Aussie Sailors Capitalise on New Zealand Racing
by Australian Sailing Team / Lisa Darmanin 9 Feb 05:51 UTC
Harry Price and Max Paul © Insight Media
The Australian Sailing Team and Squad have wrapped up a high-value international training and racing block across the Tasman, making the most of the Southern Hemisphere summer and a strong calendar of regattas in New Zealand.
Over several weeks, Australian athletes across the 49er, iQFOiL and Formula Kite programs immersed themselves in world-class competition at events including Sail Auckland and the New Zealand National Championships, continuing their build toward the upcoming European season and World Championships.
Long regarded as one of Australia's closest high-performance partners, the New Zealand program continues to provide a fiercely competitive yet collaborative environment that accelerates athlete development on both sides of the Tasman, which consequently attracts multiple Northern Hemisphere teams escaping their winter.
In the iQFOiL fleet, Olympic silver medallist Grae Morris led a strong Australian contingent in a deep and competitive field, racing head-to-head with Olympic and international talent. Morris secured the New Zealand National Championship title, while emerging Australian talent Rory Meehan claimed victory at Sail Auckland. The campaign also provided valuable opportunities for Australian Sailing Futures athletes across both the Men's and Women's fleets to gain critical race exposure and benchmark themselves against a diverse international field.
Held out of Torbay Sailing Club, the New Zealand 49er National Championships showcased the depth of skiff racing across the region, with Australian crews consistently in contention throughout the series. Harry Price and Max Paul delivered a strong performance to finish second behind the USA's Nevin Snow and Ian MacDiarmid, and ahead of New Zealand's Seb Menzies and George Lee Rush. The previous week at Sail Auckland, Otto Henry and Shaun Connor led the Australian charge in fifth, followed closely by Jack Ferguson and Jack Hildebrand in sixth.
Meanwhile, the Formula Kite program capitalised on the opportunity to race against some of the sport's leading names. Breiana Whitehead secured second place at the National Championships and finished third at Sail Auckland, competing against defending World Champion Jessie Kampman and Olympic gold medallist Ellie Aldridge. Oscar Timm also impressed, finishing third overall in the Men's Formula Kite fleet and continuing his upward trajectory with valuable exposure to high-calibre international racing.
This New Zealand block now feeds directly into the next phase of the season, with athletes returning home to consolidate key learnings before shifting focus toward the European circuit later in the year.
Together, the trans-Tasman partnership remains a powerful driver of performance, with both nations continuing to raise the standard through shared competition and collaboration. This momentum will continue next week, with the New Zealand Nacra 17 team joining the Australian National Squad for a training block on Aussie waters.