Te Anau sailor Jack White continues his rise up the ranks in the sport of O’Pen Skiff racing by taking out second place at the under-17 National Championships in Napier. White finished only one point behind the winner, winning one of the nine races in the three-day event held last weekend.
It was only the second time he had competed in the National Championships and his results showed significant improvement from his last time out in 2018.
The 13-year-old said he was thrilled to take out second place.
He said he went into the event hoping to finish in the top three.
“I went into it feeling I would do well. I knew I could get top three if I did good races from some good starts. I was thrilled to get second. It was real good.”
The podium finish adds to his strong showing at the World Championships in Auckland last year where he finished in seventh place.
Te Anau sailor Jack White with his second place trophy from the 2020 under-17 O’Pen Skiff National Championships.
His grandfather Bruce Keen said he was incredibly proud of what his grandson had achieved.
“It makes it very satisfying with the travelling to see him perform exceptionally well.”
White will continue to compete in events for his local club at the Marakura Yacht Club and is aiming to head back to the World Championships in July this year in Italy.
He said his long term goal was to make the Olympics and compete in the 49er, Laser or Nacra17 events.
This article was originally written for The Advocate. You can read the published version here