RS Feva: Big fleet sail on America's Cup course for RS Feva National Championships
by Yachting New Zealand 7 Apr 2022 02:30 BST
7 April 2022
2022 RS Feva NZ Nationals - Maretai - April 2022 © Adam Mustill
A big fleet of 29 boats raced on the 'back paddock' course (Course E) made famous by the last America's Cup, with teams travelling to the Maraetai Sailing Club from as far afield as Whanganui and the Bay of Islands.
Race officers squeezed in five races in nice sailing conditions on the Saturday, mostly due to the fact the forecast for Sunday looked unpromising. Unfortunately, the forecast proved accurate and no sailing was possible on the Sunday due to light winds.
The Cooke family went home with the spoils, with Ashton Cooke teaming up with former world champion Oskar Masfen to win the youth and national title and dad Simon taking out the open division with Nicholas Wong.
Kate Rasmussen and Madison Russell won the female division and also took out the RS Feva Traveller Series. The pair have their sights on July's RS Feva world championships in Weymouth, where they could be joined by a couple more Kiwi teams.
The Maraetai Sailing Club, led by commodore Geoff Rasmussen, did a fantastic job organising the event and made the sailors and families feel very welcome. Thanks also to the team of sponsors including Burnsco, Amazon Surf, Harken Fosters and NZ Sailcraft.
Youth and national championships:
Ashton Cooke and Oskar Masfen (Royal Akarana Yacht Club)
Open division: Simon Cooke and Nicholas Wong (RAYC)
Female division: Kate Rasmussen and Madison Russell (Maraetai Sailing Club)
Junior division: Orlando Botha and Ewan Brazle (Manly Sailing Club)
Full results www.sailwave.com/results/RS_Feva_Nationals_2022_Maraetai.htm