Featured photograph: Westlake Girls Premier Sailing Team
Blessed with four New Zealand junior hopefuls in the Westlake Girls Sailing Team this year, the defending New Zealand Secondary Schools champions were optimistic about repeating their achievement after winning the Auckland Championship in March.
The young team started their national campaign in the Silver Fleet before moving up to the prestigious Gold Fleet with the top boys’ teams in the country. Energised by selections into the New Zealand Youth Sailing team, Westlake’s helms, Jess Handley and Bella Jenkins helmed the 420 boats along with former NZ Youth Sailor and captain Daniella Wooldridge led the crew members of Emily Turner, Danielle Robertson, Charlotte Handley (NZ Optimist Euro team), Julia Nguyen (NZ Optimist Development Squad) and Gretel Satterthwaite (NZ Feva Champion), who worked the jib and hiked hard in the stiff New Plymouth breeze.
In round 3, Westlake Girls returned to the silver fleet to contest the pool with Christ College and New Plymouth Boys. They ended up 5 points behind the Cantabrians but claimed the Girls’ Championship once again ahead of Nelson Girls and Christchurch Girls.
The team’s New Zealand representatives, Year 11 Jess Handley and Year 10 Bella Jenkins, will head to Lake Garda, Italy, in July to compete at the World Youth Sailing Championship in the 420 and 29ers, respectively. The younger Handley, Charlotte, a pocket rocket optimist sailor who started sailing early and is consistently near the top of the female fleet, goes to Italy in June to compete in the European Champs. The youngest member of the team, Julia Nguyen, is headed to New Caledonia in October with the NZ Development Squad. Nguyen is likely to miss the Interdominion Regatta which features New Zealand and Australia’s top sailing schools from 7-11 October.
NZ Sailors: Bella Jenkins, Jess Handley, Charlotte Handley and Julia Nguyen
