YACHTING: Son's the daddy on the high seas

ANENDRA SINGH
You know how from the time you are born your father tries to tell you what you can and can't do?
Well, Ross Shanks does too but, thanks to his love for sailing, he can now tell his father, Colin, what the deal is when they are together on their javelin class skiff, Riders in the Storm.
"We do have some odd times when we both think we have good ideas. Sometimes he'll give me some advice but as the skipper I'd rather have the last say, thanks," Shanks told SportToday after returning from the biennial South Pacific Championship Regatta in Melbourne earlier this month.
"Yes, Dad does have experience in sailing but I'd give him a good go too because I've been through the ranks, from the optimist, P class, starling, laser and that sort of thing," says the 21-year-old joiner apprentice from Linnell Building and Joinery Ltd, in Hastings.
The father-and-son combination returned from Australia on January 6 after finishing fourth in the regatta where six other New Zealand sailing pairs made their presence felt across the ditch from December 27. It's the fourth time the Shanks have competed in the regatta at the Chelsea Yacht Club and this month's placing was their best so far.
The host club's combination of Aaron Hirst and Paul Newman won the championship while the Kiwi pair of skipper Phil McNeill and crewman Matt Smith, both of Auckland, were runners-up and third place went to fellow Aucklanders, skipper Nick Taylor and Reece Brierley.
Ivan Linnell, who owns Linnell Building and Joinery, helped fund the cost of shipping the 14-foot skiff to Melbourne from Gisborne, where Colin is a sheep and cattle farmer.
In November, the Shanks finished runners-up in the North Island Championship at Rotorua early last month so they went to Australia knowing that they would be competitive particularly if conditions were rough.
However, sultry Melbourne days with mostly fickle five-knot winds favoured other competitors.
As Shanks amusingly points out, while the burden of responsibility as skipper can be overwhelming at times, the sheer weight of his crew member can also create havoc but, like his Dad, having a heavier crew member can have its advantages.
"If the winds were blustery, which it normally is in Melbourne, Dad's weight would have been ideal. We just struck a bad spell and his 95 kilos worked against us," says the former Lindisfarne College pupil, laughing off any suggestions of taking a 65kg sailing mate like himself in anticipation of any similar lighter winds in future.
Nine races were sailed in the week-long regatta boasting a fleet of 26 boats. The Shanks mostly found themselves on the right side of the ledger when the results were posted on the club notice board - they managed a fourth place or better for five of the races.
They flirted with overall third position toward the final race of the competition but a cleat holding a carbon fibre prod in place fell apart.
Crewman Shanks did his utmost to keep the prod in position with his foot but the ebbing boat speed saw them slip from fourth to finish seventh in that race.
Nevertheless, the pair had the satisfaction of beating the defending 2006 Australian champions and fifth place-getters, Brett Williams (skipper) and crewman Brett Taylor, both of the host club, along the way.
The younger Shanks, a member of the Napier Sailing Club, moved to Lindisfarne College in 2000 to complete his secondary education before returning to Gisborne for one year of apprenticeship before coming back to work for Linnell. The Shanks are now preparing to compete at the National Championship in the Bay of Islands.