The 2025 Optimist World Championships was hosted by the JK Pirat Yacht Club in Portoroz, Slovenia. After a hotly contested selection trials in February, the New Zealand team was made up of Matteo Barker (MBSC), Jake Dickey (NSC), Nathan Soper (MBSC), Will Fyfe (MBSC), and Blake Duncan (NSC). The team was coached by Tiago Brito, Noeline Soper was our Country Representative, and I was the Team Leader.
Given the selection trials were earlier this year, it gave the team time to prepare using the NZ Nationals as the final hit out ahead of departing for the Worlds. It allowed time for the sailors to prepare well for the event, working on fitness and equipment selection.
Matteo, Jake and Will made the decision to leave slightly earlier to participate in the Opti Warmup Regatta which was essentially a pre worlds. Given one of the major challenges the New Zealand sailors face competing at the larger international regattas tends to come back to the ability to start consistently well and manage the big fleets, it was an opportunity to try and shortcut those learnings ahead of the start of the Worlds event.
While not all the top sailors participated at the event, it was a great opportunity to check in with speed, starting and fleet management in the 130 boat fleet. The final results were a bit mixed but it was some valuable lessons for the three boys. Matteo finished 16th (45,bfd,23,29,10,11,7,5), Jake 39th (27,bfd,4,28,19,48,28,24), and Will 79th (43,40,40,45,39,10,13,13).
Nate and Blake joined the others at the conclusion of the event and the five boys participated in a four day clinic run by the Atlantis Academy. With over 50 boats it was another opportunity to develop their speed and techniques and focus on starting strategies. With 6 international coaches including Tiago it was another great for the boys to keep developing their big fleet skills.
With a few days to work on the boats prior to the Worlds kicking off and some final training runs, there was a strong focus on recovery with temperatures in the 30’s and the wind rarely getting above 10 knots.
With 281 competitors from 63 Nations competing, the Opening Ceremony was quite a spectacle. After a parade along the waterfront, the teams were introduced on stage. The New Zealand boys stole the show with an amazing Haka led by Nate. There was no shortage of comments and intrigue from the fellow sailors and organisers!!
Racing got underway with the traditional format of three qualifying race days with the fleet split into four groups, two days for the Teams Racing Worlds, then three days of Finals racing.
Portoroz is known for lighter winds at this time of year, and the entire regatta was sailed in winds typically below 10 knots. It was a shame not to have a variety of conditions to mix things up but the boys knew what they were in for.
Race day 1 was the standard light building sea breeze. The course was a race to the left typically which put a premium on starting well and being able to hold tight lanes. Jake (5,8) Matteo (8,7) and Blake (28,12) had a strong start in their respective fleets, with Nate (58,51) and Will (43,bfd) having a couple of tough races to kick things off. With four fleets you need to multiply the finish position by 4 to get a feeling for where they are sitting on the overall rank which makes top 20 placings key to getting through to the gold fleet.
Day 2 was again a light sea breeze. Two further races were sailed with Jake having an amazing day with a 3,1, and so cool to get a race win which all the NZ boys celebrated with him. In this quality of fleet a race win is pretty special!. Matteo (4,6) and Blake (38,23) both kept the gold fleet chances alive with Will (33,52) and Nate (64,56) needing a strong final day to finish up the qualifying ranks.
Day 3 was a very light gradient wind day from an unusual direction. The wind struggled to build with a one sided race course. Only one race was managed for the final day of qualifying and unfortunately all the boys had a tough day. Matteo (31) and Jake (49) both made it through into the Gold Fleet, Blake (35) qualified for Silver, and Will (60) and Nate (68) both ended up in the Emerald Fleets.
The Teams Racing runs for two days in the middle of the event and provides a change in focus for all the sailors. The top 48 nations qualify based on the results of the top 4 sailors from that country to give a ranking to start the event. Based on the team’s results NZL was ranked 17th putting them up against the team from Uruguay. After a close race, NZL was defeated putting them up against the 8th ranked Danish team. This was a great race to watch with both teams ending up locked on points which is unique to the 4 vs 4 format at the Worlds. Unfortunately the tie break went against NZL due to the fact one of our boats won the race so the win went to Denmark. Due to the NZL being the highest place losing team after the first day of racing this qualified them to advance to the final round of 16.
Their first race on day 2 was against the eventual winners Spain. It was great for the boys to race against them, and the standard of the Spanish sailors was incredibly high. Lots of lessons! This then put us up against the local Slovenian team which the boys won convincingly to advance to the top 12. This time we were up against the team from Puerto Rico in a must win match. The Puerto Ricans proved too strong which ended the team’s run however it was a satisfying result against some incredibly strong well practiced teams.
The following day it was straight back into the Finals of the Worlds Championship. The one thing that has struck me with the 3 World Championships I have been to with Matteo is just how incredibly tough the Gold Fleet racing is. When you essentially pull the top 71 sailors together into one fleet the standard of the racing steps up another level making it very difficult to score consistently well. Only one discard is allowed for the entire championship so if you can make it through to the finals without having used your discard it is a huge benefit.
Day one in the Gold Fleet, Matteo (11,39) and Jake (21,41) both had one good race and one tougher one. Any mistakes were hard to recover from and it was a reminder for both of them that they needed to really focus hard for the rest of the event. Blake (14, 64) had one good and one tough race in Silver Fleet, and Nate (2,19) started strong with Will (bfd,12) having a tough first race but bouncing back well in the second one.
The second day of finals was again very light and only one race was able to be completed. Matteo (12) and Jake (36) both managed good consistent results in very challenging conditions. Blake (34) managed a solid result in Silver fleet, and Will (4) and Nate (29) both scored good results in what would be the final race for Emerald Fleet.
The last day of the Finals series was again a very light forecast. Unfortunately only one race was able to be completed with the light conditions for both Gold and Silver fleets. Matteo (18) and Jake (28) both had good races to finish the regatta. Blake (67) had a tough final race in very difficult conditions.
Final placings for the New Zealand Team. Matteo finished 10th with a very consistent performance. Jake also had a great consistent regatta to finish 29th. Blake finished the event in 112th. Will finished up in 228th and Nate was 231st.
It was disappointing to not to have had the full contingent of finals races but the conditions just did not allow for more.
My take aways from the racing is that the New Zealand sailors are predominantly fast enough to compete with the top sailors. There are some really fast smaller kids in the light winds, but across a range of conditions our sailors can compete well. As in previous years, starting and fleet management will continue to be the biggest challenge for our sailors travelling to Worlds. Many of the European and South American sailors are competing regularly against the other top sailors and are well equipped to compete. Tiago did a fantastic job working with the boys on starting and fleet management, and the ability to do the pre regatta was very worthwhile.
Matteos’s 10th place finish was a great result for the New Zealand fleet and to me shows that we have some great talent coming through over the next few years.
It was a pleasure to be involved with the last three NZIODA Worlds teams and to be able to assist the different sailors and coaches as part of that. It is an amazing experience for the sailors to participate at an Optimist Worlds with the experiences they gain both on and off the water.
Finally a special mention to both Pub Charities and the NZL Sailing Foundation for their generous support of the New Zealand Optimist Worlds Team.
Dean Barker – Team Leader
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