Sailing - Term 1

Auckland Secondary School Regatta - by Cailen Rochford, Year 10

This was a two day regatta against Auckland Schools from Wakatere Boating Club on 4th & 5th March. Eight students from Wentworth College competed in Starlings and Open Bic's. Sailors had tough racing at this regatta with extremely shifty winds and a high level of competition. We had very satisfying results with Sean Herbert (Year 13) winning the Starling class and Soren Johnston winning the Open Bic class. Imogen Herbert  (Year 9) came 3rd and Jack Hollands (Year 7) came 4th.

Bay of Island Interschools Regatta - by Matthew Rist, Year 10

On the 9th & 10th of March, Nine Wentworth College and Primary Students competed in the Bay of Islands Interschool Sailing regatta. Students sailed out from Paihia. The conditions were at times challenging especially when a big rain squall came through and caused major shifts in the breeze and meant the start of some races were postponed. We sailed in double-handed and single-handed boats and collectively were very successful.

Podium positions : 

Feva - 1st - Amelia Marseille - Year 12

Starling - 1st - Sean Herbert - Year 13

Laser - 1st - Matthew Rist - Year 10 2nd - Blake Wood Year 11

Open Bic - 1st - Soren Johnston Year 11 2nd- Imogen Herbert Year 9

420 Team Racing 

The 420 race squad are training for the North of the Bridge and South of the Bridge regatta which take place during NZ Tournament week. You will see them at Manly Bay on Monday evenings with the fluorescent green sails. They have also been working hard on the tactical side of team racing during Monday lunchtimes to ensure they are able to put into play their method on the water.

Teams Racing Regattas - by Blake Wood, Year 11

Wentworth students have been training every Monday in preparation for three teams racing regattas in March and April. Most of the students had little to no teams racing experience but with the help of our coach Greg Dair, have developed skills to a level that will be competitive in the Nationals in April. The team have been training at Manly Sailing Club, an ideal venue to further develop our racing skills.

Monday Night Sailing - by Caroline Gilpin, Year 9

At Sailing we learn all the basics like tacking and jibing. We have helmed Hobie Cats and Feva's. So far the weather has been amazing- blue skies every week. There are 8 of us in our group.

Top National 'Starling' Sailor - 2nd year in a row!

Congratulations to Sean Herbert (Year 12) who successfully defended his National 'Starling' title at Worser Bay in Wellington recently.  Sean joins an elite group of only 3 other sailors who have won this event 2 years in a row - Rohan Cooke, Tim Christiansen and Peter Burling.  Well done, Sean!

Wentworth Sailors Win the InterDoms!

'What a regatta! Wentworth finishes victorious after 15 straight wins. Wind conditions on the last day were much lighter than our previous two race days - much like the morning of the training day which gave us really good competitive racing. Simply the best regatta ever for the College and our incredible team! Thank you for such a great regatta, I am very proud of you all!"  Liam Herbert, Captain

Best of luck to our InterDom Sailors!

Best of luck to the Wentworth Sailors who are currently competing against the top 3 teams in New Zealand and Australia in Melbourne. The weather forecasts have limited the amount of time on the water over the weekend. However, the sailors are back on the water today and have finished Round 1 with 5 wins out of 5 races.  They are now competing in Round 2, with 3 wins out of 3 races at the time of going to press. We are on the edge of our seats awaiting further news from across the Tasman! 

Sailing in Bermuda at the America's Cup

Congratulations to Matthew Rist who has been taking part in the America's Cup O'pen Bic event in Bermuda. He is one of 32 sailors from around the world taking part in this special event which consisted of a two day regatta (in which Matthew placed 14th) as well as putting on a freestyle event for the crowds ahead of the racing between Oracle and Team New Zealand yesterday (19 June). He has had an amazing time representing his country and sailing in the beautiful waters of Bermuda!

Matthew Rist, freestyle in light airs

Wentworth Sailors WIN Regional Regatta!

Our 420 Team Racing Squad had an outstanding North of the Bridge regatta on the 27th & 28th March at Algies Bay. Team Captain, Liam Herbert, led the team very effectively. The wind was 4-12 knots, predominantly from the east with a flat sea-state. There was particularly stiff competition from Kerikeri School in each Round Robin, and Westlake Boys also presented some tough competition in the stronger breeze. For a number of the crew it was their first 420 Teams racing regatta and a lot of learning took place. Our squad developed as a team through the regatta, showing real class in the later stages of the Round Robins and proving they have the composure to perform well when it really matters. 

The final result was a tie between Kerikeri School and Wentworth College at 21:21. The Race Officer then had to look to the individual races against our two schools which we won 3/5. Congratulations to everyone involved.

BIC Regatta in Manly great success for our sailors

Harper Johnston, Alex Wood, Blake Wood, Soren Johnston, Ethan Manning-Harris, Sean Herbert, and Matthew Rist competed over three days in the Open Bic Cup at Manly in the holidays. 

“Blustery weather during the weekend meant good conditions for junior sailors in the Inaugural New Zealand Winter O’pen Cup at Manly.” Quote, Rodney times

Thirty-three young sailors, including myself and 6 other Wentworth sailors, took part in an exhilarating local winter regatta at Big Manly beach from July 8-10th, using the fast-paced, self-bailing, O’pen BICs. Quite a few first-time BIC sailors had the opportunity to be trained by Sir Russell Coutts, and other local sailing legends, during the weeks coming up to the Regatta.

During the Regatta we wore GPS trackers in our life jackets so that our progress could be monitored via computer and the details of each race could be recorded. Happy faces, along with a record-breaking amount of competitors (from around NZ and Australia) proved that the Regatta was a success. With our very own Sean Herbert the overall winner!

Future participation in regattas has already being planned with a strong Wentworth involvement.

Ethan Manning-Harris

BIC Winter Sailing Fantastic opportunity right on our door step

Soren Johnston, Ethan Manning-Harris, Alex Wood, Blake Wood and Matthew Rist are enjoying the BIC winter sailing sessions at Manly Beach. The sailors are receiving fantastic advice and support from Sean and Liam Herbert and Sir Russell Coutts.
The sessions will end in a North Island Regatta in July 2016.

Queens Birthday no rest for Oliver and Josh

Oliver Reeves and Josh Bull spent 3 full days on the sea training in the AON National Youth Laser Clinic. The first two days were light winds and the squad did starts over and over again. The third day the wind picked up and the squad did speed practice all the way to Rangitoto and back several times.

The sailors from this clinic will train over winter with the intention of attending the Youth Trial Regatta in the hope of being selected for the NZ Youth World Team.

Northern Region Inter-Schools Sailing Regatta - Day 2

Congratulations to our sailors for their excellent results on the final day of the North Island Inter-Schools Sailing Regatta.  Wentworth sailors took 2nd place, just 1 point behind our old rivals from Keri Keri.  With the Nationals taking place during the school holidays, we know our sailors will be giving everything they've got to turn those placings around!

Northern Region Inter-Schools Sailing Regatta - Day 1

Wentworth sailors enjoyed great racing today in Day 1 of the regional Regatta.  They have won 11 out of 13 races so far, placing them in a close second at this stage.  They are looking forward to a great day of racing tomorrow. 

Sailing with Kerikeri High School

On 12th/13th March, the Wentworth College Sailing Squad trained with Kerikeri High School sailors in preparation for the Secondary Schools' Teams Racing Nationals in Algies Bay in April.  The sailors spent a glorious day on the water as they made the most of the opportunity to hone their skills, ready for the Nationals.

Orca on the Water

Wentworth sailors were excited to be visited by a pod of Orca while on the water at Gulf Harbour last night.  What a memory!

Anniversary Weekend Sailing Success

Wentworth sailors had a great weekend on the water over Anniversary weekend.  Sean Herbert (Y10) took the top place in the Auckland Starling Championships, and Oliver Reeves (Y11) achieved a 6th place in the Laser Class at the Auckland Anniversary Regatta.  Well done!

Wentworth Sailing Success - December 2015

Four Wentworth Sailors entered the largest centreboard regatta in the southern hemisphere on December 5th and 6th, the Sir Peter Blake Regatta. Every sailor was given a pair of red socks in commemoration of the 20th anniversary since Sir Peter himself wore them and brought the Americas Cup to NZ.
All four sailors were sailing in relatively new boats to them personally and had incredible results. Sailing conditions were perfect on both days.

Harper Johnston achieved a Silver in Starling Green, Sean Herbert a Silver in Starling Open, Oliver Reeves 24th and Liam Herbert 26th in the Laser Radial class against Olympic sailors.

2 Silver Medals in Sir Peter Blake Sailing Regatta 2014

Two Wentworth students achieved significant results in the Sir Peter Blake Regatta 2014.  This regatta is the largest centreboard regatta in the southern hemisphere.

Sean Herbert earned a Silver medal in the Opti Open against 73 other competitors and Oliver Reeves earned a silver in the Starling Green in his first year of sailing.

Learn to Sail Days

Congratulations to all our Years 7 to 10 students who had a fantastic time learning to sail the school's 420 dinghies last week.  Members of the Wentworth Sailing Academy skippered the boats, directing the willing learners what to pull and where to sit etc.  Many of the teachers also took part and thoroughly enjoyed learning to sailing with the students, sharing the laughs as well as the spills.  Well done to all involved.

Sailing at Algies Bay

Well done to Oliver Reeves who represented Wentworth at a school fleet regatta at Algies Bay on Monday. Oliver wasn't placed in the 4 races but it was a great learning experience. Big thank you to Cameron Hughes who came along as support.

Sailing Regatta at Algies Bay

In the last week of Term 3 the Wentworth Sailing squad attended a regatta in Algies Bay in the 420 racing dinghies. The captain of the team, Cameron Hughes, was ill so new combinations had to be sorted. The 3 skippers were Liam Herbert, Sean Herbert and Oliver Reeves, and the 3 crew were Mel Hopkins, Sam Haggerty and Kip Simpson. This was the first time that Oliver had skippered at a regatta and the first regatta for both Sam and Kip, so it was all very exciting!
Strong winds on the first day meant that racing was cancelled and our students returned to school and their classes. The next two days the sailors sailed race after race, even taking lunch on the water. They worked very hard and the experienced skippers of Liam and Sean directed their teams to many wins.  Everybody learnt more sailing rules and can be proud of their efforts of second place overall.  This was an excellent regatta and well done to all.  Wentworth sailors are now looking forward to the next regatta at Keri Keri in December.

2014 Secondary Schools Sailing Regatta

Congratulations to the Wentworth sailors for their 3rd placing in the silver division of the National 420 dinghy regatta during the holidays. 32 schools from around the country took part in the regatta, which took place at Algies Bay.  Some races were fingernail-biting close with rules being shouted, protest flags raised and umpires required.  Follow this link to view one of the races:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=alxX4YKwa9Y