TESTING THE WATERS: Kerikeri's Blair Tuke, left, and 49er men's skiff partner Peter Burling, pictured competing at the ISAF World Cup Heyres regatta in France in April.
A number of Kerikeri sailors as well as a couple of former Kerikeri High School students are in Brazil with the NZL Sailing Team campaign preparing to sail in the 2015 Rio Test Event which gets under way this week.
With last Wednesday celebrated by Olympians around the world, for
marking one year until the opening of the 2016 Olympic Games, seven NZL Sailing Team crews were in Rio as the final countdown to a 'dress rehearsal' regatta, with Guanabara Bay expected to come alive with Olympic class action as the world's best sailors prepare for one of this year's pinnacle events.
The Rio Test event is regarded by some as close as it gets to the real thing, mimicking the format and fleet quotas prescribed for the Olympic Games. One year out it will provide the opportunity to put team planning and preparation to the test, and for sailors and coaches to learn even more about the venue and how they're tracking compared to their competitors.
Jo Aleh, helm of New Zealand's Women's 470 entry, is already familiar with the venue (although she had little to say about the well documented concerns over the well documented quality, or lack of it, of the water the sailors will be competing in): "Rio really is a rather amazing place and it's great to be back. It's such an interesting place to sail, with a variety of conditions and a truly incredible skyline! It's also rather warm, which is a big bonus for sailing!"
The NZL Sailing Team for 2015 Rio Test Event is, Far North-connected sailors noted in italics, Andy Maloney in the laser, the men's single-handed dinghy (and a former Keri High student); Peter Burling and Blair Tuke in the 49er men's skiff; Alexandra Maloney and Molly Meech, 49erFX women's skiff (the former Keri High student and sister to the aforementioned Andy); Jo Aleh and Polly Powrie 470 women's double-handed dinghy; Paul Snow-Hansen and Daniel Willcox 470 men, Gemma Jones and Jason Saunder nacra 17 (mixed multihull); Josh Junior finn (men's heavy-weight dinghy).
