Wakatere to host largest ever RS Feva Nationals in mid-December
by NZ Sailcraft 4 Dec 2020 13:17 UTC
5 December 2020
Distinctively coloured RS Feva makes for safety as well as being attractive - RS Feva Nationals, Torbay SC, March 2019 © Richard Gladwell
From the 12th - 13th of December Wakatere Boating Club will host the biggest RS Feva National Championships to date, with an expected fleet of 40 plus crews from around New Zealand.
There's a lot of hype at the moment for the class after having to reschedule the season but the class is going from strength to strength with many new combinations forming and adults teaming up with their children to have a go at the Open division.
Paul Snow Hansen from the NZ Olympic sailing team will be competing this year with Tessa Clinton, a young Optimist sailor who is keen to learn more about technique and race strategy from him, and the 2019 and current RS Feva Open World Champion Simon Cooke will be back for another title, sailing with his son Ashton.
NZ Sailcraft is donating two new trophies for the 2020 event - one for the first Open crew and the other for the first all female pair (18 and under), along with all the major prizes.
On Friday the 11th sailors are invited to a pre-regatta coaching and tuning session, sponsored by NZ Sailcraft. The session starts at 1:00pm rigged and ready with some top coaches including current Open World Champion Simon Cooke, Hayden Whitburn and Josh Bull on hand for any questions.
This National Championships is a Sailors for the Sea Clean Regatta event - the world’s only sustainability certification for water based events. Wakatere is aiming for Gold certification and has a number of environmentally friendly initiatives in place for this regatta, starting with the streaming of rubbish, compostable serveware, plant based water bottles & eco sun-screen supplied by GoodByeOuch. They will also have water refilling stations to refill your regatta drink bottle and are working with local environmental group The Clean Up Crew to run a beach clean along with competitors and the local Narrow Neck community.
A paperless regatta means all information is available online or on the club noticeboard and all volunteers are looked after with locally sourced food that is packaged with the environment in mind. Wakatere Boating Club is committed to looking after their ocean home as much as they look after their visiting sailors.
Many thanks to the team at Wakatere Boating Club and Volunteers for making this event happen.
About the RS Feva Class
For clubs looking to build a club RS Feva fleet the World Championship in New Zealand will offer an excellent opportunity to acquire RS Fevas at a good price. Funding a new club fleet can be achieved in a number of ways - via charitable trust application, individual boat sponsorship over two or three years by a business or individual. Renting boats to new or existing club members is another option for them to get a boat without the capital outlay of buying a boat for a young sailor who might be in their first years in the sport.?Day 5 of the 2019 RS Feva World Championships, Follonica Bay, Italy - photo © Digital Sailing / www.digitalsailing.co.uk
The construction of the RS Feva makes the class ideal for a club fleet which ideally should be low maintenance.
Many clubs throughout New Zealand already have fleets of RS Fevas as one component in their programme. The versatility of the RS Feva means that almost any crew combination will work in a design that has an excellent performance, without being overly challenging, and with simple, easy to work systems.