Plenty of hard work and a touch of Olympic inspiration has propelled one of New Zealand’s most promising double-handed crews to success at the country’s premier domestic sailing event.
Seb Menzies and George Lee Rush have now joined an impressive list of sailors to have won the 49er title at Oceanbridge Sail Auckland, with the young duo delivering a masterclass in consistency over three days at Torbay.
The regatta concluded on a thrilling note, with titles in several classes only decided in the final race but while some sailors faced last-minute battles for victory, Menzies and Rush had all but secured their title before pushing off Waiake Beach on Sunday.
The pair, who won the 49erFX junior world championships in 2022, claimed four race wins and finished outside the top three only once, underlining their consistency in a range of challenging conditions.
They are part of a squad of five 49er teams training together over the past two years to maintain a strong talent pipeline in the class.
Rush credited this squad-based approach for their success.
“There’s a group of us who have all come into the class at roughly the same level and the same time from the 29er,” he said. “It’s a very competitive fleet and we’re all evenly matched but being able to train together, progress together and share everything is an awesome place to be in.”
Menzies and Rush finished 11 points ahead of Mattias Coutts and Oscar Gunn, with Francesco Kayrouz and Hamish McLaren third.
“We really focused on our starts this week,” Rush explained. “At the national championships last week, that was our biggest weakness, so we made it our priority for this event.”
The squad has drawn inspiration from New Zealand’s international success in the 49er class, particularly from Peter Burling and Blair Tuke, and more recently, Isaac McHardie and Will McKenzie.
McHardie and McKenzie won silver in the 49er at last year’s Paris Olympics, continuing New Zealand’s podium streak in the class at the past four Games.
“Statistically, it’s our strongest class, and there’s always been a great group of sailors involved. We all want to carry that legacy forward and achieve even more success,” Rush said.
Elsewhere, Erica Dawson and Molly Meech won the 49erFX event, while Nelsen Meacham and Tim Howse edged out Will Leech and Will Mason by a single point in the final 29er race.
In the ILCA 7 (formerly Laser) competition, Singapore’s Ryan Lo topped the podium ahead of New Zealanders Tom Saunders and George Gautrey.
Lo, who has represented Singapore at the past two Olympics, won four of the 10 races, including the first today, finishing two points ahead of Saunders.
Saunders, who placed seventh in Marseille last August, will head to Europe next month for the start of the international season, joined by Gautrey, who has recently returned to ILCA 7 racing after an extended break.
Saunders revealed he had been coaching Lo for much of the year.
“Obviously, I’ve been doing too good a job!” he joked. “Seriously though, Ryan is a great sailor, and he raced well.”
Greta Pilkington continued her dominance in the domestic ILCA 6 (Laser Radial) fleet, winning six of the 10 races to claim the title by 13 points ahead of her younger brother, Tom.
She had previously won the national title in Nelson in January and achieved impressive results in Australia.
Tessa Clinton and Amelia Higson took out the 420 event in their first major regatta as a team.
Clinton, a two-time youth worlds competitor, recently partnered with promising Starling sailor Higson, and together they won six of the 10 races to take victory by 12 points over Thomas Jurczyluk and Oli Wyeth.
“We’ve made great progress in a short time and are really happy with how the weekend went,” Clinton said.
Asked about their key to success, Clinton highlighted communication – along with plenty of singing.
“I think we know how to push each other’s buttons. If I go quiet, Amelia tells me to snap out of it, and vice versa.
“There was also a lot of Coldplay, Adele, and The Killers to keep us motivated!”
Veerle ten Have overturned a four-point deficit on the final day to win the windfoil 7.3m title, with Stella Bilger second and Aimee Bright third.
Eli Liefting held on to his one-point lead in the windfoil 8m category, despite Josh Armit winning the final race. Armit finished second overall, with Blake Hinsley third.
Toby Wigglesworth topped the kitefoil fleet, with Lucy Bilger the highest-placed female competitor.
Final results and standings from the 2025 Oceanbridge Sail Auckland at Torbay Sailing Club.
420 fleet (6 boats)
1. Tessa Clinton/Amelia Higson 1 1 1 2 2 1 1 (3) 1 1 – 11 points
2. Thomas Jurczyluk/Oli Wyeth (8UFD) 3 3 3 3 3 2 2 2 2 – 23 pts
3. Nico Holmes/Finn Holmes 3 5 5 (6) 4 5 4 4 5 4 – 39 pts
ILCA 6 fleet (22 boats)
1. Greta Pilkington (6) 1 1 1 6 1 1 1 2 4 – 18 pts
2. Tom Pilkington (8) 4 4 3 2 4 3 2 3 6 – 31 pts
3. Naiomi Ferrissey 1 3 2 5 (23UFD) 3 2 7 1 14 – 38 pts
ILCA 7 fleet (8 boats)
1. Ryan Lo 3 1 3 1 3 3 1 1 (6) 3 – 19 pts
2. Tom Saunders 2 3 1 (9UFD) 2 2 2 3 2 4 – 21 pts
3. George Gautrey 1 4 4 2 1 1 3 4 (7) 7 – 27 pts
29er fleet (13 boats)
1. Nelsen Meacham/Tim Howse 1 1 1 3 1 3 4 2 (8) 1 3 3 – 23 pts
2. Will Leech/Will Mason 3 2 3 1 3 1 2 3 2 (5) 2 2 – 24 pts
3. Peer Kruse/Leo Brown 2 5 2 6 2 2 3 4 3 6 (10) 8 – 43 pts
49er fleet (10 boats)
1. Seb Menzies/George Lee Rush 1 3 1 1 1 2 (4) 2 2 3 3 2 – 21 pts
2. Mattias Coutts/Oscar Gunn 6 2 4 (7) 4 1 1 4 3 4 2 1 – 32 pts
3. Francesco Kayrouz/Hamish Mclaren 5 6 2 3 (7) 5 2 1 6 1 5 3 – 39 pts
49erFX fleet (3 boats)
1. Erica Dawson/Molly Meech 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 (4DNC) 4DNC – 14 pts
2. Nicola Hume/Rebecca Hume 2 (3) 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 1 1 – 20 pts
3. Erin Kee/Isla Kee (4SOP) 2 3 3 3 3 4DNS 4DNC 4DNC 4DNC 4DNC 4DNC – 38 pts
iQFOiL 7.3m fleet (9 boards)
1. Veerle ten Have 3 2 3 1 (4) 1 1 2 2 2 1 1 3 2 – 24 pts
2. Stella Bilger 1 1 1 2 1 3 2 (4) 1 4 2 4 2 3 – 27 pts
3. Aimee Bright 2 (4) 2 3 2 4 3 1 3 3 4 2 1 1 – 31 pts
iQFOiL 8m fleet (9 boards)
1. Eli Liefting 1 2 1 1 2 1 2 2 1 2 (3) 1 1 2 – 19 pts
2. Josh Armit 2 1 2 2 1 2 1 1 2 1 (4) 2 2 1 – 20 pts
3. Blake Hinsley 3 3 3 (4) 3 3 3 3 3 4 2 3 3 4 – 40 pts
Kitefoil fleet (4 boards)
1. Toby Wigglesworth 2 1 (4) 1 2 2 2 1 1 1 – 13 pts
2. Lochy Naismith 3 3 3 3 4 1 1 2 2 (5DNF) – 22 pts
3. Lukas Walton-Keim 1 2 1 2 1 (5DNC) 5DNC 5DNC 5DNC 5DNC – 27
Yachting New Zealand
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