Yachting: Whangarei 49er sails into gold fleet

A Northland yachtie competing in the 49er Worlds Championship won the event's final race and finishing sixth overall.

Former Whangarei Boys' High School pupil Marcus Hansen, 19, was competing in the 49er Worlds Championship in Zadar, Croatia, with his crew Josh Porebski, of Wellington.

The pair had made it through to the Gold fleet - the top 25 racers out of a fleet of 74.

Hansen is a former national and world Optimist champion.

Hansen and Porebski not only made it into the medal race for the first time at a 49er World Championships, but also took victory in the higher intensity double point race.

They finished 6th overall, after a 32nd place finish at the 2011 World Championships.

The final day was sailed in relatively light winds with an average of a 7-9 knot sea breeze.