Sailing students relish Cooks Islands development regatta
Spending the school holidays in the Cook Islands would be a treat for any student, but transporting themselves there by sea took it to another level for three Kerikeri High sailors.
Erin Kee, Charley Cates and Isla Kee were among 20 young sailors from around the country who travelled to the Cook Islands for the 2022 Sailing Development week in Rarotonga.
Erin said the sailors took part in a variety of on and off-water activities, all revolving around the goal of improving their sailing knowledge, strengthening key skills and team building.
The 15-year-old said the experience had taught her “the importance of having contacts, and not being afraid to use them. And to be humble”.
Erin has been dinghy sailing for just less than two years, but is no newbie to the sea.
“I grew up living on a yacht with my family in New Zealand and overseas, so I’ve always known my way around the water.”
She said the trip allowed her to get to know and work together with people who enjoyed the sport as much as she did.
She also valued “being able to experience sailing in a very different environment with new boats”.
During the first few days of the expedition, the group sailed traditional vakas, which Erin said she believed were the Cook Islands’ version of wakas.
Ross Sutherland, who is a founding member of New Zealand Team Sailing
Association, said he and Derry Godbert of Kerikeri started the development regattas in 2004 following an invitation from Sailing Cook Islands.
“This year was the first time the sailors got to try a different style of craft, which is only found in the Cook
Islands and needs good teamwork to sail,” Sutherland said.
Erin agreed: “It has an outrigger on the port [right] side of the boat, which makes sailing it very tricky at times.
“On one tack, it’s like sailing a keeler and on the other, it’s like sailing a catamaran. They were very tippy at times, but incredibly fun to sail.”
The regatta wasn’t without unpredictable challenges and would have perhaps been incomplete without them.
“A storm came in and the huge swells caused a lot of damage to many resorts across Rarotonga. We decided that we couldn’t sail safely, so we explored the island for a few days instead,” Erin said.
The other founder of the development regattas, Godbert, attended this year’s event at age 88. He was the coach, umpire and and on the rescue/media boat.
Erin hopes “to do some coaching to get others on the water, because I think it’s awesome”.
Past attendees at the regatta have sailed at both the London and Rio Olympics.