Three young Wānaka Yacht Club (WYC) sailors have achieved top-three finishes at New Zealand’s premier youth sailing competition, the New Zealand Youth Championships, held in Auckland.

Mabel North achieved third place in the lasers (in a one-person, single handed boat) and Thomas Juczyluk and Oliver Wyeth took third place in the 420 class (in a two-person, two-sail centreboard dinghy).

“Wānaka Yacht Club sailors are now right up there with the best in New Zealand,” WYC youth sailing coordinator Roger North said. 

“It’s a testament to their passion and tenacity.”

He said the competition environment in Auckland (which ran for four days concluding on Thursday April 18) was “incredibly welcoming”. 

Roger said the young sailors have put in a huge amount of training to achieve these results.

“They train every sailable day, sometimes seven days a week if the weather is good,” he said.

A very supportive group of volunteers at the local yacht club have also played a significant role in the young sailors’ success.

“They’ve been on the receiving end of so much help and kindness,” Roger said. “We’re grateful to the yacht club and the many people that showed us guidance along this journey.”

The busy local club now has eight young sailors on their way to New Plymouth for the New Zealand Secondary Schools Teams Racing Nationals 2024, which begins on Sunday (April 21).

Teams racing - which can be compared to tactical chess on water-features “short, epic battles” between multiple boats and it’s “lots of fun and lots of shouting”, Roger said.

Groups are split into gold, silver and bronze fleets and last year members of WYC, representing Te Kura o Tititea Mt Aspiring College, won the silver fleet so “top ten in the country for schools will be our goal this year”, Roger said.

The sailors have held 250 races since last September in preparation for the competition. 

“It’s what you see happening on Lake Wānaka every Sunday afternoon,” he said. 

The teams racing nationals will run until Friday (April 26).

Read more: Inspiration for young Wānaka sailors

PHOTO: Roger North