Competitors gearing up for the Flying Fifteen world championships have a chance to stretch their legs in Auckland next week in the national championships.
Ninety-seven boats from eight countries will compete in the national championships regatta which is being sailed in the Waitemata Harbour and inner Hauraki Gulf starting tomorrow.
Hosted by the Royal Akarana Yacht Club, the national championships are a timely buildup to the world championships which start next Saturday and involve 71 boats. For the 34 New Zealand crews taking part the nationals are a chance to qualify for the world championships - the top 11 Kiwi crews will go through.
The defending national champion is Emirates Team New Zealand trimmer Rob Salthouse.
Salthouse will not compete in the nationals but hopes to sail in the worlds. His boat is being sailed in the nationals by Justin Ferris, brother of Olympic Yngling sailor Sharon.
Other New Zealand crews to watch are the Christchurch combination of Aaron Goodmanson and Alistair Rowlands, who finished ninth in the 2003 world championships and former world champion Barry Finlayson and Nigel Mannering.
Also competing is Richard Macalister, Commodore of the Royal Akarana Yacht Club.
Macalister, who has a long history in matchracing and sailed the 1981 round the world race on Sir Peter Blake's Ceramco, is teaming up with Andrew Brown, who competed in the last Olympics in the 470 class. Internationally, the man to watch is three time world champion Steve Goacher from Britain.
The Flying Fifteens is a two man dinghy. New Zealand have had a reasonable amount of success in the class. Finlayson won the world championships in 1984 and Roger Craddock claimed the title 10 years later in 1994
The national championships consist of seven races over four days. Racing is scheduled to start daily at 12 noon.
