The Oceania Championships were held in Tahiti 19-24 October 2001. The NZ team was selected following the NZ Optimist nationals in April and comprised: Garth Ellingham, Philip Robertson, James Williamson, Andrew Mowlen (all from Auckland) and myself (Wellington). Nine countries each with teams of up to five sailors attended the regatta with Tahiti providing ten sailors. Only eight out of the scheduled 16 races were completed.

On the first day after we arrived we were allocated our boats, sail and foils which were brand new and provided by the Tahiti Yacht club. In the afternoon we were able to go out for a practice. The winds were light 3-5kts and very shifty with very warm temperatures of about 33 degrees and very sunny. The day before the regatta started (which was our second day in Tahiti) was set aside for an afternoon practice race. Once again the wind was light and shifty with shifts of between 30-40 degrees which made sailing very difficult. Most of the competitors had arrived and sailed this race. The NZ team was in the top 15 with my 6^th place being the best of the Kiwis with New Caledonia taking the gun.

Following the practice race was the official opening ceremony. All the teams paraded past the officials who included the Minister of Sports and the deputy Mayor. During the march past, the NZ team performed the Haka. Photos of us performing the Haka were published in the Tahiti newspaper the next day.

The first day of the official regatta saw only two races being sailed due to the light and shifty conditions. NZ came home with 8,9,10,11 and 15 followed by a 7, 8, 14, 17 and me at 23 (my worst race). The second day was abandoned due to lack of wind. This was frustrating as the wind filled in a few minutes after the racing was abandoned. The NZ coach made us do some training before returning to shore.

Day three got off to a slow start but the wind filled in to reach about 8 kts late afternoon. Three races were completed and I felt I had a reasonably good day with a 4^th, 5^th and 12^th. The best NZ result was Philip Roberston who managed a 2^nd and two 8ths.

The final day of fleet racing saw us change to another course, which was some distance from the Yacht club and took over an hour to reach. Three races were sailed in shifty wind that rose to around 12-15kts. Garth Ellingham had the best results with a 2^nd, 5^th and 8^th to put him 4^th overall for the regatta. Philip Robertson was next with a 7^th overall and then my 11^th with James 13^th and Andrew 16^th. The regatta was won by Teiki Hacheche of Tahiti with Corentin Guegan of New Caledonia second and Yann Rigal of New Caledonia third. It was interesting that some of these sailors had competed in the NZ nationals in April.

The fifth day of competition was for teams racing (three per team). NZ seconded an Australian sailor and put in two teams. Tahiti was the only other country to put in two teams. To enable the elimination rounds to be completed quickly, two courses were running at the same time. My team comprising Philip, Garth and I were drawn against New Caledonia for the first race. Unfortunately because our course was farthest from the Yacht club and due to congestion on the launch ramp, we were late for the start and lost our first race. We convincingly won every other race and eventually raced against the other NZ team for third place, which we won. Tahiti was first with New Caledonia second and NZ third and fourth.

At the closing ceremony and prize giving we received a trophy for third in the teams event and all the sailors receive a trophy to remember the regatta. The NZ team leader and coach presented the Yacht club with our "fighting Kiwi" flag that we flew from the support boat.

Although the wind reached around 15kts on the last day, it didn’t seem to have the same power as the equivalent 15kts in Wellington. I spent a lot of time sitting in my boat whereas I would normally be on the gunwale. The weather was very sunny and hot and the water was also very warm so we went swimming a lot both between races and after racing had finished. Most of the teams were accommodated in a special sports hostel, which was alongside the Tahiti stadium. The rooms were very plain and we ate in the main dinning area. The food in the hostel was not very good however the lunches provided on the water were better.

I enjoyed the experience of sailing with other people from other countries. I found it interesting to listen to the different languages however, I had trouble understanding some of the officials as they only spoke French. This made it hard to interpret the on the water judges and some of the decisions made during the racing. Next year the Oceania championships will be held in Western Samoa.

I would like to thank all the people that helped me to get to Tahiti both in training and fund-raising/sponsorship. In particular thanks to the NZ Community Trust, De Bretts Tavern and Rosemary Laidlaw for their financial assistance.

Adam Emirali