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The Villa Sailing team - Future Champions Sponsors

Time flies by when you are focused on your sailing goals and working hard to achieve them. The 2010 - 2011 sailing season was another good one for Declan and Taylor.

Declan has slowed down his sailing as he is now 2nd year at Victoria University studying Architecture and that now rules his life, three and a half years to go.
From winning the Splash World Champs in 2009 in Wales, he was runner up in Takapuna in 2010.. This season he has competed infrequently in the Laser Radial class with moderate success, studying has been his priority. His principle sponsor is David Stringer, of David Stringer Architects, Queenstown. David supplied him with a new Laser to use but is very keen to see him succeed in the Profession.

Taylor won the North Island Optimist Champs at Lake Taupo, his last Opti regatta on New Zealand waters. He went to Malaysia to prepare for the Optimist World Champs. He placed well in the Malaysian National Champs in very light conditions and went on to the Island of Langkawi for the Opti Worlds.
Despite being sick for the first three days of competition he placed 28th from 240 sailors from more than 50 nations, the top kiwi sailor by a long way.

Five days back from the Opti Worlds, Taylor was straight into the NZ Laser National Champs, placing third in the Laser 4.7 class, the junior version of the men's Olympic Class. He has qualified for the Laser 4.7 World Champs and is training hard for the event in San Francisco in July. Taylor is one of a NZ Team of four (possibly five - yet to be confirmed). They are sailing out of the St Francis Yacht Club, right in front of the Rock, the home of Alcatraz prison.

Taylor sailed the Splash Class National Champs in Takapuna, in March, finishing 2nd overall. He won 6 from nine races on the water but lost the last one and the National Championships, in the Protest Room. He has qualified for the NZ Splash Team to go the Splash World Championships in Lake Lipno, Czech Republic, in August. This event starts 11 days after the Lasers finish in San Francisco. We will fly to Munich then train across to Czech. Taylor will compete in the Czech National Splash Champs as a warm up a few days before the main event. 

We have been fortunate with airfares, the price was the same flying to San Francisco or continuing on to Munich and around the World, it became very easy to do both events.
Taylor is keen to match Declan's success in the Splash Class.. It should be a light wind event on the Lake so should suit Taylor well.

Taylor sails for his school as a member of the Marlborough Boys College sailing Team. They sail a two handed boat called a 420. This year the National Secondary School Team Sailing Champs was at Algies Bay in April. The Team did well and finished half way up the Gold Fleet.
School sailing in a Team is a great diversion from the pressure of individual racing, Taylor loves it. 

A special thanks to NZSail.com, Linda and Steve, for the provision of Drysuits and great Hey Oi thermals to keep the boys toastie.
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The boys have had a great year, their goals have been set and they are working strongly towards them.
Declan will keep up with his studies then coach and compete when Uni breaks in October.
Hopefully he will fit some Match racing in at the Royal Port Nicholson Yacht Club when time permits.
Taylor wants to do well at the two Worlds and then depending on how fast he grows, have a crack at the Laser Radial for the NZ youth squad. The Laser Radial youth worlds are in Queensland July 2012.

Representing New Zealand at the highest level is the aim of both.
Sponsorship is always needed and there will always be room to add to the boys wonderful supporters. If anyone wants to help with their campaigns, please get in touch through The Villa website.
We are always looking for additional sponsors so if you want to help the boys achieve please contact us.

Thanks to our sponsors

Coaching and training is a real problem as they are quite isolated from competition which is in the major population centres, particularly Auckland so we are very grateful to our sponsor, Interislander (www.interislander..co.nz) who allow the boys to travel frequently to compete.

Interislander sponsorship is great for us, we are very enthusiatic about their service and they have been so helpful giving us travel with vehicle and trailer with boats on .... this gives us a chance as sailors from a small Club with very limited resources to travel to compete with the best sailors around.

At the away regattas now we have the Interislander banner flying and the boys have their Interislander hats to wear, plus stickers etc ....

They usually train on our beautiful Queen Charlotte Sound at their home club - Queen Charlotte Yacht Club (www..QCYC.org.nz) by themselves or our club Coach, Neeta. They also sail out of Murray's Bay Sailing Club (www.murraysbay.org), Auckland and are very happy and grateful for Murray's Bay support in the major regattas'.

NZSail.com, are the suppliers of Winner Optimists, Taylor's boat of choice, North Sails and Lasers, plus a fab range of sailing gear and clothing.

Sounds Air provide great flights across Cook Strait for Taylor when speed is of the essence.

Port Marlborough willing help for the boys to get to their Worlds.

New Zealand King Salmon helped the boys travelling. Fabulous, locally grown salmon from Queen Charlotte Sound, we love it!

David Stringer Architects - stringer.architect@xtra.co.nz