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    Day 4 Hyundai Worlds: Some Favorites Struggle 

    Published on 12-06-2019 12:15 PM
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    DAY 4 - Hyundai 49er, 49erFX & Nacra 17 World Championships
    Day 1 of the Gold Fleet finals has seen the pressure mount, and some of the favourites starting to crumble…




    The fourth day of the 2019 Hyundai 49er, 49erFX and Nacra 17 World Championships saw the race for the title and Olympic qualification is beginning to take shape as the fleets split into their respective Gold fleets.

    49er - Germans and Kiwis break away

    Two teams have separated themselves at the top of the 49er leaderboard. Erik Heil / Thomas Ploessel (GER) extended their lead over Peter Burling / Blair Tuke (NZL) on the first day of finals racing, winning the day with three top ten finishes and edging themselves one step closer to their first 49er World Championship. Hot on their heels the local heroes of Burling / Tuke didn’t have an ideal day by their ...
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    Qualifying In Light Airs Not For Heavyweights 

    Published on 12-05-2019 10:49 AM
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    DAY 3 - Hyundai 49er, 49erFX & Nacra 17 World Championships
    The end of the Qualifying Series in any Olympic-class World Championship is always a fraught scramble to make it through to the Gold Fleet Finals. Scrape through to the final 25 and you live to fight another three days. Fail to make the cut - and the best you can finish is 26th overall.

    Add to that the fact that qualification to the Olympic Games is also on the line for many teams at the Hyundai 49er, 49erFX & Nacra 17 World Championships in Auckland, and there is an awful lot at stake for this group of committed sailors. They dedicate their young lives to moments like these.
    ...
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    USA Showing Up At Hyundai World Championships 

    Published on 12-04-2019 11:14 AM
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    DAY 2 - Hyundai 49er, 49erFX & Nacra 17 World Championships


    It has been a feature of the Nacra 17 fleet in Championships to date that the favourites rise to the challenge and begin the series strongly. None more so than the never-ending saga for British nomination to the Tokyo Olympics between Ben Saxton with Nicola Boniface and John Gimson with Anna Burnett. The two British teams fighting for the selection are lying first and second overall on the leaderboard, both with two dominant days to start the regatta. However there are four teams at the top, all within a point of each other. Along with the Brits are Riley Gibbs and Anna Weis (USA) in ...
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    2019 Hyundai 49er, FX, Nacra 17 Worlds Auckland 

    Published on 12-03-2019 10:28 AM
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    Erik Heil and Thomas Ploessel opened day one of the World Championships with a stunningly consistent performance while some of the other big guns failed to fire.

    Two 49er races were completed after wild weather lashed the race areas off Auckland, New Zealand. With wind speeds up to 37 knots recorded on the race course earlier in the day, the sensible decision was made to keep all sailors ashore until sailable conditions arrived. After a delay long enough to cause even the most seasoned veterans to assume they were having a day off, the 49er fleet were sent out for two rounds of qualifying races.

    With over 400 athletes competing from 40 nations and with the ...
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    Sir Peter Blake Regatta 

    Published on 12-02-2019 04:31 PM
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    The Torbay Sailing Club hosted it's annual tribute to Sir Peter Blake over the weekend, a springboard event for youths 19 years and under.
    235 entries in 13 divisions participated in the event located in Waiake Bay just north of Auckland proper. LiveSailDie.com had Rachel von Zalinski
    in attendance to capture the joy of youths enjoying ...
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    Olympic Qualification Showdown Looms Next Week 

    Published on 11-27-2019 12:31 PM
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    Two 49er teams well known to the podium but yet to qualify their countries for the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games finished first and second at the three-day Oceanic Championships which served as a warm-up event for next week's 2019 Hyundai World Championships.

    Austria’s Benjamin Bildstein and David Hussl sealed victory in the light and fickle northerly breeze which proved unsettled in the hazy conditions. The strong currents of the Waitemata Harbour proved a critical component to today’s strategy with many race winners coming from deep in the field after lap one.

    “Today was quite fun, I think we had another ...
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    Oceania Championships Warm Up In Full Glory! 

    Published on 11-25-2019 02:17 PM
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    Auckland delivers on opening day

    Glamour conditions greeted the 178 international teams on the opening day of racing at the 2019 Hyundai 49er, 49erFX and Nacra17 Oceania Championships. The three-day warmup regatta before next weeks world championships is hosted by Auckland’s Royal Akarana Yacht Club on the shores of the Waitemata. With the weeks leading up to the event being filled with strong winds and sunshine, the bar was set high and New Zealand certainly delivered.








    The 49er class once again staked its claim of being one of the tightest fleets ...
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    Wild Oats Near Dismasting Avoided By Alert Crew 

    Published on 11-12-2019 10:45 AM
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    A lightning fast and very professional response by the highly experienced crew aboard the supermaxi Wild Oats XI when its mast failed at the weekend saved the yacht from the likelihood of considerably more damage.

    The 30-metre long sloop, which is recognised as the most successful ...
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    2019 PIC Coastal Classic: A Record Breaking Year! 

    Published on 10-25-2019 01:13 PM
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    Beau Geste had a fast sail from Auckland to Russell in the Bay of Islands, at times reaching speeds over 45kn. They shaved nearly 13 minutes off the current race record - getting there in 5hrs 0 min 37 sec. We've got some on board footage and insights to what that five hours was like: loud, bumpy, wet and fun.


    Beau Geste finishes PIC Coastal Classic in 5 hrs 37 seconds

    At 3pm this afternoon, Beau Geste set a new record for the PIC Coastal Classic yacht ...
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    Unrest @ McConaghy 

    Published on 10-15-2019 04:45 PM

    The boat builder behind some of the Sydney to Hobart's most memorable finishes has been rocked by accusations of sabotaged relationships and shoddy craftsmanship in a director feud that spilled into the Federal Court.

    Acrimonious infighting erupted at McConaghy Boats - whose website describes it as the iconic race's "most successful builder" behind yachts ...
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    Musket Cove Regatta Brings Fijian Fun To Paradise 

    Published on 09-19-2019 11:24 AM
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    Report, Pics and Video From Ronnie Simpson


    Nadi, Fiji - The 36th annual Fiji Regatta Week - Fiji’s largest annual regatta - has drawn to a conclusion after six days of yacht racing, parties, seminars and more. One of the largest racing and cruising regattas in the South Pacific, 2019 was once again very well attended ...
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    Sydney to Auckland Ocean Race 2021: Centrepiece of Major Summer International Events 

    Published on 09-13-2019 09:27 AM
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    To start on Sydney Harbour at 1pm on 30 January 2021, the inaugural Sydney to Auckland Ocean Race 2021, organised by the Royal Prince Alfred Yacht Club (RPAYC) in NSW in association with the Royal New Zealand Yacht Squadron (RNZYS), is already gaining momentum with over 100 Expressions of Interest received. ...
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    Fiji Regatta Week Kicks Off In Mamanuca Islands 

    Published on 09-12-2019 04:08 PM
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    Article, Pics, & Video by Ronnie Simpson


    Nadi, Fiji - The 36th annual Fiji Regatta Week - Fiji’s largest annual regatta - kicks off this weekend at Musket Cove Island Resort, located in the beautiful Mamanuca ...
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    Lumps And Bumps At Hamo Isle Day 6 

    Published on 08-23-2019 10:24 AM
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    Sydney boats Hooligan, Marcus Blackmore’s TP52, and Team Hollywood, Ray Roberts’ Botin 40, have captured the top divisional prizes at Hamilton Island Race Week on the penultimate day, when the whales came out to play in Whitsunday Passage.

    Wind over tide made for some very lumpy seas and there were a small number of casualties. Team Zen was this afternoon working hard to repair the vang on Gordon Ketelbey’s TP52 so they can complete the sixth and final day of the annual ...
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    Multi Hull Madness At Hamilton Island Race Week 

    Published on 08-23-2019 10:23 AM
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    The brand new Tf10 Mad Max up on one hull through a gybe and Kim William’s Melges 32 Rock n Roll living up to its name by performing a massive wipe-out at the northern end of Dent Island in a gust made for a colourful day four of racing at Hamilton Island Race Week.

    This was after some morning frivolity when crews dressed up as superheroes, Star Wars characters and a boatload of vitamin-fuelled (some suggested), green-suited aliens ...
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    2019 Hamilton Island Race Week: Big Bang Tuesday 

    Published on 08-20-2019 10:14 AM
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    Big Tuesday delivers bang to Hamilton Island Race Week crews

    With two days of light airs kicking off Hamilton Island Race Week, the hype building for some serious heavy air racing on day three delivered. Big Tuesday opened with a bang, the southeast winds whistling across Dent Passage and winding up to 37 knots as the morning progressed.

    Unbowed by the ...
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    Airlie Race Week Heats Up 

    Published on 08-14-2019 09:46 AM
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    Competition heats up with one day remaining at Airlie Beach Race Week

    The 31st Airlie Beach Race Week, hosted by Whitsunday Sailing Club, is in its closing stages with just one day of racing remaining, so all 114 competing boats were out on the various courses today doing their best to cement a podium place in advance of the final day.

    “That was a long time on the course yesterday,” said Phil ‘Cub’ Barnett, a past 18 foot skiff world champion, as he prepared for the day ahead. “It’s ...
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    Tornado Rips Through Auckland Waterfront 

    Published on 08-12-2019 10:50 PM
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    'Tornado' hits Auckland waterfront and leaves destruction in its wake.
    Article via NZ Herald



    A tornado-like waterspout has ripped through central Auckland's waterfront, toppling at least one shipping container and wreaking havoc on yachts, ships and cars.

    Vehicles were swept into the ocean and a yacht was struck by lightning as the ...
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    Tragic Catamaran Capsize In Oz 

    Published on 07-11-2019 10:34 AM
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    Three dead, two in hospital after catamaran overturned off the coast of Newcastle

    Jessica Brown Reports For The Newcastle Herald



    THREE people are dead and two have been rescued after a catamaran overturned off Newcastle in what has been described as "a traumatic scene".

    Marine Rescue crews from Newcastle and Port Stephens raced to a mayday call off the Hunter's coast on Thursday morning.

    An EPIRB - ...
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    Narrow Escape From Burning Yacht In Queensland 

    Published on 04-12-2019 11:09 AM
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    A Victorian couple and their pet dog, Charlie, have had a lucky escape from a burning yacht in waters off Moreton Island in South-East Queensland on Friday.
    Authorities were alerted to the burning boat on the south-west side of the island just after 5.30am.
    Police ...
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