Cate rides winning wave in quest for world title

Onerahi Yacht Club's Michael Cate is hoping to make it third time lucky when he contests the 2010 Splash World Sailing Championships at Takapuna Beach.
Only days away from the international event for solo dinghy youth sailors, the 16-year-old said he was "quietly confident'' he could improve on his ninth place at the 2008 worlds in Portugal, and his 11th spot at the  2009 championships in  Wales during the Northern Hemisphere summer.
"You never race to get last, I'm definitely looking for a top  10 placing,'' he said.
The Whangarei Boys' High School Year 11 student had a busy lead-up to the week-long regatta, which gets under way on January 2, in between completing his exams, training and racing.
 Two weeks ago, Cate won the North Island Splash Championships, also at Takapuna.
 "There were 38 competitors  and most of the New Zealanders who will be competing at the worlds were there. Conditions were all over the place and patchy ... I don't sail there [Takapuna] that much, so it was good to see what it was like, how big the courses are going to be and where we will be racing.''
Assured he had the ability to deal with whatever the weather gods may present over the next week at the 2010 World Championships, Cate said ideally there would be some sea breeze and some white caps to make the racing more interesting.
``If the wind is light I will deal with it ... that's sailing,'' he said.
Splash Dinghies are 3.5m in length, fast, modern, single-handed and designed for sailors
under the age of 19. Favoured for their ability to build confidence in young sailors, Cate said Splash Dinghies were used as a stepping stone between the 2m Optimist class and the bigger 4m + Laser class, raced by both men and women at the Olympic Games.
Nine competitors from Northland are contesting the worlds, including Cate and the 2008 world champion Ben Lutze from the Far North,  as well as Whangarei's Stacey Wright and Kerikeri's James Ayr, Dylan Wichman, Klaus Ohlendorf, Harris Read Bindon, O'Shea Butler and Rosemary Sim.
These young sailors join a line-up of 80 contenders from 11 countries, with tough competition coming from Holland and Belgium, Cate said.
Reigning world champion Declan Burn from Picton and  girls champion Nienke Reina Jorna  defend their titles.
 The worlds commence with an opening ceremony on Saturday night, which will be followed by registration and measurement, and a practice race over the weekend before racing starts on Monday at 11am.
Thirteen races will be held if conditions permit, and will conclude on Friday. Prizes will be
awarded to the winner of the Open Splash Championship, the best female winner, and the country with the lowest total points.