Parkin Sets Sail for Youth Worlds in New Zealand

Brunswick senior Jack Parkin, along with 12 other Americans in the U-19 age group, are racing in the 2016 Youth Sailing World Championship in Auckland, New Zealand. The five-day Championship begins on Friday, December 16.

 

There are nine different categories at the Championship, including the Girls 420, in which Greenwich Academy’s Ashton Borcherding is representing the United States.

 

Parkin, who plans to attend and sail for Stanford University next year, is competing with his Texas teammate, Wiley Rogers, in the Boys 420. The tandem is sailing against teams representing 25 other countries across the globe.

 

The 420 Class Dinghy is a two-person, or double-handed, sailing vessel.

 

There will be 10 races in the 420 event, split evenly over the five days of the Championship.

 

In 2014, Parkin, with a different crewmate, skippered the U.S. entry in the World Championship to a 13^th place finish. This year, Parkin will handle the crew component, while Rogers operates the helm as the skipper.

 

In double-handed sailing, excellent teamwork and communication are vital to success on the open water. Managing the different sails and finding best use of the wind is challenging on their own. Combining the navigation challenges upwind and downwind around dozens of other boats moving in and out of view makes sailing at this level exhilarating for the racers and viewers alike.

 

According to Parkin, sailing off the New Zealand coast traditionally means strong winds and big waves, making for a more physically demanding race for all the participants.

 

To learn more about the Championship, including race results, click here.