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By Dick Lancaster Plan 'A' blew away in a 35 knot gust so we wasted no further time getting the 19 participants on the water in the MRX's double reefed and ably manned by Sailing Academy Instructors. Despite the testing conditions the Blind crews experienced all the working positions around the cockpit and sailed to Soames Island and back under the skipper's hands-free instruction. The excitement of the spray flying action and noise hyped the on shore activities that followed. For the rest of Saturday and Sunday, the group responded enthusiastically to Technical discussion, ropes and knots, and where to from here for Blind Sailing in Wellington. The weekend was also a learning opportunity for the Sailing Academy which we hope will be a valuable resorce for Blind Sailing in Wellington. The BSNZ Council is very grateful to Sara Jones, RNZFB's Wellington region Rec Advisor, for Taxi services, registrations and communication, and her active support throughout the weekend. Sara has also agreed to Convene Wellington blind Sailing activities until a group is formalized. It was fortuitous that Disabled
Sailing were completing a Paralympic qualifying Regatta on
Saturday. We were able to meet with IFDS VP David Staley to discuss
the Blind Sailing 2016 Paralympic bid, and crew configuration
proposals for that event. We also met with Don Manning from
Sailability and discussed opportunities for Blind Sailing in
Wellington. |
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Reporting on a very successful
“Have a go at sailing” for Blind and Vision Impaired
persons, held at the Two mile Bay Sailing Centre, Taupo on the
weekend 19-20 September 2009 Conditions on Saturday were very
testing for any beginner sailor but the enthusiasm of the 10
Blind and Vision impaired participants from Taupo, Napier and
Rotorua, overcame the cold drizzle. The Blind Sailors were learning
to handle the tiller and mainsheet at the same time, under one
on one instruction in the safe and easy to sail two man sailing
dinghies. This was also a new experience for the Training staff
from the Centre but they adapted well and finding the learners
easy to teach soon had the ‘Blindys’ Sailing with confidence
The key objective of Blind Sailing
NZ is to provide opportunities for blind and Vision impaired
persons to enjoy sailing as a sport or recreation. The ‘New
Blind Sailor’ outcomes of the weekend were very pleasing
and BSNZ is keen to support the continuation of a Blind Sailing
Group in Taupo.
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The visit was an enjoyment of warm Japanese hospitality, the respect of official procedure and protocol and the security of Yokohama The Port of Yokohama must be one of the busiest ports in the world, "800 ships a day" they said, and a small area just big enough for a race course was negotiated for and hard won from the Authorities. As guests of the Yokohama Cruising Club The team were greeted and formally welcomed on arrival by the YCC Committee with cold beer and a feast of prawns. Brian Trubovich, NZ Team Coach and Ross Masters, RNZYS Vice Commodore,then met with the Japan Coast Guard, The Team then dined out at Garlick Joe's to chase away the travel bugs. Friday, more meetings; with the Bureaux of Health and Welfare, and then the City Council and Port Authoritiy. After and exchange of flags it was then back to the YCC for a very tasty BBQ lunch and thankfully another cool beer, the weather was hot and sweaty. The boat draw followed, then the briefing and out for a practice sail. The waterway had to be shared, the allocated area of water was between two wharves and lumbering barges to be avoided. Dining at the Club after sailing was always enjoyable and the host competitors and their organizing committee treated the visitors to three such evenings in Japanese style. A huge variety of food, Chopsticks to eat it with, plenty more beer,a live band, lots of speeches, toasts and a haka from the Kiwis. On the last night saw the formality of the prize-giving and gifts. The sense of occasion surrounding this four boat regatta was emphasized by the opening ceremony on Saturday morning. Held on the narrow parade between the Intercontinental where we stayed and the Pier Where the race boats were now docked. Eight speeches from every top brass in Yokohama plus Ross Masters from RNZYS, were translated. The racing was held in a Protected environment Bounded by The City and its high rise buildings to the South and Breakwaters to the North. A power generating wind turbine stood guard over and looking down on the race course. The conditions for both days was light with big wind shifts and large holes in the breeze. Sailing in J24s, which were drawn on the Friday prior to the regatta start. The New Zealand crews quickly came to grips with the boat and the earlier day's testing paid dividends. New Zealand B2 Finished the regatta as overall winners and New Zealand B1 were second overall. New Zealand B2 Finished the regatta
as overall winners and New Zealand B1 were second overall. Link to Results B2 Team Second day Teams: B3 Team At the conclusion of the regatta
Yokohama challenged the Royal New Zealand Yacht Squadron to reciprocate
by running a regatta in New Zealand and even extending the concept
to a Pacific Rim Championship.
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Paulien Eitjes from
Tauranga skippering the New Zealand B2 crew, completely dominated
racing this week, winning 14 out of 15 races. Great Britain,
skippered by Lucy Hodges, finished second. Japan, skippered by
Takao Sugiyama, finished third. In the B3 fleet, Gary
Kirby skippering the Great Britain crew, dominated much of the
racing, finishing well ahead at the top of the table. New Zealand,
skippered by Dave Allerton, finished second. The USA, skippered
by Jason Wallenstein, finished third.
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Held on Lake Rotorua New Zealand
out of the Rotorua Yacht Club and hosted by the Bay Of Plenty
Trailer Yacht Squadron, a very successful and well organised
event developed over the period of March 13 to March 21 2009. Organising committee Chairman Don McGowan of the Bay of Plenty Trailer Yacht Squadron said he was delighted with the regatta – even though the wind sometimes posed a challenge. He was very pleased with how the regatta has gone this week. They were able to get 15 races away, despite some fickle winds, and at times we had some very close and exciting racing. It was a great festival of Blind
Sailing with a big group of happy sailors from all around the
world.
At the general meeting of Blind Sailing International which is held at every regatta he next World Blind Sailing International Championships was awarded to Japan Blind Sailing in Yokohama, Japan in 2013. The venue is not yet settled. Former CEO of Blind Sailing New
Zealand was elected Chairman of Blind Sailing International
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 New Zealand sailor Paulien Eitjes has won back to back titles in the Homerus International Blind Match Racing Championship, this year sailed at Sulzano on Lake Iseo, Italy. Racing commenced on Thursday, October 2 with three teams entering from Italy, two from Spain and one each from Australia, New Zealand, Israel and the USA. Sailors competing in this event must be IBSA classified B1 or B2 - legally blind. The championships are sailed in two identical Nitek keelboats by a two person crew with a sighted observer on board. Three "beeping buoys", each with a unique signal, set out the course and each boat has its own sound signal that changes when on port or starboard tack. Eitjes (NZL), sailing with experienced Italian crew Alberto Prudenzano was favourite for the event, having claimed a startling victory on debut at last years championship in Palermo. Luigi Bartanza & Elisabetta Bardella (ITA2) were the most experienced Italian combination, both having been in the medals during previous events. The Australian pairing of Kylie Forth and Ryan Honschooten, both from Perth in Western Australia, had lost all their races in last years event but had trained hard during the year with the aim of improving their place on the leader board. The weather on day one was difficult - cold and misty with a light 2-4 knot breeze. Eitjes/Prudenzano (NZL) had a convincing first race win over Israeli/Rosenzveig (ISR) to stamp their authority on the event. They backed it up with another win later in the day but Bertanza/Bardella (ITA2) also took two wins. There were cheers all round when Forth/Honschooten (AUS) defeated Pesaresi/Malerba (ITA3) in race 3 to record their first win in international competition. Later in the day, after freezing in the transfer boat waiting for the breeze to steady, the Australians were beaten by Parente/Malipiero (ITA1) but went on to defeat Israeli/Rosenzveig (ISR) with the boat speed to overcome a port/starboard penalty incurred at the start. Day two was cut short by the arrival of a 25 knot squall, sending everyone scurrying for shore, but Eitjes/Prudenzano (NZL), Israeli/Rosenzveig (ISR), Bertanza/Bardella (ITA2) & Bersani/Bisio (USA) all recorded wins. Halfway through the event, Eitjes/Prudenzano (NZL) and Bertanza/Bardella (ITA2) shared the lead with 3 points and Forth/Honschooten (AUS) were 1 point adrift. Clear sunny skies and steady breezes enabled organisers to complete 10 races on day three. The leading New Zealand and Italian teams both won their encounters with the Australians, who then lost their heat against Gimeno/Giner (ESP2). Despite this setback, the Aussies sailed two of their best races of the series against quality competition. On the final day, the light breeze slowly built to 10-15 knots, providing excellent racing conditions. Forth/Honschooten (AUS) won both of their encounters and finished their regatta in dramatic style by having Bersani/Bisio (USA) black flagged before the start. But it was not enough and Gimeno/Giner (ESP2) had sailed more consistently to take third overall. The final series was sailed between Bertanza/Bardella (ITA2) & Eitjes/Prudenzano (NZL). Heat one was a convincing win to Eitjes, but the Italians came back to win the second. In the last race it was an easy victory for Paulien Eitjes & Alberto Prudenzano to take out the Championship. After racing, the cheers from the assembled crowd were almost as loud for the Australians as they were for the winners. The 23 year old Kylie Forth, who lost her eyes aged three and who is also an above-knee amputee, is very popular amongst the Homerus competitors and officials. Now having won two Championships in a row sailing with Italian crews, Paulien Eitjes has proven a determined and skilled sailor who really enjoys the tactical challenges of the match racing discipline. It was a well earned win. Even while celebrating her win in Sulzano, Eitjes already had her next objective in mind. She is also aiming to record sequential wins in the IFDS Blind Sailing World Championships B2 Division, with the next Worlds being held on Lake Rotorua, New Zealand, in March 2009. Eitjes coach, Gary Smith, will join her crew as tactician for this event as he did for the 2006 Worlds in Rhode Island, USA. |
 For special Services to Blind Sailing an award
was made at the NZ Champs prize-giving. The John Baylay Plate
was awarded to Don McGowan recognizing the contribution that
Don has made as Chairman of the World Champs Organizing Committee,
and still found time to conduct an excellent weekend of racing
as Race officer for the NZ Champs this month, when he should
have been at home picking Kiwifruit. |
The result of the 2008 new Zealand Blind Sailing Championships remained open till the eighth and final race sailed in light conditions on lake Rotoiti on the weekend 17 and 18 May Swapping boats on rotation after each race the tight racing and close result confirmed the competitive evenness between boats and suitability of the one design Nolex 25 for the purpose. , Martyn Tasker and TV camera crew provided an early and effective distraction for celebrity helmpersons while he obtained promotional footage for the 2009 World Champs. On day one Paulien Eitjes with Gary Smith as tactician and Tom Donaghy on mainsheet, sat back in the pack and let the rest of a very competitive fleet fight over the top places. After four races top spot with two wins was B3 Eddie Moree with Shannon Leslie mainsheet and Tony Thompson tactician. Sharing a win each was B2 Dave Allerton with B1 Rob Aislabie on mainsheet and young Taranaki champ Starling skipper Paul Moriarty performing well as tactician, and Dick Lancaster now sailing as a B1 With B1 Russell Lowry from Palmerston North on mainsheet and Allan Civil from BOPTYS as tactician. With a four point spread and a wide open contest there was an excited let’s go racing atmosphere among the crews on Sunday morning. As the race boats slid back into the water with a white frost blanketing decks and sail-covers and a light breeze whispering amongst the ducks taking refuge in the bay, there was promise of another great day of racing. The Tauranga crew had talked over their troubles as they travelled, and Paulien proceeded to carve her way back up to the top of the points table by winning each of the four races, leaving the rest to fight for the minor places. An excellent recovery effort by Paulien and crew in the flukey conditions and four different boats but it was not all her own way. The light air provided plenty of passing opportunities that kept the fleet close and positions changing. Eddie and his very experienced BOPTYS crew applied an incessant close quarters attack in the final race but the champion Tauranga trio were solid on defence to confirm their overall win by two points. Despite the usual frustrations of light air lake sailing this was a very enjoyable and successful weekend of racing. The blind sailors are as always very grateful to BOPTYS and the assistance and support of so many sighted persons who committed to the success of the contest. Boat owners, boat owners reps who were also the fourth crewman, patrol boat crews, officer of the day Don McGowan and his committee boat crew, thank you all. This event also provided some insights into systems that may be used in the upcoming World Blind Sailing Championships to be held on Lake Rotorua next March. News media agents for that event, from the Waiariki Polytech, now have clips of the New Zealand Champs on U-tube. |
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