Editorial: Kerikeri's sailors world class

The Armin Strom team. From left are, Flavio Marazzi, Sharon Ferris-Choat, Ned Dalbeth-Hudson, Alex Bryning, and Shane Diviney (Sharon, Ned, and Alex all hail from Kerikeri).

That a single town can produce such a torrent of international sports people is quite remarkable.

In the past, it was Kerikeri's oranges that placed Northland's fastest growing town in the spotlight. But sailing/yachting is crushing the oranges on the national and world achievement scale when you analyse the town's international sailor per population ratio.

In the professional Armin Strom sailing team in Italy, four sailors hail from Kerikeri - team manager Sharon Ferris-Choat, bowman Alex Bryning, boat captain Ned Dalbeth-Hudson and two-time Kiwi Olympian Andrew Murdoch.

Sharon Ferris-Choat says it is a connection "we're all proud of, especially as our small Kiwi town continues to produce world-class sailors".

Like Blair Tuke, heading off to the Olympics this year as a molten prospect for a medal in the 49er class at Rio.

Tuke and his sailing partner Peter Burling are unbeaten since taking silver at the London Olympics in 2012 - they have notched up 27 wins on the trot.

He wasn't mentioned in our Saturday story on Tuke's Rio chances, or in today's story about Armin Strom, for that matter, but Kerikeri sailing stalwart Derry Godbert has had a hand in each of the Kerikeri sailor's successes in the past decade or so.

Godbert, now in his early 80s, always answers modestly when asked about Kerikeri's sailing success. He puts it down to getting youngsters involved in the sport early, pure and simple.

Some of the success has to be attributed to Godbert - without someone like him around to spot raw talent, and steer it toward the sport, and then nurture it, success wouldn't happen.

Raw talent and good coaching - it is a powerful combination and fingers crossed Kerikeri sailors continue to taste success at international level, including gold for Tuke in Rio.