NEW ZEALAND
Class History
The 29er Class
The 29er is a true high-performance skiff - a two-man, single trapeze, asymmetric spinnaker boat. 29ers are built on five continents, to exceedingly strict one-design standards, and under strict control of the World Sailing. This assures that the boats provide sailing ability as the performance criterium. The boats are rugged, well-equipped and fully competitive straight out of the box. Failures are rare, sails are durable, and the expense of running the boat is modest. There is no one design boat currently available that can touch this kind of performance.
The 29er was designed by Australian skiff legend Julian Bethwaite, with a team of internationally recognised dinghy sailors. Julian re-wrote the design book for the Sydney Harbour 18 ft. skiffs (the "Aussie 18's") while picking up three world titles. He then designed the Olympic 49er followed by the very successful 29er. Constructed from a hi-tech composite foam sandwich, the hull is ultra-lightweight with a self-draining cockpit. The rig is pure skiff, fully battened Mylar sails with a self-tacking jib, supported on a composite-tipped mast that gives the ultimate in gust response and acceleration. Add on an asymmetric spinnaker and you'll discover the 29er is pure dynamite downwind. Other design features include a mainsail cuff to increase sail efficiency, a ram vang, safety foot/grab rails and an enclosed transom. Although the design was originally targeted to youth sailors as a feeder class to the Olympic 49er, the 29er is a super class on its own merits. The optimal combined crew weight is considered to be 270 lbs to 320 lbs but is by no means limited to that span. Being a gorilla does not help you win races. Being a monkey might. Old folks/young kids, boys/girls – everyone competes equally. There are quite a few mixed teams, all-boy teams, and all-girl teams. You can find all kinds of crew combinations slugging it out in the front of the fleet, as well as in the back of the fleet.
​
Text courtesy: 29er North America
29er NZL Champions
29er Class NZ National Champions
​
2024
Overall: William Mason & Giorgio Mattiuzzo
Female: Bella Jenkins & Nicola Hume
​
2023
Overall: Sean Kensington & Rowan Kensington
Female: Tessa Clinton & Nicola Hume
​
2022
Overall: George Lee Rush & Seb Menzies
Female: Lucy Leith & Lizzy Shapland
2021
Overall: Brayden Hamilton & Seb Menzies
Female: Lucy Leith & Lizzy Shapland
2020
Overall: Mattias Coutts & Cailen Rochford
2019
Overall: Campbell Stanton & William Shapland
Female: Sophia Fyfe & Holly Liefting
​
2018
Overall: Seb Lardies & Scott McKenzie
Female: Helena Sanderson & Carrington Brady
​
2017
Overall: Seb Lardies & Scott McKenzie
Female: Emma French & Zelda Ladefoged
​
2016
Overall: Francesco Kayrouz & Oscar Gunn
​
2015
Overall: Micah Wilkinson & Jack Rogers
​
2014
Overall: Markus Somerville & Isaac McHardie
​
2013
Overall: Markus Somerville & Jack Simpson
​
2012
Overall: Trent Rippey & Alex Munro
​
2011
Overall + Female: Alexandra Maloney & Molly Meech
​
2010
Overall: Alexandra Maloney & Sam Bullock
​
2009
Overall: Chelsea Whitburn & Gabrielle Cross
​
2008
Overall: Blair Tuke & Jessie Tuke
​
2007
Overall: Peter Graham & Ian Begg
​
2004
Overall: Peter Graham & Rhys O'Cann
​
2003
Overall: George Wills & Craig Campbell|
​
2002
Overall: Geoff Wooley & Mark Overington
​
2001
Overall: Geoff Wooley & Mark Overington
​
2000
Overall: Mark Kennedy & Mike Bassett
​
29er Class NZ Youth World Champions
​
2016
Francesco Kayrouz & Oscar Gunn
​
2015
Jackson Keon & Nick Egnot-Johnson
​
2013
Markus Somerville & Jack Simpson
​
2012
Trent Rippey & Alex Munro
​
2011
Logan Dunning Beck & Jack Simpson
​
2010
Alexandra Maloney & Sam Bullock
​
Can you help? You may notice we are missing some of our female champions from the list above, please contact us