Top Olympic coach named Sailor of Year

Aaron MacIntosh, left, with his coach Grant Beck. Photo / Supplied

Grant Beck has been instrumental in the success of several of New Zealand's top windsurfers, including Tom Ashley. Meteorologist Bob McDavitt's huge contribution to safe sailing in New Zealand has been recognised with his Coach/Official of the Year award. Grant Beck, the most successful New Zealand Olympic coach of all time, has had his name inscribed on the Sir Bernard Fergusson Trophy as the 2011 Singapore Airlines Sailor of the Year.

Beck's 25-year record as Olympic windsurf coach is a remarkable one. As well as helping secure seven Olympic medals (three gold), he has also been the mastermind and confidant to nearly three decades of Kiwi Olympic champions, including Bruce and Barbara Kendall, Aaron McIntosh and, most recently, Tom Ashley.

Beck is not only a talented and dedicated coach, he has also made an enormous contribution to both yachting in New Zealand and, as a founder of Adhesive Technologies, to the local marine industry.

Beck continues to contribute. His experience and judgment are being harnessed as an Olympic selector in several classes. He is also involved in youth sailing, including coaching, advising and managing youth teams to compete internationally. (He was even spotted a few weeks ago teaching beginners to windsurf at Wakatere Beach on Auckland's North Shore.)

The 2011 Sailor of the Year is awarded annually by Yachting New Zealand for an outstanding contribution to yachting. It is awarded to someone who has demonstrated "absolute world class abilities" over their career.

At the same time, Yachting New Zealand announces a number of other awards. One of these is the Young Sailor of the Year, which this year has been won by 49er sailor Peter Burling. Campaigning with crew Blair Tuke, Burling has enjoyed a highly impressive year, only once placing outside of the top four.

His record includes a first at Sail Sydney, another win at the New Zealand national championships and a second at Sail Melbourne. He was also fourth at the 2011 Zhik Foiling Moth World Championships in Australia.

However, perhaps his crowning glory came at the Olympic Test Event in Weymouth, the site of the 2012 Olympic sailing regatta. Although he and Tuke were the youngest pairing taking part, they finished a more-than-creditable third, in the process becoming the first team to represent New Zealand at the Olympics in the 49er since Sydney in 2000.

Previously the youngest Olympic sailor to represent New Zealand in the 470 Class (at Beijing in 2008 when he was just 17), Burling is still only 20 years old and already on his second Olympic campaign.

Also gaining recognition was Leonard Takahashi-Fry, who won the 2011 Emerging Talent Award. From Murrays Bay Sailing Club, Takahashi-Fry not only won the 2011 National Optimist Championships in New Zealand, he also won the 2011 USA Nationals, the 2011 British Nationals and came second in the 2011 Japan National Optimist Championship.

In January in Napier, he will try to add the Optimist World Championship to that haul.

One of the most popular awards was to meteorologist Bob McDavitt, who won the 2011 Coach/Official of the Year award.

McDavitt, sometimes known as "Cyclone Santa", has given outstanding service to the yachting community for many years. The weatherman for many successful yachting campaigns, including those for the Olympics and America's Cups, he has also, since 1995, voluntarily contributed to cruising safety by issuing weekly weathergrams for the Southern Pacific.

Widely recognised as a weather educator at regatta briefings, yachting courses, seminars and boat shows, McDavitt is a sought-after speaker at conferences and events. Since 1992, he has been stationed in Auckland as MetService weather ambassador, promoting relationships with weather users, communicating awareness about weather, and keeping an eye on the impact of weather for special events.

The Torbay Sailing Club was also recognised by Yachting New Zealand, receiving the President's Award for its annual Sir Peter Blake Regatta.

The biggest regatta in New Zealand and the biggest centreboard regatta in the Southern Hemisphere, the Sir Peter Blake commemorates the sailor's death in Macapa, Brazil, on December 5, 2001. Held annually on the first weekend of December, it is open to all centreboard classes and to sailors of all ages. It attracts hundreds of competitors and is a big undertaking for a relatively small suburban yacht club.