Yachting: Youngster's perseverance pays off

The first few times Jordan McKenzie-Brown was learning to sail, he spent more time in the water than the boat.

But after a little perseverance, the then 8-year-old got the hang of sailing and he now dreams of one day joining the best of the best on Team NZ.

On Monday, the 11-year-old and his 13-year-old brother, Joshua, will join hundreds of other youngsters in the Optimist Class of the Auckland Anniversary Day Regatta - an event in which many of the country's top sailors participated as children.

The McKenzie-Brown boys have sailed in the New Zealand Herald-sponsored regatta twice before.

Joshua said it was large competitions like the 165-year-old regatta which made him enjoy sailing so much. 

Like many young sailors, the boys come from a yachting family and were keen to get involved after spending time on the water with their parents.

They took lessons at their local yacht club and are now taking part in national competitions.

Jordan said learning to sail could be hard but the key was to stick with it.

"It was actually quite hard when you start because when it's not very good it's not much fun, but when you start doing well it's quite fun," he said.

The boys' mother, Helen McKenzie, said sailing was a great sport for children.

"It gets them out in the fresh air and in the sunshine. It's also so accessible here in Auckland because we are so close to the water."

But Ms McKenzie said there were costs involved, especially at competition level, and parents also needed to be prepared to spend a lot of time at the beach.

Yachting NZ programme support services co-ordinator Richard Brown said most people learned to sail as children, usually between the ages of 9 and 12.

Beginners often went through a yacht club and started out in an Optimist.

Mr Brown said the cost of buying a small yacht was around $5000, but the money was not hard to retrieve if they child decided not to pursue sailing.

Most boats had a good resale value.

He said adults wanting to learn to sail usually did so on larger boats, often in a buddy-like system where they were paired with an experienced sailor.

Penny Whiting, who has run a sailing school for the past 38 years, said sailing was still an affordable option for New Zealanders.

She said big yachts could be brought for under $10,000 - a cost which could be shared among a group of people.

Miss Whiting said there were plenty of boat owners who needed crew for a day's sailing and that was a good way of getting on the water without the expense.

Her advice was for people to learn on big yachts so that they were able to then transfer their skills to whatever sized boat they liked.

The Regatta

When: Monday, January 31

Where: All around Auckland, sailing from various yacht and boating clubs

Weather: Rain predicted with easterly winds. Quite humid

Participants: Thousands of sailors, aged from 8 to 80

Learning to sail

Costs: Some clubs loan boats. Your own yacht can cost upwards of $1500. Lesson fees start around $100 for small boats and $595 for big boats. Some clubs require membership fees.

Time involved: A couple of days training on the water each week for several months.

Minimum Age

Usually around 8 or 9.

Skills needed

Just a love for the water.

What kind of yacht is that: Optimist A small one-person yacht which has been used by most famous sailors at one time or another.

The boat is typically used by learners because it is easy to sail.

Old wooden

Optimists can be found for about $1500 but often require maintenance.

New craft cost around $5000.