6:17 AM Fri 16 Oct 2009 GMT
Today may well have been the first time ever that the Star boat sailed on Auckland Harbour with Olympians aboard.
Hamish Pepper and Craig Monk took to Auckland's main waterway this afternoon, having recently placed a close second in the 2009 Star World Championship (held in Sweden). Hamish is a World Champion in the class (2006) and has sailed in three Olympic Games. Craig has competed in Two Olympics and is an Olympic silver medallist (1992).
They rank among the world's elite sailors across America's Cup, Olympics and Grand Prix yachting. Both Hamish and Craig returned home from Palma, Mallorca earlier this week, where that placed third in the TP52 Worlds, aboard Artemis.
The pair are preparing for the 2010 Star World Championship, which is to be held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil in January. They are engaging in a five day training camp, together with coach Andrew Palfrey.
New Zealand has been well represented by great sailors over the years in the Star Class. Most notably when Rod Davis and Don Cowie won an Olympic silver medal in Barcelona in 1992.
However, none of them used their home waters as a training base. The 98 year old design remains very strong in Europe and the USA, but it has never taken gained traction as a fleet in New Zealand.
by Sail-World.com
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