Photos

Invincible!

This young sailor in his Starling yacht called INVINCIBLE is just arriving back on the beach after the final race on the waters of the Hauraki Gulf off Murrays Bay, Auckland, New Zealand. He was racing in the Winter Champs, that are always held in Spring.

The wind had got up and it was quite rough for the young sailors, both boys and girls, and they were enjoying surfing back into the beach.

I was lucky that the rain stopped just as the boats were coming in. It was very busy on the beach with parents and friends waiting for the boat. They had the boat trolleys all ready to slip under the boats to pull them up onto the grass reserve. The tide was in too, making it quite chaotic at times!! But I was happy with the photos. . .

Invincible is a STARLING yacht
The Starling was designed by Des Townsend in New Zealand and is an intermediate monotype training boat for skippers who have become too heavy or too old for P Class. P Class skippers usually find the step-up in speed quite exciting.

The Starling is an attractive boat three metres long and is governed by a one-design rule, this one-design rule cannot be altered unless approved by a majority of registered owners. Most boats are constructed of plywood whilst a competitive fibreglass version is also available. All sails are made by one manufacturer and are cut from the same pattern.

The Starling class has no age limit for the Nationals but the major trophies are for the 19 years of age and under. Most recently we have seen several Mums and Dads at some boat clubs join in the racing.

New Zealanders have quite a well-known reputation throughout the world in yachting. Murrays Bay Sailing Club is a great sailing club, whose motto is:

"Providing young sailors with the best possible opportunity to sail fast and achieve excellence in the sport of centreboard sailing"