Sailing: Three Kiwi crews defend champ titles

Blair Tuke will defend his team's 2013 49er crown. Photo / File

Five Northlanders are part of the New Zealand sailing team who are preparing for the start of the 2014 ISAF Sailing World Championships in Santander, Northern Spain today.

Blair Tuke, Andrew Murdoch, Marcus Hansen, Andy Maloney, and Alexandra Maloney are all part of the team competing.

The championships - which see the world's creme de la creme of Olympic sailing racing over the coming week - begin with the men's single-handed laser and women's radial classes.

Registration and equipment inspection is underway and 27 sailors will represent New Zealand in the competition which runs from September 18 to 21.

Headlining the Kiwi team are three crews who will defend their 2013 world championship crowns: Jo Aleh and Polly Powrie (Women's 470), Peter Burling and Blair Tuke (49er) and Alexandra Maloney and Molly Meech (49erFX).

Burling said: "We're quite enjoying having that 'New Zealand 1' on the sail at the moment and the goal is definitely to go and try and defend that title."

National qualification for the 2016 Rio Olympic Games is also on offer at the 2014 ISAF Sailing World Championships.

New Zealand team:

Laser (single-handed dinghy)

Men: Andy Maloney, Sam Meech, Thomas Saunders.
Women: Sara Winther, Susannah Pyatt, Ali Nightingale.

RS:X Windsurfing

Men: Jon-Paul Tobin.
Women: Natalia Kosinska.

470 (double-handed dinghy)

Women: Jo Aleh and Polly Powrie.
Men: Paul Snow-Hansen and Daniel Willcox.

49er skiff:
Peter Burling and Blair Tuke; Marcus Hansen and Josh Porebski; Logan Dunning-Beck and Jack Simpson.

49erFX skiff:
Alexandra Maloney and Molly Meech; Erica Dawson and Ellie Copeland.

Nacra 17 (mixed multihull):
Gemma Jones and Jason Saunders.

Finn (men's heavy-weight dinghy):
Andrew Murdoch, Josh Junior, Karl Purdie.