First-hand report by Frances Beebe

“The 2024 New Zealand ILCA National Championships were held on 18^th-21^st January in very sunny conditions on Napier’s Hawke Bay. With 47 boats in the ILCA 6 Open, Youth and Women’s divisions, all racing as a single fleet, some tight results were expected – especially with Greta Pilkington (recently qualified for NZ at the 2024 Olympic Games at Sail Sydney) and George Lane (2023 Men’s ILCA 6 World Champion) present – so taking the title of National Champion was going to be a tough fight!

“The NZ Nationals was a four-day regatta, with a total of 10 races scheduled. After eight races – the majority in light winds – there were seven different race winners, and I was the only sailor to have won two races so far. However, with only two races left in the series, the top seven boats were all within 10 points of each other, ensuring that the titles were still up for grabs for all sailors. I was placed third overall before the last day of racing.

“Unfortunately, with a tough last day in light and patchy wind conditions, I scored a 7^th and a 10^th which dropped me down to 6^th place overall. This is a result that I am super happy with, to conclude my summer’s regattas!

“Congratulations to all sailors, and the 2024 NZ National Champion: Naiomi Ferrissey!!

“Thank you to Erik Stibbe for providing coaching while I was away, and of course my QAS coaches Mitch Kennedy and Annie Eastgate, and RQYS head coach Adrian Finglas.

“In a week I leave for Europe to begin my three-month trip! I can’t wait to continue training hard and gaining experience!”

The overall results for the NZ Nationals can be found Here