SAILING - Top teen yachtie year's best

Far North teenager Ben Lutze has been named Northland's Sailor of the Year by the regional council.
The Taipa-based 17-year-old is the current world Splash dinghy champion after winning the world championships in Portugal last July.
He was nominated for the Northland Regional Council's annual award by the Northland Yachting Association.
Lutze started sailing in 2001 when he began lessons at the Taipa Sailing Club as a nine-year-old. He has now moved into the Laser class and is aiming for selection in the Yachting New Zealand youth team, which will compete in Brazil in July.
Lutze was presented with his trophy at the regional council meeting yesterday. The trophy was first presented by the Whangarei Harbour Board in 1964. It was rededicated in 1995 by the Northland Regional Council as the Northland Sailor of the Year trophy.
The award can be made "for all or any acts or services, which either directly or indirectly have the effect of promotion, advancement or betterment of the sport of yachting".