Sailing: Hot favourite secures national title

Celebration Time: Aucklander Seb Menzies receives his trophies at last night's prizegiving. Photo/Duncan Brown

Auckland sailor Seb Menzies is just 12 years old but he was talking like a seasoned campaigner last night.

"It's a pretty good feeling. It's been a long time coming and I've worked hard for it," Menzies said after collecting the winner's silverware at the prizegiving for the five-day Toyota Optimist National Championships hosted by the Napier Sailing Club.

The "veteran" of four years of sailing, Menzies, was competing in his fourth nationals, his third in the open fleet. His previous best finishes at this level were a 47th and eighth and he was the fourth best Kiwi when he finished eighth.

Just two of the three scheduled races were completed yesterday. A false start and then a lack of wind forced the cancellation of the final race.

With six wins, a second and a sixth, hot favourite Menzies won the title by 12 points from Canterbury's David Buchanan from the Charteris Bay Yacht Club.

Aussie Blake Wilson, from the Southport Yacht Club, was a further four points back in third place and Napier Sailing Club's Josh Gilmore was fourth overall and the third best Kiwi, 18 points behind Menzies.

"I can do another two years in the optimist class but that was my last regatta. I'm going to move up to the 29ers class now," Menzies added, before heading off to a celebration dinner with family members.

He collected two trophies at the prizegiving.

One was for his first place overall and the other for his role in the Murrays Bays club's No 1 team's victory in the teams segment of the regatta on Sunday.

Menzies and clubmates Greta Pilkington, James Barnett, Thomas and Mason Mulachy finished ahead of the Australian national team and Tauranga One in the battle for the teams prize.

Napier Boys' High School year 10 student Gilmore, 14, was thrilled to record a top four finish in his final nationals in the class.

"That was where I wanted to finish and it was a good way to leave the class as the best of the host club competitors."

Gilmore had two firsts, two seconds, a third, a fifth, a 12th and a non-finish when part of his mast set up broke.

He is considering a move up to the 29ers two-person class or the Starling single-person class.

A member of the Napier club for the past four years, Gilmore, finished seventh at last year's nationals and 61st the previous year.

Race officer for the 175 sailor-regatta, Napier Sailing Club's Gerald Martin, had just as much as Menzies to celebrate last night.

He was awarded life membership of the New Zealand International Optimist Association.

The award recognised more than 20 years of work by Martin for the association.

His ability to select a world class management team to work around him is legendary and his ability to set fair courses was praised by competitors and parents throughout this week's event.

A highlight of Martin's involvement with the association was the 2012 world championships hosted by the Napier club.