World champion blind sailor Pauline Eitjes and her New Zealand teammates will get a timely boost tomorrow ahead of a major international campaign.
Gearing up for the IFDS Disabled Sailing International Championship, to be held in Perth from March 19 to 26, Tauranga resident Eitjes and her crew will be presented
with a $2000 cheque by members of the exclusive International Order of the Blue Gavel.
The organisation, comprised solely of former yacht club commodores, will be represented by national president Ron Stephenson and New Zealand sailing guru Ralph Roberts.
The Perth regatta will pit Eitjes and her teammates Tom Donaghy and Russell Lowry against crews from Italy, Spain, the UK and Australia. As a helmsperson, Eitjes won the Homerus International Match Racing championship in 2007 and 2008, and the B2 IFDS Blind Sailing world title at Rotorua in 2009.
The presentation will take place at Tauranga Yacht and Power Boat Club at 11am.
