Sam Barnett and Zac Merton from the Tauranga Yacht and Powerboat Club are among nine sailors and three support staff in the 2013 NZL Yachting Trust Youth Team that has arrived in Europe in the countdown to racing at this year's ISAF Youth Sailing World Championships.
Limmasol, Cyprus, plays hostto the prestigious youth regatta which runs from July 13-20.
Now the focus for the young Kiwi sailors is on acclimatisation - getting over jet lag, the change of temperature and getting familiar with the venue.
"The team has arrived safely and we've had a good day of getting organised, team meetings and visiting the boat park to see the sailing facility," said Karin Adelinger, NZ Team Support in Cypress. "We ended the day with team dinner and cake to celebrate Andrew's [McKenzie] 18th birthday."
Racing practice begins today with the coming weekend dedicated to registration, allocation of equipment, training and practice racing. There will be no rest day once racing is underway and sailors will need to be prepared for five days of intense fleet racing against the world's best in their class.
"We are all looking forward to going," said Ian Neely, team manager and coach. "I believe it will be a challenging and tricky event to perform to potential this year - all the sailors have worked amazingly well and I am confident they are as well prepared as they can be.
"The hard work has been done - now it's game time."
