"Conditions were ideal for teams racing today," says Race Official, Richard Brown. "It was light this morning, but just as we wanted to get the finals underway the south westerly came in and we had 10-12 knots of constant breeze."

The Kerikeri team made a clean sweep of the two finals round robins completed today at Kohimarama Yacht Club and were delighted with their win. The team included Reuben Corbett, Bradley Farrand, Kevin Hooper, Hanlon Clarke, Andy Maloney, Jo Foster, Jimmy Maloney and Rosemary Simm and was coached by Robi Quilter.

The remaining three finalists really battled it out for silver and bronze in the excellent sailing conditions today. Auckland Grammar took second place in the regatta with four wins and five losses in the final round robin series. Right behind them in third place was Mahurangi College.

Westlake Boys High School missed the medals when they concluded the finals with seven losses and two wins on the scoreboard. Prize giving is to be held at the Ponsonby Cruising Club this evening.

The prize for the first Girls’ team to finish goes to St Cuthbert’s College who finished 8^th overall in the qualifying round robin. The team includes two members of the 2005 New Zealand Youth Team who travel to the ISAF World Championships in Korea in July. Olivia Powrie will represent New Zealand in the Laser Radial while Georgina Hill is sailing a 420.

2005 is only the second year that teams are racing in the 420 dinghy after their introduction last year in Timaru. The traditionally strong teams have dominated once again though overall results demonstrate that there is excellent young sailing talent throughout the country. Regatta organisers were very pleased with the event and thank MAERSK SEALAND for their support.

Final Results, 29 April 2005

Qualifying Round Robin Results, 28 April 2005

Day Three

Date: 27 April 2005
Issued By: Jodie Perkins

The four finalist teams in the MAERSK SEALAND Secondary Schools Teams Racing will be revealed around midday tomorrow when round robin races draw to a close. The traditionally strong teams have once again come through and look set to take the podium places.

Excellent conditions meant that organisers managed to get through 75 races today with some exciting sailing to watch.

"We had a top wind speed of 20 knots, and it was consistently between 15 and 20knots this morning, so it was quite windy for the 420’s," says Race Official, Richard Brown. "The south westerly breeze meant for flat water at Kohimarama and the boats were screaming along."

The winning team in 2004, Kerikeri High School has recorded 16 wins with only one race left to go in the round robin tomorrow morning. If they beat Christchurch Boys High School they will proceed as the top qualifiers with a clean slate.

Mahurangi College is looking strong also with 15 wins and one loss on the scoreboard at the end of racing on day three. They are yet to come up against Tauranga Boys who could be a tough opponent for them having won twelve of their 16 races to date.

Auckland Grammar School will be looking to finish the round robin on a high note with three races to complete in the morning. They are another potential finalist with 13 wins and two losses on the board after a strong day on the water.

Westlake Boys High School missed out on a spot in last years final and will be hoping for a good performance tomorrow to add to their twelve win tally. They are yet to race Auckland Grammar, St Cuthbert’s College and New Plymouth Boys’ High School.

Organisers were pleased with the number of races completed today and the standard of conduct on the water.

"The wind dropped to 10-12 knots this afternoon, racing was very close especially between the mid ranking teams," says event organiser, Sarah Powrie. "Competition was clean – judges using very few flags, which means that these sailors know their rules."