesnt always indicate wind pattern. We concluded taems racing 2 days ago. The Thais Malaysians and Chinese were in a class of their own. China was beaten by Malaysia because their first 2 didnt stay on the race course to work for their team mates. China 1, 2, 7,8. Malasia 3 4 5 6. The closest racing was between the thais and Malaysians. In their heats 8 boats finished within 2.5 boat lengths. Stunning sailing and excellant control in freshening conditions. Up to 15Kn and puffy? We had a day off yesterday and bus trips organised. Went to the baech, massive sand dunes then pictures with camels. The highlight for the kids was quad bike riding arround a sailt flat and up the 30m sand dunes. The kids and Jason found a steep dune that they could build up max speed and jump the bikes at the top. From 400m away we could see they were getting "some serious hang time" as the kids put it. Came back to the city centre in the afternoon. Visited a massive shopping center 2x as big as Glenfield and on 5 levels with an ice skating rink in the basment that could be viewed from all levels. We found cinnamon rolls with sticky sauce topping are an excellant afternoon tea when shopping fatigue sets in. Today is the 3rd day of fleet racing Thursday. The predicted 15+ Kn is unlikely as the winds are from the land to the South. Saudi Arabia. Fingers crossed we get a repeat of the freshening breeze from the teams racing day. Every local you ask has different prediction. At least that is univervesally true. Training in very light winds Wednesday 29th - Hi all, the wind is in early ay a consistant 6-8Kn and building from the North. The glassy patches in the marina oposite are fast filling in.   The second days racing yesterday finished with 6 teams protesting the race start. We had sailed a 3rd race and most boats were linked up ready for the tow home. It was almost 3:00pm, the kids were hot and tired but the race committee wanted to try and get a 4th race in while the wind was consistent. The boats lined  up for a 4th race with the course orientated slightly more to the right than any previous race. Generally the wind sets up and flicks right thru the afternoon and strengthens. The kids all set their watches and made for their spot on the line. What the sailors all said was "you could hear all the watches going off withing seconds of each other and no gun or flag drop to indicate a start. The gun was at least 10 seconds late and the flag never dropped. What a C..K UP! The race officer let the race proceed knowing there had been a major error. It was obvious that the weight of anoyance at the stuff up would mean the race would have to be cancellled.  Unfortunately Taylor,  Alice and Charlotte got good placings but Jack, James, Trent and Cole were nearly last. Positions following 6 races are Taylor 21st and in the groove, sailing the shifts and coverng nicely. Trent 25th- good placings but struggling to get speed off the line. Jack 28th, consistently finding a clear spot on the line and most often first Kiwi to the top mark. Alice 31st a steady improver. James 33rd, good boat speed and some good come backs. Charlotte 35th, very consistant and finding the form on the 2nd day. Cole 37th, best Kiwi spot at the top mark 4th, but could not hold on. Sail wisely and moved over for Kiwis coming thru.   The signal has just sounded for getting on the water for teams racing. Must fly. My air conditioned Dhow awaits. Donn Sunday 26th Hi all racing proper starts today. There is a buzzz of excitment and anticipation arround the club as kids wash hulls and wet and dry sand. Final tweaking for the rigs, clean the foils and keep out of the blazing sun. We had cloud cover earlier that has burnt off. The sea breeze is building but still unstable flicking 90 degrees occiasionally. The race committee has left to set up the race course. Hopefully further out to sea today so as to be less influenced by the continuous wall of skyscrapers on the shore line. Off to watch the first days sailing, starting in just over an hour. Saturday 25th Hi all just finished the practice race on Sat here. very light easterly 4-6Kn. Race course set hard up against the new city coastline about 200m off shore and the pyramid shaped Sheratan Hotel. First start general recall. Second start individual, and Alice had to go arround the committee boat being over. She said a chinese sailor pushed her over. James, Cole and Trent went right and got clear air. The tide in the shipping channel was running out and might have give a little assistance. Jack and Taylor went left and the breeze wend soft on that side and struggled to get back in touch. Alice had no option but to pick boats off down the middle. At the top mark the breeze was down to 4Kn. Malsaysia, Thailand and China 1-9 and James in 10th, Trentn 12th Cole 18th, Charlotte early 20s and gaining fast on the reach. James hit the top mark . She managed to sail right over james and cole who were parked in a big bunch. Alice, Jack and Taylor well back and having to fight their way thru tail enders. On the run to the gate with only 1 pin james made a good break to be clear a developing scrum of boats. He and Charlotte went right to were a faint breeze line was forming. It was a relative procession to the finish Trent about 15, Charlotte 20, James 21 Cole faiding to late 20s Jack mid 30s and Taylor 40ish. Only 68 competitors redgistered and the UAE, Kuwaitis, and Bahrain have yet to show up. The opening ceremony kicks off in an hour. It is so lavish it looks like a wedding. Our kids are making the most of the warm water and swimming off the pier. Its a shame the other teams are so structured Saturday 25th The measurement phase has been interesting. The new sail was initially rejected as the 6 numeral was 4mm too short, a marker pen sorted that out. Taylor numbers were 5mm too close to the trailing edge. A lino knife was enough to trim the edge off the number and comply. James and Cole's boats were light. The allowed weight is 35kg but they make a allowance for the ratchet blocks and bungey that cannot be removed easily. They add 200 grams so the allowable weight is 35.2Kg. Aparently the older boats lose weight about .2kg / year. The kids have timber blocks added to their boats to get them up to weight.  Boats had to be completely dry. They had a mirror to inspect for added weight under all the gunnels. Even the spacing of the eyelets were checked. James and I caught up with some Kiwis living here and setting up Vodaphone network. I have been sending emails with lots of picis but they keep bouncing back file size exceeding 10Mb limit. Thats why this appears disjointed. I will try to be a bit more organised when the racing starts tomorrow and if I get a chance to do results from this afternoons racing. Some kids are talking about pulling out and only doing certain legs. I reckon do the lot and win by a country mile to put the frighteners up the rest. Friday 24th We  are having a quiet day today. No Sailing. The Sheritan looks to be the best vantage point to view the racing from so we will be checking that out. No mention of places on the spectator boats yet, but there should not be much pressure of nubers. Most other teams are just 4 and a coach. No parents. Charlotte and Alice return from racing Fourth day of racing was windier Wednesday 22nd October: ll 7 members of the Asean Champs Team have arrived safely once we met up with Charlotte and Taylor who flew from Christchurch via Sydney. We have a basic hotel with plenty of room in the outskirtsw of town. It is getting better as more and more teams arrive. We have met up with Peter Lester who has offered us a guided tour thru Qatars version of the institute of sport which he heads the sailing programme. The sailors now have their boats and are out on their second days sailing. We have 5-8 kn wind and the sea is very flat. The race course is 2 miles away and as yet we have not found a vantage point to view it from. There was talk of a spectator craft to be provided at cost but I think they are waiting to see what interest there is before committing. They have been allocated boats. The older ones are grey hulls and new ones white. Every country was allocated 3 new ones. In preliminary racing yesterday we raced the Japanese. It was quite even to the top mark but the kiwis had a good speed edge down wind. Everyone has noticed with the high salt content in the Persian Gulf the boats float much higher. This seems most pronounced in the down wind. Also the wind being much lighter, it doesn't show on the water as pronounced as in NZ. There is a practise race tomorrow and informal racing between countries organised on the water usually. The Japanese are very interested to know what ranking our team has? I think they are worried. We are having an early finish today so as not to get burnt out. The plan is to visit a local souk or market this evening when it gets kooler. The kids have all learnt hello and thankyou in arabic. We are warmly greeted by all of the fellow sailing groups. ...All for now. Donn Roberts     2008 World Championship, Cesme in Turkey, 14 - 25 July... NZL Yachting Trust Worlds Team Click here for the event website. Logan Dunning-Beck, Sam MacKay, Andrew McKenzie, Erica Dawson and Naomi Mannering are taking part in the World Championships on the Aegean Sea on the West Coast of Turkey. Reports from the team will be posted as they come in. The Teams racing event took place on 21/07/2008 - NZ went into the event as the top qualifyer and made it through to the 4th round. For a full report go to the IODA website, and for the results table click here. To link to the IODA news pages dedicated to the Worlds click here REPORT  DAY 5   24/07/2008  Click here for REPORT 5 PDF with photo, by Peter Dawson After two discussions between coaches and jury who did not see eye to eye over last nights decision by the jury to abandon the last 2 flights of the day, the sailors were back on the race course to resail Race 10b and10b. The arguments centred around the jury not policing Rule 42 up the beat in the light air. Then the jury instructing the Race committee after the race had finished that it was unfair. The race was abandoned about 2 hours after it had finished. Race 10 Flight 2 - Rerun : Andrew and Naomi The breeze today is from the opposite direction off the land for the first time in 2 weeks that we have been here. It started around 3-5 knots with a flat sea. The race got underway on schedule at midday. Initially the breeze looked steady across the course but after the start of the first race it shifted to the left with more pressure there. Our 2 sailors went up the middle and Andrew rounded about 34th and Naomi 41st at the top. Similar pattern on the last beat. Andrew finished 22nd and Naomi about 44th. Race 10 Flight 3 – Rerun : Erica Erica also seemed to work the middle and was in the mid 30s at the top. The 2nd fleet had overlapped the first fleet by this stage and anyone caught out on the right finished well down trying to get back. At the end of the race Erica was 34th. Race 11 Flight 1: Sam and Naomi This flight started in 5 knots of southerly wind. Flight 1 2 and 3 were abandoned part way through the race as the breeze swung into the north. As luck would have it Logan was lying 2nd and Erica 6th at the time of the abandonment. They started the rerun at 1510 in 2-3 knots and decreasing. They got the first flight away and finished the race with Sam 8th and Naomi 40th. Meanwhile 2nd and 3rd flights were still waiting for the breeze and they eventually shifted the course. Race 11 Flight 2: Logan and Erica  They got this one away at 1550 in 5 knots of breeze. We had Logan 16th at the wing and Erica 37th. They both struggled to hold positions and drifted around to finish Logan 49 and Erica 52. Race 11 Flight 3 – Andrew Andrew was 57th at the wing mark and worked his way up the field to about 35th at the finish. Race 12 Flight 1: Logan and Naomi This race started in 5 knots of breeze. Logan 7th at the top and 6th at the wing. Naomi had a bad start and was 3rd to last at the wing. At the finish we had 5 knots with a left shifting breeze and Logan finished 4th and Naomi 70th. Race 12 Flight 2: Andrew and Sam Andrew went right out of the start which paid well and made it to the top mark in 16th. Sam was in the 50s at the wing but managed to bang the left hard up the last beat and made up ground to finish in 35th. On the second beat the breeze was in the left with a left hand shift and Andrew finished 18th. Race 12 Flight 3: Erica Erica had a pretty bad start and worked the right up the first beat because there was more pressure and the breeze had been shifting right. She was 25th at the top. She held her own to the finish and crossed in 25th. Update: Andrew had an OCS in Race 11. There are many protests seeking either redress for Race 10b and 10c or getting 10a thrown out altogether. These will carry on into the night. As the races are now 2 behind schedule the race committee has brought tomorrows start forward to 1030 and will attempt to sail 3 races to complete the full regatta. REPORT 5 24/07/2008 Click here for REPORT 5 by Peter Dawson REPORT 4  23/07/2008 Click here for REPORT 4 pdf with photos by Peter Dawson REPORT 3   20/07/2008 click here for report 3 by Peter Dawson REPORT 2   19/07/2008  click here for report 2 by Peter Dawson REPORT 1   18/07/2008  download pdf file of report  by  clicking here by Peter Dawson  2008 Optimist European Championship, Riva Del Garda, Italy, 28 June - 6 July  Jayvee Buchannan NZL 4204, Vicki Callinicos NZL 4205, Alex Munro NZL 4263, and Henry Wilkinson NZL 4267 are about to take part in the Opti European Championship on Lake Garda - to follow their progess on the event website click here. Reports from the team will be posted here as they come in. REPORT 4 - 05/07/08 It's been a couple of hard days for the Kiwi sailors who have...to read more click here REPORT 3 - 03/07/08 Three more races yesterday with the results not really reflecting how well our kids sailed, but with the difficult conditions...to read more click here REPORT 2 - 01/07/08 The NZ sailors went into the first day of competition confident after good showings in the practise races which were reasonably...to read more click here REPORT 1 - 29/06/08 As with the North American Team we were also delayed leaving Auckland resulting in a 41 hour trip to Riva del Garda including a...to read more click here    2008 North American Championship, Curaçao, 28 June - 6 July Click here for the event website which has live tracking of races, replays of races, news, sailors profiles, results and general information. Keith Inglis NZL4312, Olivia McKay NZL 4223, Nicholas Gunn NZL4186 and Alex Dyett NZL4119 are at the North Americans held off Jan Thiel Beach, Curacao, Netherland Antilles in the Caribbean.  2009 Opti Clinic, 13 - 16 January The Opti Clinic has been held each year since 2002. The clinic has proven to be very valuable for sailors already racing to move to the next level in all areas of competitive sailing. The clinic is to be held 13,14,15,16 January 2009 At Eastern Beach Willow Park Camp. The entry forms and criteria will be available from the web site in October. Any enquiries, direct to Nigel Rippey. Email Rippey@xtra.co.nz. 2008 NZ Optimist Nationals, Naval Point Nicolas Poree of New Caledonia has won the NZ Optimist championship sailed at Naval Point YC, Lyttelton. Nicolas and fellow New Caledonian Maxime Masard, who was only one point behind in second, have been attending NZ champs since 2005 when it was held in Taipa. They are part of an ongoing exchange between the two nations which was originally fostered by Glendowie BC many years ago, this year they have entered a particularly strong team with four sailors in the top 15. Logan Dunning-Beck of Wakatere BC in Auckland was third overall, and as the first New Zealander is the National Optimist Champion. Logan makes up part of the New Zealand Worlds team, along with Sam Mackay of Napier SC, Andrew McKenzie of Kohimarama YC, Erica Dawson of Murrays Bay SC and Naomi Mannering of Napier SC. Click on any of the photos below for more images from the Opti Nationals Logan Dunning-Beck NZL 4232 and Marcus Somerville NZL4010 Waiting for wind Starting sequence on Lyttelton Harbour 1 Nicolas Poree SRC M 14 FRA  48 2 Maxime Masard SRC M 15 FRA Yellow  49 3 Logan Dunning-Beck Wakatere BC M 15 NZL Yellow  53 4 Sam Mackay Napier SC M 15 NZL Yellow 61 5 Andrew McKenzie Kohimarama YC M 13 NZL White 63 6 Erica Dawson Murrays Bay SC F 14 NZL Blue  75 7 Naomi Mannering Napier SC F 14 NZL Red 75 8 Mark Wong Vinn Howe Singapore SC M 13 SIN White 103 9 Keith Inglis Taupo YC M 14 NZL White  108 10 Lloyd Collings Sorrento SCBC M 14 AUS Red  116 11 Olivia Mackay Napier SC F 12 NZL Red  122 12 Nicholas Gunn Tauranga YPBC M 15 NZL Blue 126 13 Shelley White Keppel Bay SC F 15 AUS Red  127 14 Clement Muller SRC M 14 FRA White  135 15 Laszlo Horvath SRC M 15 FRA Blue  137 16 Alex Dyet Torbay SC M 15 NZL Blue  138 17 Sam Schofield Wakatere BC M 14 NZL White  140 Click here for full results from the Open and Green fleet Click here to read a Report from Team MAD DOG Racing about Waimakariri SPCB green fleet sailor Patrick Haybittle at the Nationals - Brian Haybittle The Nationals are in their final day and positions at the top are very tight. Erica Dawson of Murrays Bay SC has had a wonderful regatta, leading the New Zealand fleet for much of the time; Logan Dunning-Beck of Wakatere BC has shown his experience by putting together a series of good races after suffering a confusing finishing result in one of the first races; Sam Mackay of Napier Club, Andrew McKenzie of Kohimarama YC and Naomi Mannering of Napier SC have also sailed well and are in contention for the coveted top five NZ Worlds team positions. Close behind are Keith Inglis of Taupo YC and Olivia Mackay also of Napier SC. Of the 178 sailors in the Open fleet, 34 internationals are attending the event, with Nicolas Poree of New Caledonia, representing France, currently leading the regatta. Other nations represented are Singapore, Australia, USA, Norway, Tahiti, Hong Kong, and United Arab Emirates. 41 sailors are taking part in the Green fleet division of the regatta - this is currently being led by Evie Baxter of Queen Charlotte YC. A variety of conditions have been experienced, but the majority has been sailed in light weather.  Auckland Champs 2008, Howick The Auckland Champs attracted 107 Open fleet, and 41 Green fleet sailors from all over New Zealand - a massive 148 boats! Conditions were generally light and flukey earlier in the day but races held later enjoyed a more steady, and fairly brisk breeze at times. Andrew McKenzie of Kohimarama came out on top with first girl Naomi Mannering from Napier 2nd and Alex Dyet of Torbay 3rd. In the Green fleet Charlotte de L'Isle, Torbay, came 1st, Nick Egnot Johnson, MBSC, 2nd and Justin McDonald of Tauranga 3rd. For full results go to the RESULTS page. Racing on Sunday off Howick YC at the 2008 Auckland Champs - click on either photo for more SI Opti Champs, Lyttelton 23/24 February 2008          Logan Dunning-Beck added the South Island Opti Champs to the North Island title he already holds. Andrew Mckenzie placed second with Alex Munro in third. 1st         Logan Dunning Beck    Wakatere    1.0    1.0    2.0    2.0    (3.0)    9.0    6.0     2nd        Andrew Mckenzie    Kohimarama    7.0    (22.0)    1.0    1.0    1.0    32.0    10.0     3rd         Alex Munro    Wakatere    2.5    2.0    (5.0)    3.0    4.0    16.5    11.5     Full results are available at http://www.navalpoint.co.nz/results/optisouth.htm/ Junior Sail Auckland, Auckland February 2008          There were good results in the Opti Open class for Logan Dunning-Beck, Sam MackKay and Sam Schofield who finished 1st, 2nd and 3rd in a 96 boat fleet sailed in moderate winds on Saturday and blustery wet conditions on Sunday. Jnr Sail Auckland Results Wakatere Junior Regatta, December 15, 2007 Reasonable sized fleets turned out for the annual Junior Regatta in Devonport this year. Conditions were cloudy with moderate but shirfty northerlies and choppy waves. The young sailors dealt well with sightly challeging launching conditions as the receeding tide fought the wind and created dumping waves along the shoreline. Results will be posted when they come to hand. Click here for more photos of the Open fleet Sir Peter Blake Memorial Regatta, Torbay Sailing Club, December 8 - 9 2007 One hundred and twenty seven optimist sailors turned up for the Sir Peter Blake Memorial Regatta this year sailed out of Torbay Sailing Club. In the Open fleet eighty five competitors sailed four races and enjoyed sunny conditions on Saturday with a breeze that began lightly from the south and moved into the north and increased to a moderate sea breeze in the afternoon. Sam MacKay of Napier was at the top of the board at the end of the day on 26 points, ahead of Andrew McKenzie of Kohimarama with 37 and Jayvee Buchanan of Murrays Bay/Charteris Bay with 40. The forty two boat Green fleet also enjoyed conditions well suited to young sailors learning the ropes - Jarrod McDonald of Murrays Bay came in a clear first with 7 points; Charlotte Moss of Murrays Bay second with 25 points; and Markus Somerville of Wakatere third with 28 points. Unfortunately Sunday brought strong winds of 30+ knots so sailing was called off after a number of boats in the large Starling fleet suffered gear breakages - fortunately the series was complete with four races and the previous days results stood. Thank you to the many volunteer helpers from Torbay SC and supporting clubs. For full results go the Torbay SC website by clicking here.  North Island Opti Champs, Rotorua 17-18 November '07   Results Open Fleet    Results Green Fleet Light winds were the order of the day for Opti sailors attending the North Island Champs held on Lake Rotorua. Up and coming sailors came to the fore in the light breezes which stayed under 10 knots over the weekend. The Open fleet was dominated by Napier sailors - Sam Mackay 1st and Naomi Mannering 2nd, with Murrays Bay sailor Erica Dawson snapping at their heels - putting two girls on the podium for the first time at a major NZ Opti regatta in recent years. A good fleet of 108 boats took part, with about one third girls - and a visitor from Noumea. Another 60 sailors competed in the Green fleet, Murrays Bay sailors taking the top three closely contested positions, and again we saw 2 girls in the top 3. Charlotte Moss 1st, Jarrod McDonald 2nd and Ellie Lane 3rd. Big night for NZ Optis at the 2007 Yachting New Zealand Excellence Awards The NZIODA and it's sailors were well represented at the awards ceremony held at the Royal Yacht Squadron on 16 November. 2007 World Optimist Champion Chris Steele was joint winner of the Young Sailor of the Year, along with 2006 & 2007 International 420 World Champions and ex NZ Opti representatives Peter Burling and Carl Evans. As top country team at the Opti Worlds, winners of the Miami Herald trophy, Chris Steele, Alexandra Maloney, Logan Dunning-Beck, James Turner and Sam MacKay received a Merit Award. Andrew Wills received a Merit Award for his role as coach to the Worlds team, and Alexander Maloney was a finalist nominee for the Young Sailor of the Year. The list of nominees in both the Young Sailor of the Year, and Sailor of the Year featured many past Opti sailors. Amongst the Honour Awards were Lorna and Mike Judd who have been involved with the class for many years. As well as looking after measurement and coaching for the class; building regional club participation and development; Lorna and Mike also helped finance entries for the first teams travelling to World Opti Championships - the humble beginnings of our opti sailors' achievements today. Barry Davies also received an Honour Award. Barry initiated the annual Opti Clinic which has become one of the three big national events on every NZ Opti sailors' calendar. Barry also organised the NI's on behalf of NZIODA for many years - along with his wife Dianne, he has put countless hours into the class. Top left: Jan Dawson, YNZ, and Opti team members James Turner, Chrs Steele and Alexandra Maloney. Absent - Logan Dunning Beck and Sam MacKay. Bottom left: Lorna Judd, His Excellency the Governor-General Anand Satyanand, Mike Judd Photos Richard Gladwell Top right: Jan Dawson and Andrew Wills Bottom right: Barry Davies and His Excellency the Governor-General Anand Satyanand Photos: Richard Gladwell   Interclub teams racing at Murrays Bay 10 November '07 A beautiful sunny day with light northerly winds set the scene for some early season teams racing. The courses were set just off Mairangi Bay and Murrays Bay, giving spectators a good view from the popular walkway over the cliffs, and along the foreshore walkway when the tide was low.  The sailors had a great time and I believe there are plans to hold another competition later this summer - not sure where and when but we'll keep you posted.  Judge Jim Maloney agreed that it was a great day - "the kids had a blast". Kohimarama YC, Tauranga BC, Howick SC, Bucklands Beach YC, Wakatere BC and Murrays Bay SC entered teams with a total of 12 taking part. Official results aren't available at this stage, but 1st place went to a Murrays Bay team, 2nd to Tauranga, 3rd to Wakatere and 4th to Kohimarama.   Click here for more photos  Andrew McKenzie reports on his  Bermuda Junior Gold Cup trip On Monday Dad came home from work saying he had received a phone call from Kevin Brown President of NZIODA asking if I wanted to go to Bermuda to compete in the King Edward VIIth Junior Gold Cup next week. Did I What!! We also received an email from Peter Montgomery saying we had hit the jackpot and were sure to have a great time. He said that Dad should watch out for the 'Dark and Stormies', On Sunday we were on the plane. Bermuda is a small series of islands, 22 square miles in total, approximately 600 nautical miles off the east coast of North America, and 800 miles North East of the Bahamas, and 32 degrees north of the equator. Actually it is way out in the Atlantic, seemingly a million miles from anywhere. The islands form part of the ring of a volcanic crater atop a 13,000 foot underwater mountain.  Wow! 31 hours after take off and a four hour sleep at a JFK Airport hotel we arrived in sunny Bermuda..... to read more click here