Taken on 8 February 1988 by New Zealand Herald photographer John Sefton of Trotter, aged 19 on his way to his first national boardsailing title.
Taken on 8 February 1988 by New Zealand Herald photographer John Sefton of Trotter, aged 19 on his way to his first national boardsailing title.
With Australia making much of its domination over New Zealand in the recent test cricket series, one Far North man has done his bit to pull the ledger back in favour of the right side of the ditch by winning the Australian windsurfing championship.
Russell Boating Club sailor Bruce Trotter was crowned the 2015/16 Australian Raceboard Champion which was hosted at the Royal Queensland Yacht Squadron in Brisbane from last Friday to Sunday, November 27-29.
Russel's Bruce Trotter won the Australian Raceboard Championship in Brisbane two weekends ago.
PICTURES/NZ HERALD, SUPPLIED
Trotter's results in the 10 races over three days - 5 (5th), 3, 4, 2, 2, 1, 2, 1, 4 and a DNC in his last race - saw him emerge at the top of a 41-strong field which included current world champion Max Wojcik from Poland, who eventually finished 4th.
The event featured some very close racing with 21 seconds covering the first four places in race 9. However in the first of his two wins, Trotter finished about 2 minutes in front of the second placegetter. The Far North sailor admitted the competition was tough but on the days when the stronger winds generally favoured the heavier guys, he employed a strategy of staying near the leading sailors on his path to the title.
Adding to the achievement was the fact that Trotter, a leading figure in windsurfing's heyday, had not been involved in a competitive capacity for a number of years. This absence, his age and the fact he took out the overall title despite having entered the grand masters division appeared tobe a bitter pill for the authorities to swallow, with the Australian organisers somehow managing to overlook presenting the Kiwi with the series trophy.
Trotter proved generous in victory and laughed the snub off. He noted that watching New Zealand collapse in the test cricket series last week whilst surrounded by smirking Australians had only strengthened his resolve to give the hosts a taste of their own medicine.
Taken on 8 February 1988 by New Zealand Herald photographer John Sefton of Trotter, aged 19 on his way to his first national boardsailing title.
Of the event, the 47-year-old father of two noted the raceboard was one of many different types of windsurfing board which went out of vogue around the 90s but it had enjoyed a renaissance of sorts in recent years similar to that of the longboard in surfing.
One of New Zealand's leading windsurfers in the 80s, Trotter was just pipped for Olympic selection by Bruce Kendall and stopped participating a short time later. but it was during the long cold English winters that he began to pine for his former passion and vowed to take windsurfing back up when he returned. For fun.
He returned home in 2011 and was soon back in Russell near his family who are all very well-known in local sailing circles. His father Mike, a well-known stalwart of the Russell Boating Club scene, still races at the tender age of 80; brother Kevin has shaped boards for both Bruce and Barbara Kendall, New Zealand's acclaimed multiple Olympics-medal winning siblings; while mother Maureen was also keen and competitive windsurfer back in the 80s.
It wasn't long before Trotter started sailing with the keeler fleet each week during the RBC's domestic competition. He decided to return to the competitive sphere and had a crack at the New Zealand national raceboard champs at Whangaparoa. Noting this was the first time a raceboard nationals had been held since the early 90s, Trotter cleaned up there and with his tail up, decided to carry on and have a crack at the Australian championships. In taking out the overall title in Brisbane last week, he admitted he surprised even himself in the process (never mind the hosting Aussies) considering his lack of sea legs/ match fitness but realised his competitive streak had been reawakened in the process.
Still, Trotter hesitated when asked to consider whether he will compete at the New Zealand nationals in April next year or whether he would return to Brisbane for the 2016 Worlds in December which last week's event represented a tester for. He spoke about returning from Brisbane with both hands blistered from grasping the boom for three days solid and questioning whether he had the time or energy to commit towards a world title campaign.
"I'm not a professional sportsman [any more], I'm a 47-year-old dad who lives in Russell."
The New Zealand and Australian champion will ponder his future international racing career whilst sailing out in the Bay of Islands once a week. And for the time being, it's likely he will be more than content to ride the wave of satisfaction which only comes from beating the Aussies on their own surf.
