By JULIE ASH
Team Vision Yachting head to Europe tomorrow with their sights set on securing a spot on the prestigious Swedish Match Tour.
The team, comprising Ryan Houston, Sam Tucker, Simon Minoprio, Hayden Goodrick, Mathew Stuart and Stuart Molloy, will compete in a series of regattas in Europe and the United
States over the next six months
The six, who are all under 25 and sail under the umbrella of the Royal New Zealand Yacht Squadron, are ranked 41st in the world, but need to be in at least the top 20 to secure a place on the tour.
The Swedish Match Tour is made up of eight events and involves the world's leading sailors, including America's Cup competitors, Olympic gold medallists and world champions.
Team New Zealand skipper Dean Barker, Alinghi skipper Russell Coutts and BMW Oracle Racing helmsman Gavin Brady are all regulars on the tour.
In the last year Team Vision Yachting have won the Australian men's match racing championship, the Australasian under-25 championships and, in Auckland, the Ross 930 championships.
As part of their buildup they trained with Brady on MRXs, specially designed 10m match-race boats. "We have been making sure our fitness is at an absolute high," Goodrick said. "If we go up there and make a good impression it could get us on to an ongoing circuit, which would be a great playground for us."
* New Zealander Mike Sanderson remains second in the Transat single-handed race from Plymouth to Boston despite smashing his starboard daggerboard.
Sanderson, who has been locked in a fierce battle with Mike Golding at the head of the Open 60 fleet, broke the daggerboard nearly a week ago but the past few days were predominantly downwind so he was able to stay within reach.
However, at last report the wind had changed and he was trailing Golding by 34 nautical miles, with 511 miles to the finish.
