By JULIE ASH
New Zealand Yngling sailors Sara Winther, Sharon Ferris and Joanna White are confident of breaking into the top 10 when they line up in Spain next month in the second Olympic qualifying regatta.
The trio have had plenty to celebrate recently, finishing third at the Yngling Worlds in
Germany and recovering their yacht Inspiration, stolen in Italy late last year.
The bronze medal followed their 13th place at Kiel week and will give the crew plenty of confidence heading into the next Olympic qualifying event, the Cadiz Worlds.
To win an Olympic spot they first have to qualify New Zealand for a place by finishing in the top 10 in one of the three qualifying events: Kiel Week, the Cadiz Worlds and the Sydney Worlds.
They then have to be the top-placed New Zealand crew in two of the three events to secure the spot themselves.
Their 13th place in Kiel week was well ahead of New Zealand's other Yngling team of Alesha Thorpe, Karen Lambert and Michelle Vinsen, who were 29th.
"The competition is very tough, especially the American teams," said Winther. "But we are putting in loads of hours both on and off the water to give ourselves the best possible chance of doing well.
"So far we are leading the Olympic selection and are confident of a good result in ... Cadiz."
Just before the German regatta they received news that Inspiration had been found just 20km away from where it disappeared.
The $60,000 yacht was stolen when the crew were on the way to a pre-Olympic regatta in Athens.
The boat was recovered by two representatives of Harken, one of the team's sponsors, who spotted it while walking along a dock in Angera.
"It is in pretty bad condition," Winther said. "It is repairable but a lot of work needs to be done to the keel, as it had been sitting on the rocks, and to the hull.
"We also have to do extensive repairs to the road trailer as the thieves cut off all the lights and damaged the storage boxes."
She said the boat had been taken to a boat-building yard in Italy where it is expected to stay "for a while".
The crew hope it will be repaired in time for the Olympics should they qualify. Not expecting to see Inspiration again the crew bought a second yacht, Inspiration 2, in Canada.
"It is a good boat and we do go fast in it but we think we can go faster in the stolen boat," Winther said.
The crew are travelling around Europe in a large campervan, which Winther said had provided them with plenty of entertainment.
"We have just driven to the bottom of Spain from the top of Germany in 35-degree heat and no air conditioning. We got stuck in a narrow, one-way street in Antibes where we had the whole town cheering us on ... That has definitely been the highlight of the trip."
The three will spend the next 10 days training in Cadiz.
Ferris and White then return to New Zealand and Winther goes to Britain before returning to Spain two weeks before the worlds.
By JULIE ASH
New Zealand Yngling sailors Sara Winther, Sharon Ferris and Joanna White are confident of breaking into the top 10 when they line up in Spain next month in the second Olympic qualifying regatta.
The trio have had plenty to celebrate recently, finishing third at the Yngling Worlds in
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