21 October, 2022

TGS sails to victory over national and Aussie rivals

The Takapuna Grammar School (TGS) sailing team aren’t just national secondary school champions, but have also claimed trans-Tasman bragging rights.

The double success in 420s this month followed victory by a bigger group of young TGS sailors in the Auckland fleet racing regatta at the end of last term.

Seven sailors went on to compete against 28 other schools over five days of racing in the Secondary Schools Team Sailing National Championships at Algies Bay, where TGS came out as the top school in both the national and open trans-Tasman competition.

New Zealand was declared winner of the Secondary Schools Interdominion Team Sailing Championships, giving the school a share of a third trophy.

It was the first time TGS has won any of the events or even competed at the national event.

Captained by year 13 student Dylan Forsyth, the 420 team also comprised Vivien Webster Chung, William Mason, Jamie Kwong, Mischa Grotrian, Caleb Newton and Finn Brown.

Three two-person boats from each school were pitted against rival teams over 350 short races sailed in the week.

TGS competed in nearly 30 races, losing only three, and was undefeated on the first day, with six wins from six races.

It dropped two races in the second round, but retained retained first place, ahead of Napier Boys High School and Glendowie College, who joined it in racing against the best from Australia.

The school’s head of sailing, Melita Tu’isila, said while several Year 13 sailors would not be around next year to defend the titles, the young talent coming through – including some sailors from Belmont Intermediate – made for a bright future.

Year 9 William Mason skippered one boat, with departing Year 13s Dylan Forsyth and Vivien Webster Chung helming the others.

Mischa Grotrian and Finn Brown rotated in and out on one boat depending on light or heavy conditions, with the other places fixed to meet weight requirements. Abigail Goosen and Sienna Hawkes also attended for some of the competition to gain experience for the future, but did not sail.

The team is coached by Matt Mason, a former Team New Zealand and international match-racer, who is also William’s father.

Tu’isila said TGS was lucky to have him. She said the team next year had a lot to live up to, but with so many juniors involved in the sailing programme it meant TGS had a good longer-term cycle to look forward to.

Training included leaving school early on Wednesdays for sailing sessions out of the Akarana Yacht Club at Westhaven and with other schools.

Racing would resume in March or April, with the 420 nationals expected to revert to being held in their normal slot during the first term break, after Covid pushed it back this year.

Tu’isila said Dylan had done particularly well coming in first or second in nearly all the races he was involved in, but it was the combined team effort on points that took TGS to the top.

The team won nine of its 10 interdominion races. Normally the New Zealand champion- ships and the interdoms are held separately, but this year they were combined. Next year, it is expected the nationals will be held earlier, with a trip to Brisbane to defend the interdominion title to follow in October.

Dylan said the victory was a great way to round out his school sailing career.

“We hadn’t competed at nationals before so we didn’t really know what to expect, but it was really cool to pull it off,” he told Yachting New Zealand.

“We worked really well together because, with team racing, you need everyone on the same page. I think our communication separated us from the rest of the teams.”