By Suzanne McFadden
Three Kerikeri siblings became world yachting champions in Ireland yesterday.
The Murdochs - Hamish, Rebecca and Andrew - steered New Zealand to victory at the world teams championships on Dun Laoghaire Harbour in Dublin.
The Northland family, who have all been national schools champions, helmed the three boats in the
New Zealand team.
Sixteen-year-old Andrew, who came straight from winning bronze at the world youth championships in Finland, sailed with his Kerikeri High School classmate Karen Lambert.
Rebecca, aged 20, teamed up in Ireland with her regular sailing partner, 19-year-old Aucklander Alesha Thorpe.
Earlier this year the pair won the world junior women's 470 title. Hamish, the elder of the Murdoch clan at 22, was skipper of the third Kiwi boat, with Kerikeri High School student Andrew Ardern crewing.
New Zealand beat the defending champions the United States 3-2 in yesterday's final, fighting back from 0-2 down.
One of the youngest of the 18 teams at the regatta, the New Zealanders went into the quarter-finals ranked fifth.
They beat Ireland, before outsailing Great Britain 2-1 in the semifinals for a showdown with the United States in the final.
The teams were poised 2-2 going into the cliffhanger last race. Centimetres separated the final pair across the finish line, with the Americans just edging out New Zealand.
But earlier in the race, one of the American boats was penalised in a right-of-way incident rounding a mark.
The crew failed to carry out their 720-degree turn in time and copped a black-flag penalty. The Americans took the matter to the protest room, but the penalty was upheld and their points deduction ensured a Kiwi victory.
It was a huge achievement for the New Zealanders, who had not sailed in the two-handed Firefly dinghies until a week before the world championships.
They spent a few days training in the boats at the Spinnaker Yacht Club in the south of England.
The Murdochs' father, Jim, who travelled with the team, said New Zealand would not have won without their practice time in the boats, albeit brief.
"We still can't believe it. The racing was so intense - it was a really tough week on the kids," he said. "But they are all over the moon right now."
New Zealand were fourth at the last world championships in Miami - the Murdochs were also part of that team.
Thorpe and Rebecca Murdoch are now chasing a place in the New Zealand team for the Sydney Olympics in the 470 women's class.
