Open Classes

This one design is used by some sailors as a step between the Starling and Laser. NZ has produced a number of World Champions in the last few years. Micharl Turney (current NI champ), Jordan Coles and Laura Hemmingway travelled to Portugal to the Worlds.

Take a great hull, build it light, provide the best equipment available then freeze, the design.. That’s the strategy behind the Laser class. With over 190,000 produced world-wide, Lasers are safe, unsinkable, spacious and light weight. The Laser has found favour here in Tauranga with several of our more mature sailors taking to the water. This season we have a good fleet of laser radials with several of our starling sailors moving into this class.  Sam Meech won a Bronze medal at the Youth Worlds in Denmark this year and Jason Saunders was 5th at the CORK regatta in Hamilton, Ontario Canada.

Bob Smyth has been instrumental in the growing resurgence of the NZ classic – the Zephyr.  Each sailing weekend we have a regular fleet of Zephyrs.  The boat was designed by Des Townson in 1956 and enjoyed great success in the 1960’s with fleets in excess of 100 at National events. It is a strict one design with the sails made exclusively at Doyle Sail makers – using the same design as in the 1950’s The owners association still control the building of hulls. Currently there are big fleets in Hamilton, Auckland and Christchurch.  The fleet in Tauranga is growing all the time. The greatest P Class sailor of all time Jimmy Gilpin is current National Master Champion. His age is greater than his sail number! Just shows sailing is a sport for life. National Champion is Sam Meech. His mum, Debbie, is the Woman’s champion.

The 420 is an established performance two person trapeze and spinnaker racing dinghy. There are many fleets worldwide. This popular dinghy is sailed at school, club, open, national and international levels in Fleet and Teams Racing.
The 420 is used for the World Teams Racing Championships and now for teams racing at a secondary school and inter club competition level in New Zealand.
Despite being new in New Zealand it is fast becoming a major yacht class due to its all round performance and these multi-use attributes. Indeed the 420 Class was the largest of all the Youth fleets at the Yachting New Zealand, Youth Sail event.  Peter Burling who cut his teeth in the waters off the club, won back to back World titles in this class. He subsequently place 11th in the 2008 Olympics in a 470.