Preparing the Kiwi Pedigree

• NEWS
• 30 Dec, 2012 11:00:00 AM

Preparing the Kiwi Pedigree

Four months ago, one of the rising stars of New Zealand yachting, Blair Tuke, won a silver medal at the London Olympics in the 49er class, behind their training partners and Australian gold medallists, Nathan Outteridge and Iain Jensen.

With his skipper, Peter Burling, Tuke won New Zealand's 100th Olympic medal. The 23 year old had never raced offshore.

To add to the pedigree that has given the world sailors of the calibre of the late Sir Peter Blake, Grant Dalton and match racers Russell Coutts, Dean Barker and Adam Minoprio, Tuke took to the high seas in Ray Haslar's New Zealand entry Rikki in this year's Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race.

They crossed the Cruising Yacht Club of Australia's race finish line in Hobart shortly after 0900hours today, to finish 27^th and well down on IRC corrected time.

"It was good fun. We didn't quite get the weather we were looking for," Tuke said. "It was pretty tough, especially off Tasman (Island), where we had 45 knots of wind, but the reception here in Hobart was awesome."

Tuke said it was now a matter of going back to Olympic class sailing in New Zealand to try catch some of the summer.

By Bruce Montgomery, Rolex Sydney Hobart media team