Noah Malpot from Nelson Yacht Club has again taken home a win, after returning from the Sir Peter Blake 2019 Regatta in Torbay, Auckland.
Held annually, the regatta commemorates the renowned Sir Peter Blake and his values of leadership and fair play. The national regatta runs over two days and receives entries from across New Zealand, as well as internationally. It is an iconic and prestigious title for young sailors looking to put their skills to the test.
Noah enjoyed some sunny and breezy conditions across the two-day regatta, with sea breezes each day and a good Auckland choppy sea state.
“The first day there was about 12-15 knots and heaps of opportunities,” Noah said, “My first-day results were 1,3,3,3, and second overall, which was a great consistent start to the regatta. Also, there was a huge gap of points between me and 3rd place, so if I sailed well the next day, I could only improve.”
The second day proved to be just as sunny as the first day with a bit more of a breeze picking up. Noah started off strong in the first race by limiting the distance between himself and his competitor in first place.
The second race, however, did not go as smoothly as Noah could have hoped,
“I wanted to make a break with the guy in first, now having a good game plan after trial and error in the first race. After a good start, my hiking straps broke which meant that I couldn’t keep the boat flat anymore.”
With other boats quickly overtaking him, this was a tough moment for Noah where he decided to forget about the current race and focus his energies on the next race.
In regattas, the worst result of each competitor is discarded – so despite this setback, Noah knew it was still possible for him to win. After retiring from the race and repairing the straps with his coach, Noah was ready to give it his all in the final race.
“The last race went past very quickly in my head. I had a great start ahead of the first guy, and covered him until the end, trying to put as many boats as I could between him and me.”
Using this tactic, Noah finished 2nd, whilst his competitor who had been in first place finished 5th, which was enough for Noah to take the regatta win!
“Having a gear breakage was a major setback, but it’s my consistency that saved me,” Noah said.
This is Noah’s first national regatta win, and he aims to achieve many more.
“This weekend I’m off to Picton for regional’s, then going straight down to Christchurch to train with my coach, and then I’m going to a training clinic in Wainui.”
Well done Noah on some superb sailing, we are looking forward to hearing about your future wins!
