YACHTING - All set for big battle of the P-Class

The vanguard of a large fleet of sailors began arriving at Parua Bay yesterday ahead of next week's P-Class and Starling Class nationals.
Otago sailing enthusiast, parent and coach Gary Griffin said the P-Class boat had a special place in New Zealand sailing history.
It is often the first craft Kiwi sailors cut their teeth on and is largely responsible for the talent of sailing in the country.
"Russell Coutts and Chris Dixon have all come through the P-Class. They're a horrible boat to sail initially, at least, but there's a great sense of achievement once they've mastered it," he said.
"You can see when they move on to other boats they have all the basic skills they need and then they move on to the Starling, which is a beautiful boat to sail."
Griffin should know. He is an oceanographer with America's Cup experience, who sailed at the Barcelona Olympics in the Australian team before moving to New Zealand.
His daughter Freya has just turned 13, and has just started sailing P craft competitively. She says the biggest competition for her at the regatta, which starts on Monday, will be with her mate Rachael, who was due to arrive from Dunedin today .
"In Dunedin we get about six Ps in a race but we're expecting more than 50 at this regatta, so going for clear air is going to be important," she said.
Another sailor at the McAndrew Bay Boating Club, Alex Morris, said getting a good start among such big fleets would also help final results. The 17-year-old is already well on his way to becoming an elite competitor and has just returned from an international regatta in Australia, where he co-sailed his 29er to fourth place overall. It is his third and probably his final Starlings nationals.
"It's my third nationals but I went terribly last year and that's the main reason I came back again to improve on that," he said. "I'm young enough to compete again next year but by then I'll probably be too big to be competitive."
The three sailors have been making the most of their trip north. They attended the Tall Ships Regatta on Griffin's 70-year-old Norwegian pilot cutter, which is anchored at Parua Bay as accommodation. They hope to catch the tail end of the Bay of Islands Sailing Regatta next week when they return the boat to Opua.
There are three other Otago sailors, Andrew Shearer, Peter Sise and Rachael Oakley, who have made the long trip north to compete at the event, largely thanks to a grant from the Otago Yachting Association.
"For most of them it's their first nationals and they're terrified," Griffin said.
Both youth classes will hold their national competition in Whangarei for the first time starting on Monday, at the event that is hosted by the Whangarei Cruising Club. Two traditional events start the respective regattas tomorrow. The Tanner Cup is an interprovincial fleet racing event for P-Class competitors, while the Starling Class has an interprovincial match race series.