A Whole Lot of Firsts for Kiwi Paralympic Sailors

It’s a man’s world can no longer be used to describe Sailing amongst the New Zealand Paralympic crew. Just as the 1st of September marks the first day of spring in New Zealand, it will also be remembered for the first day a women sailed under the New Zealand flag at the Paralympic Games.Jan Apel has teamed up with fellow Aucklander Tim Dempsey to contest their first games which will also represent New Zealand’s participation in the competition for the first time since Sydney in 2000.

Remarkably Apel is also the oldest member of the New Zealand team of 24 at the sprightly age of 61. Apel and Dempsey have been sailing well in the build-up to the games, and despite only teaming up three months prior to the IFDS World Championships in 2010 the biggest issues their SKUD 18 boat is likely to face is the lack of wind in Weymouth.

Traditionally Kiwi sailors have been regarded as better seaman in rougher conditions than say the Mediterranean’s, but Coach Robert Hielkema is confident they can overcome whatever is headed their way. “We’ve been here quite a bit over the past couple of years so we know what to expect. The conditions in Weymouth can be a bit like home, off the coast of Auckland, but with no wind it’s nothing like home. However we’ve trained for every type of condition and they’re ready.”

And preparing for whatever the weather can throw at you has seen the Paralympic team race against some of the worlds best sailors, such as Emirates Team New Zealand skipper Dean Barker and his crew.  “We’re in the Viaduct [in Auckland] together so yeah we get to see them all the time, they’re a real inspiration to our sailors” said Hielkema. “We’ve invited them out a few times and our crew has even beaten them on occasion.”

The thing with sailing is once your body’s parked on the centre line a person’s disability goes out the window. It soon becomes a level playing field even if the water isn’t.

Also competing in Weymouth is the third and final member of the Kiwi sailing team Peter Francis. Francis who, like his other two team mates, resides in the city of sails will compete single handed in the 2.4MR class. The 54-year old first won the P class Tauranga cup in 1974 and has gone on to compete in eleven sailing world championships.

The medal races for the Skud and the 2.4M are in the early hours of Friday morning [NZT].