By JULIE ASH
Auckland boardsailor Thomas Ashley is on top of the world after winning the junior men's title in the Mistral world youth championships in Puerton de Santa Maria, Spain.
Ashley, 18, received a DNF (did not finish) in his first race because of equipment failure but went on to secure
six top-three finishes in his other nine races.
He finished the regatta with a 12-point advantage over Quentin Henry of France and Spaniard Marc Riera. The win comes after top 10 finishes in his previous two international events, the Spa regatta and Kiel week.
"Altogether it was a fantastic regatta and I was ecstatic to continue the good form I had shown earlier," he said.
Ashley now has his sights on good results at the ISAF Youth World Championships in Canada.
He will join the New Zealand Youth team of Kate O'Brien (Kohimarama), Michael Bullot (Murrays Bay), Anna Easton (Bucklands Beach), Geoff Woolley (Kohimarama), Mark Overington (Murrays Bay), Kelly Riechelmann (Kohimarama) and Rachel O'Brien (Kohimarama) for the event, which starts on Thursday.
* Six New Zealand sailors will compete in the annual world splash championships in Weymouth, England from this Saturday.
The Splash is an ISAF-recognised youth class and although only a small class in New Zealand, is the largest in the world for sailors aged under 18 years.
The inaugural world championship was held in the Netherlands two years ago, and was won by Auckland sailor Conrad Gair, of Murrays Bay.
New Zealand team: Shandy Buckley (Tutukaka), Brendan Lockie (Whangarei), Blair McLay (Auckland), Brett Elstobb (Kaitaia), Aeveril Hiibabard (Taipa) and James Ledingham (Ngunguru).
