Jason Marra and Brendon Dusky are stoked after winning the New Zealand Tornado Championship.
The competition was hosted in Auckland from Thursday, March 10 to Saturday, March 12 under the organising authority of the Tauranga Yacht and Power Boat Club.
'It was awesome to bring the trophy to Tauranga. Looking at the previous winners inscribed on the trophy was surreal. It's like a who's who of New Zealand sailing. It's amazing to be in that sort of company,” says Jason Marra.
Jason says the competition was tough, and the final race was still anyone's game.
'Going into the last race, we were one point ahead. The previous champion Bill Caunce and Aaron Duncan were behind us. If they won that race the win would have gone to them on countback, as they had one more win than us.
'It was a must win for us to get the trophy, so we were happy to take some chances.
'It came down to the last 300 metres when we were still in fourth place. During this last stretch we deliberately split off, managed to squeeze them out and take the win.”
The chances paid off for the duo, as they now have their names permanently inscribed in the championship trophy.
Jason and Brendon were also the first to bring the trophy to Tauranga, marking a massive achievement.
'It was fantastic. We've been doing it for a while, so it was a long time coming.”
Jason has been racing tornados for approximately 10 years. Although this as not as long as some of his peers, his experience and hard work has been rewarded by the National win.
Tornado racing is an international racing class recognised by the International Sailing Federation. Tornados are a double handed multihull class, which were also used for the Catamaran discipline at the Olympic Games from 1976 to 2008.
More information on the New Zealand National Tornado race, as well as other sailing events can be found at the Tauranga Yacht and Power Boat Club, or alternatively the Yachting New Zealand website, https://yacht.org.nz/
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