Kerikeri High School sailing students scoop title

Kerikeri High School has successfully defended their  secondary school's national teams sailing title with a dramatic win over St Kentigerns at Algies Bay.
Kerikeri had been outpointed by their St Kentigerns rivals all the way through the round robin series but a Friday night meeting, called by the team, helped them iron out the kinks and swamp their opponents 3-0 in Saturday's final.
The team's coach Derry Godbert said that marginal conditions during the week meant that sailing was held in a variety of conditions with all of the 33 teams coping admirably, with a high standard set.
"It was a very close regatta but we won the final very convincingly and I think that was because they decided to do something about it at the planning meeting - they pulled themselves together and said we've got to do it - and they did," he said.
He said like all Kerikeri teams in the past the team had sailed well together but he believed they were "missing an edge" until the final.
Kerikeri had to come from behind to make the final. The lead changed around early on with Tauranga Boys High School leading after the first round of races, with St Kentigerns overtaking them by the end of the second round.
The team lost two races against St Kentigerns who finished second overall, but then didn't lose again in the finals series - reached the final - and got their revenge.
The team captain was O'Shea Butler, with Matthew Bindon, Harris Bindon the other skippers - although five of the team took the helm in competition last week. Claus Ohlendorf, James Ayr and Shae Donahue were the crew on the 420 dinghies, with Sam Brierley and Alex Brining the reserves. The team was coached by Godbert, with Wendy Butler the manager. They now have a short break before they start training for the Inter-Dominion Team Series in Port Lincoln, South Australia, in October.
St Kentigerns and Tauranga Boys High School, in second and third are the other New Zealand teams to qualify for the event. Whangarei Boys High School narrowly missed out on the top three by finishing fourth, beaten by Tauranga by one race in the sail-off for third and fourth.
It was the best finish since 2007 for the Whangarei team, skippered and coached by New Zealand junior Michael Cate, although they have finished in the top eight since 2006.
Cate, Sam Brien and Jackson Yovich were the skippers. Casey Clarkson, Jono Dey and Ben Topping were the crew and Liam Wech and Sean Crook, the reserves.