Local teens make national sailing team for 2006

A PAIR of teenage sisters from Wairarapa has made the national youth sailing team for 2006, beating out countless others for a berth sailing the 420-class yacht.
The Berry girls, Sarah, 13, and Emma, 14, have only been sailing as a team for a couple of months, but have impressed the right people and are now in a position to push for places at the world youth champs to be held at Weymouth, England later this year.
They are also gunning to compete at the 420 world champs in the Canary Islands in August this year.
To get to the youth world champs they must be the top girls crew in the country, top in the nationals the NZ youth trials.
Father, coach, rig man and driver Mark Berry said the girls' ascendance to the national team is their first big break, and now they have made it their sailing will only improve.
"That's the first big step towards their ultimate goal, and puts them group. They'll get much more training ? access to the full expertise of yachting New Zealand."
The ultimate goal he speaks of is not the 420 world champs or youth world champs, but the 2012 Olympics.
The girls said this is something they have had in mind since taking the sport up three years ago.
"Basically since we started we wanted to get quite high up in sailing."
They said competition sailing, a male dominated sport, can be tough, but they have learnt to give as good as they get, and when the racing is over they have a huge network of friends, across the country, to call on.
They normally sail in Wellington at weekends, if they're not in Tauranga or Auckland for a regatta, but since making the national squad, midweek training has become a necessity.
Henley Lake is providing the water they need to do this, and Mr Berry said while it is not exactly ideal there are some good things to come from it.
"It's shocking, they're really up against it. But the advantage is its size. They have to do everything really quickly, so they get a lot of practice."
Sailing has thrown up some interesting scenarios for the girls.
Just recently they were sailing on the taranaki coast and saw one of the sharks that has been cruising the coastline terrorising people, and a recent regatta in Tauranga saw them sharing the water with giant jellyfish.
"It had huge tentacles."
They said the biggest challenge they have faced since starting in the two-person boat has not come from learning to sail it but working in a team.
"We've got better as we've done more. You have to realise the other person is good, and you can't put them down."
Mr Berry agrees.
"As kids. That's the hardest thing ? getting along with each other."