Please select your home edition
Edition
Trinidad and Tobago - Sail Service Stay

420 & 470 Nationals at Takapuna - Mixed 470 on debut

by Michael Brown/Yachting NZ 1 May 2022 22:02 PDT 2 May 2022
420 - Day 2 - Oceanbridge NZL Sailing Regatta - Takapuna BC February 18, 2022 © Richard Gladwell / Sail-World.com/nz

Annabelle Rennie-Younger is convinced she made the right decision to jump in a different boat, especially after it's brought about immediate success.

She combined with Andre Van Dam to take out the 470 national title hosted by the Takapuna Boating Club over the weekend, edging Derek Scott and Megan Thomson by one point across the 12-race series. Brittany Wornall and Sam Street were third.

Rennie-Younger made the switch to the 470 about two months ago after spending the last few years in the ILCA 6 (Laser Radial). She's previously competed at world championship level at both youth and senior level in the single-handed dinghy but a lingering back injury meant something needed to change.

"I wasn't really getting on top of my injury so the 470 was going to be a little bit easier on my back," she said. "There was an opportunity there so I decided to switch over and give it a good crack.

"It was a difficult decision. I have been sailing the Laser for a long time and had some big plans to go to Europe this year, so it was pretty hard to pull out of that. I needed to step back and really think long-term, and look forward to Paris and LA and where my best chances are. That made it easier."

The 470 is reverting to a mixed class for the 2024 Paris Games and the top four crews at the national championships were all mixed combinations. They've been training together over the summer and one of the biggest changes for Rennie-Younger is having someone sitting alongside her in a boat.

"It's quite foreign to be sailing with someone else in the boat, just like remembering to talk and explain what you're doing before you do it so it's learning all that process as well. Andre has been super-cool and has a lot of knowledge in the class so he's made it pretty easy for me.

"It was super-exciting [to win the nationals]. That was my first double-handed racing experience and we have a really tight fleet at home.

"We have a pretty steep learning curve at the moment. For me, it's learning the boat, boat handling and communication. We have a lot of work to do at home and then we'll head to Europe and get some racing experience in bigger fleets."

Rennie-Younger and Van Dam will compete at July's junior European championships (for under-24 sailors) along Tim Howse and Rebecca Hume and will also target October's 470 world championships in Israel.

This country's top 420 crews will also be heading to Europe in the coming months. A handful will compete at Kiel Week in the leadup to July's youth sailing world championships and some are also eyeing up the 420 European championship and 420 world championships.

The standard in the 420 fleet in New Zealand is high right now and that played out on the water at the national championships.

Cam Brown and Alex Hebberd took out the male title by three points over Lucas Day and Sam Scott, with Joe Leith and Josh Ferrisey a further point behind in third.

Only two points separated the top female crews, with Vivien Webster Chung and Kiera Sinton edging Nicola Hume and Daniella Wooldridge for the national title.

Yachting New Zealand talent development manager Geoff Woolley is encouraged by what he's seeing in both fleets.

"Both the 470 and 420 squads are building up really nicely with a group of young sailors who are working together and pushing each other in training and racing, and that's been reflected at both the Oceanbridge NZL Sailing Regatta and nationals," Woolley said. "They are also getting some quality coaching from a team who have worked at the highest level.

"It's still early days in their development, but we're really encouraged by what we're seeing. It's awesome they all have some international regattas to work towards and the buildup that goes this this."

Results and standings from the 470 and 420 national championships at the Takapuna Boating Club:

470 (6 boats)

1st: Annabelle Rennie-Younger / Andre Van Dam (EBMYC / RAYC) 2 (5) 1 2 1 (7 UFD) 2 1 1 1 2 2 - 15 points 2nd: Derek Scott / Megan Thomson (RNZYS) 1 (3) 3 1 2 1 1 3 (4) 2 1 1 - 16 pts 3rd: Brittany Wornall / Sam Street (NPYC / MBSC) 4 1 2 (5) 3 3 3 2 2 3 3 (5) - 26 pts

Full results: click here

420 (10 boats)

Male

1st: Cam Brown / Alex Hebberd (WBC / MBSC) (3) 1 1 1 2 1 2 2 2 3 - 15 pts 2nd: Lucas Day / Sam Scott (MBSC) 2 2 2 (3) 1 2 1 3 3 2 - 18 pts 3rd: Joe Leith / Joshua Ferrisey (MBSC) 1 3 3 2 (11 DNC) 3 4 1 1 1 - 19 pts

Female

1st: Vivien Webster Chung / Kiera Sinton (MBSC / WBC) 4 4 5 4 4 5 5 (11 UFD) 4 6 - 41 pts 2nd: Nicola Hume / Daniella Wooldridge (MBSC / WBC) (7) 5 4 7 3 4 3 5 5 7 - 43 pts

Full results

click here

Related Articles

Olympic Silver medalists win Sailor the Year
Olympic Silver medalists win Sir Bernard Ferguson Trophy at Sailor of the Year Isaac McHardie and William McKenzie won the top honour at the 2024 Barfoot & Thompson Yachting Excellence Awards on Friday, claiming the Sailor of the Year title as Olympic sailors dominated the major awards. Posted on 22 Nov
Paris 2024: New Zealand wins second sailing medal
Start line error by Brits is Kiwi's gain in Mixed Multihull in another tense light air race day Micah Wilkinson and Erica Dawson won New Zealand's second sailing medal of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games and broke a 36-year drought when they won bronze in the mixed multihull event. Posted on 9 Aug
Paris 2024: Nervy wait for Nacra 17 crew
The fickle Marseille wind pushed the mixed multihull decider into a reserve day New Zealand faces another nervy wait for a shot at a second Olympic sailing medal, as the fickle Marseille wind pushed the mixed multihull decider into a reserve day and played a part in ending the campaign of three other Kiwi competitors. Posted on 8 Aug
Kiwis ready for 'the race of their lives"
Micah Wilkinson and Erica Dawson are ready for the biggest race of their lives The mixed multihull crew will effectively battle it out with Argentina and Great Britain for a silver or bronze medal in the Olympic sailing competition in Marseille tomorrow, following the most nerve-wracking day of their campaign. Posted on 7 Aug
Nacra16's already NZ's best multihull in 36years
Kiwis overcame the light winds to stay on track to break a 36-year drought Micah Wilkinson and Erica Dawson overcame the most disruptive conditions of the Olympic regatta and a resurgent Argentina to stay on track to break a 36-year drought. Posted on 6 Aug
Paris2024: Kiwi multihull crew show their mettle
The Kiwi multihull (Nacra 17) reveal fine form in fresh day on the Baie of Marseille Any doubt about Micah Wilkinson and Erica Dawson's podium potential evaporated on Day 8 of the Olympic sailing competition in a sweltering Marseille as the Kiwi mixed multihull pair enjoyed one of their finest performances as a crew. Posted on 5 Aug
Kiwis unable to progress in iQFoil Finals
Kiwi board sailors were unable to progress beyond the first of the knock out round in the iQFoil Only 24 hours after the elation of winning their first medal at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games on Friday, the New Zealand sailing team experienced the heartbreak of falling agonisingly short of a second. Posted on 4 Aug
Paris2024: McKiwis realise childhood dream
An exchange of messages between two sailors seven years ago came true off Marseille on Friday A dream that began with an exchange of messages between two young Auckland sailors seven years ago came true on the waters off the Marseille coast on Friday when Isaac McHardie and Will McKenzie won an Olympic medal for New Zealand. Posted on 3 Aug
Paris2024: Kiwis progress to Finals
Kiwi windsurfers safely secured their spots in the final series. No racing in Skiff Medal events The fickle Marseille wind twice denied the New Zealand men's skiff team a medal on Day 5 of the Olympic sailing event, while the country's windsurfers safely secured their spots in the final series. Posted on 2 Aug
Paris2024: McKiwis in the 49er Medal stakes
Weather lottery provides plenty of challenges for Kiwi Skiff sailors One Kiwi crew will battle for New Zealand's first sailing medal of Paris 2024, while another will have the chance to end their storied Olympic careers in style tomorrow. Posted on 1 Aug
Maritimo 2023 S600 FOOTERTrinidad and Tobago - Sail Service Stay