Royal Akarana Yacht Club

Kiwi Team Racing are your 2026 NZ Open Team Racing National Champions!

After two days of close racing at Royal Akarana Yacht Club, Kiwi Team Racing claimed the national title, defeating Ship Happens in the grand final. The final was cut short when the breeze disappeared, but after a dominant weekend on the water, Kiwi Team Racing were deserved champions.

A huge thank you to all six teams, our race officials, umpires, volunteers, and the NZ Open Team Racing Association for making another fantastic championship possible.

Congratulations to Reuben Corbett, Mason Mulcahy, Lucas Day, Zara Scott, Maeve White and Rye Brady on taking home the title!

Read more here: https://rayc.co.nz/nz-open-team-racing-nationals-2026/

The club is so proud to see this level of success achieved by Team NZL in the 29er class, it has been a pleasure to see the hard work that has gone in by everyone is these crews (parents included!!), it is no small feat to achieve something like this. The club is so proud of all the effort that has gone in: the countless hours of hard training, drifting back to the ramp after dark, heading to the gym after time on water, it's all part of the final picture and everyone at RAYC is so stoked to see these sailors achieve everything they have done.

To Leo, Hugo, Blake, Matteo & Oli you are a credit to yourselves & the club, to the rest of the team you are an absolute credit to New Zealand sailing as a whole, a phenomenal success! We cannot wait to see what's next.

Our Academy Winter Workshops are set to return!
Mark these dates in your calendar now, session times and themes will be announced soon.

28 August
3 September
24 September

Save the dates and we'll see you there!

First day of the Gold Fleet series at the 29er World Championships is in the books - and our crews are unphased by the level of competition, the whole of the New Zealand crew has risen to the challenge.

Matteo Barker & Leo Brown (RAYC) climb overnight to 5th overall posting a 7, 20, 5 and retaking the top NZL spot from Nelsen Meachem & Oli Stone in 6th place after they also posted a day of consistent scores. Blake Batten & Hugo Smith are hanging on to the edge of the top 10 overall just behind them. Our teams are loving(!) the bigger breeze, long may it continue!

The first day of the 49er & 49erFX Europeans also got underway overnight - Nicola & Rebecca Hume got off to a great start posting a 2nd place and currently sit well inside the top half of the fleet.

Both 49er crews of Hamish Mclaren/Francesco Kayrouz & Rowan/Sean Kensington got a solid first day as well, both teams sitting in the 30s overall in a world class fleet of around 90 of the best 49er crews in the world.

Photo: Blake & Hugo ripping downwind in Kiel.

Good luck to our RAYC crews as they kick off racing at the 49er European Championships in Germany!

Representing the club are: Hamish McLaren & Francesco Kayrouz, Sean & Rowan Kensington and Nicola & Rebecca Hume.

Wishing all three crews the best of luck for the championship. Stay tuned for results and updates!

With just the finals left to race at the 29er World Championships, our RAYC sailors are in a fantastic position against an incredibly competitive international fleet.

Current standings heading into the finals:
6th – Nelsen Meachem (WBC) & Oli Stone
7th – Matteo Barker & Leo Brown
8th – Blake Batten & Hugo Smith

Having all three RAYC crews sitting inside the top 10 heading into the final stage of the championship is an outstanding achievement. Everything is still to play for, and we're excited to see how they finish.

Good luck to all three crews in the finals, we'll be cheering you on from home!

We're so excited to be supporting our reciprocal clubs in the Pacific!

If you didn't know, Sophia, Bec, Harry, and Tony are currently in Suva, helping with sailor and coach development. It's an incredible opportunity to share knowledge, build connections, and support the growth of sailing across the region.

After Day 1 of the 29er World Championships 2026 club members Leo Brown & Matteo Barker are out the blocks with a great first day of qualifying, posting a 1st, 2nd, 4th, leaving them 4th overall heading into Day 2.

They are closely followed by Oli Stone & Nelsen Meachem (WBC) in 9th place, leaving two NZL boats inside the top 10. Blake Batten & Hugo Smith also had a good start with a 2nd place, but they sit in 34th overall for now.

In a fleet of the worlds' best youth sailors & 276 entries, it's great to see the NZL teams and our young members stretching their legs and showing what they can do after a Kiel Week that was dominated by light winds.

Keep up to the date with the results here (https://www.manage2sail.com/en-US/event/29erworlds2026 #!/results?classId=5a2f3006-6bfa-4bb1-94ca-7f285dd3e9e2) to follow along and support our members for the rest of the week. Tomorrow promises more breeze again which should suit the teams too!

Calling all race officers! The National Race Officer Training Course is coming to RAYC on:

📅 Saturday 15 – Sunday 16 August 2026
⏰ 9:00am – 5:00pm each day

Facilitated by John and Linda Parrish, this course is designed to develop club race officers into national race officers, while also providing valuable upskilling opportunities for current national race officers.

All race officers are welcome to attend — and best of all, the course is free!

Secure your spot and continue developing your race management skills.

Register here: https://www.yachtingnz.org.nz/events/2026/08/national-race-officer-training-course-auckland

Term 3 Classes are out now!
Spaces are already filling up, so get in quick to secure your spot! Don’t miss out on another great term of sailing and racing.

Book here: https://portal.iclasspro.com/academyrayc/classes