Yachting-Live

Des Townson Receives Queen’s Birthday Honour
Class designer, Des Townson, sails the original Zephyr in the Sail-Past at the 2006 Zephyr Nationals - Photo from the Zephyr Owners Association / Sail-world.com

Noted New Zealand designer, Des Townson has beeen made a Member of the Order of New Zealand in the Queen’s Birthday Honours announced today.

A top P-class skipper and small boat sailor, Townson is recognised as the designer of one of New Zealand’s most popular singlehanded classes, the Starling - designed as a progression boat from the P-class.

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World Champ Confirmed For The Gold Cup
Mark Nicholls, Gerry Mitchell, Ian Williams and Bill Hardesty (from left), winners of the 2006 Gold Cup.(Gold Cup/Charles Anderson photo)

Current World Match Racing champion Ian Williams will return to Hamilton Harbour later this year to compete for one of the sport’s most revered prizes - the King Edward VII Gold Cup. The 31-year-old skipper made history last year when he became the first Englishman to win the prestigious World Match Racing title.

Williams is also a past Gold Cup winner, having defeated Mathieu Richard in a best- of-five final in 2006.

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Historic Win As New York Romps To Victory Into Home Port
Breaking what has been referred to as the ‘home port curse’, skipper Duggie Gillespie and his team have achieved an historic victory by winning into New York at the end of the 1,420-mile race from Jamaica of the Clipper 07-08 Round the World Yacht Race.

This elusive accolade of a home port win has only been achieved once before in the history of the biennial round the world race, by Canadian entry Victoria Clipper, in Clipper 05-06.

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