KEY POINTS:
Economic reality has put a spoke in the Beijing Olympic ambitions of former Olympic boardsailing medallists Bruce Kendall and Aaron McIntosh.
The pair have put together a campaign in the tough two-handed Tornado class, but yesterday McIntosh withdrew, at least temporarily, citing financial constraints.
The bombshell comes just
a couple of weeks before the pair were to head overseas to the European championships and the Hyeres regatta in France.
The competitions are lead-ups to the ISAF world championships in Cascais, Portugal in June-July, where the first block of Olympic spots for Beijing next year will be decided.
Kendall, who won gold on the board at the Seoul Olympics in 1984 and bronze in Los Angeles four years later, will now team up with another Aucklander, Brett Sellers.
He carries a notable name into the Tornado world. His father, Rex Sellers, won gold and silver in the class at consecutive Olympics, in 1984 and 1988, with Chris Timms.
McIntosh, an Olympic bronze medallist at Sydney seven years ago, cited the difficulty of having to earn sufficient money to both continue the campaign and "feed a family".
"It is expensive and the reality of it is I have to earn money for the time being," he said.
"I am not giving up, just stepping aside for a few months."
McIntosh, who is coaching to bring in sufficient funds ahead of a planned return to the campaign, wants to get back in a Tornado by October.
However Kendall and McIntosh both acknowledged yesterday that if the Kendall-Sellers partnership works over the next few months, it might stay put.
That would leave McIntosh having to find another partner for a anticipated second boat later this year.
"He's picked things up quickly, he's agile, younger than me and quite a bit stronger so I think there's good potential there," Kendall said of Sellers.
Kendall and McIntosh missed out on being part of Yachting New Zealand's elite Olympic squad this year. Sailors in the squad receive financial help for campaigns.
Kendall hopes he and Sellers will be at the world champs, but they need strong performances at the European regatta at Palma de Majorca, Spain starting on March 30, and Hyeres a couple of weeks later, which might help earn some financial support.
But if their results are average, the risk is the money will dry up before they get to Portugal.
That leaves next February's world Tornado champs in Takapuna as the last chance to get New Zealand in the Olympic fleet for Beijing. The rules are that sailors qualify countries, not specific crews.
Sorting out who gets selected will happen at Olympic trials next year.
Kendall and Sellers head for Europe on March 14 and Kendall knows it's a tough challenge.
"Aaron and I were getting round the track pretty well, making some pretty good tactical decisions and positioning the boat well, but we were just a little bit off the pace," he said.