18 Schools to battle for Harken Keelboat National Champion Title
The Harken National Secondary Schools Keelboat Championships are due to commence, with 18 secondary schools competing for the prestigious title. The event, hosted by the Royal New Zealand Yacht Squadron, will showcase the skills and talents of young sailors in the Elliott 7 class.
Last years winner was Westlake Boys High School, crewed by Lucas Day, Robbie Woodridge, Levi Jenkins, Josh Hilder and Sam Clarke. Westlake will again have a strong showing with two teams representing the Auckland North-Shore school, however skipper Lucas Day is among a number of other young sailors competing in Christchurch this weekend alongside the Sail GP. The honours board spanning back more than 15 years can be found online here.
The RNZYS welcomes travelling teams including Nelson Girls College, Kerikeri High School, Mahurangi College, AGC Tauranga and Whangarei Boys & Girls. We wish all the teams good luck!!
The regatta will run for three days, with qualifying races on Friday and Saturday, and finals races on Sunday. The schedule of the event is as follows:
Friday 17th March
- 0900 – Registration & Briefing – Group A
- 1000 – Qualifying racing – Group A Up to 6 races
- 1600 – approx Debriefing
Saturday 18th March
- 0900 – Registration & Briefing – Group B
- 1000 – Qualifying racing – Group B Up to 6 races
- 1600 – approx Debriefing
Sunday 19th March
- 0900 Briefing
- 1000 Finals racing – SILVER fleet Up to 4 races
- Finals racing – GOLD fleet Up to 4 races
- 1600 approx – Prizegiving BBQ
The participating schools are:
- Rosmini College
- Nelson College for Girls
- Kerikeri High School
- Takapuna Grammar
- Kristin School
- St Kentigern College
- Kings College
- Westlake Boys – Red
- Westlake Boys – Blue
- Macleans College
- Whangarei Boys
- Whangarei Girls
- Glendowie College
- ACG Tauranga
- Green Bay High School
- Mahurangi College
- Auckland Grammar School
- Westlake Girls
Stay tuned on the RNZYS Facebook and/or Instagram pages for more updates on this exciting event, and thanks very much to our title sponsor, Harken for the continued support.
