Russian Tornados to sail in N.Z.

Press, 26 December 1979, Page 20

Russian Tornados to sail in N.Z.

IP.-' Auckland Soviet Union athletes will (renew a sporting contact (made with New Zealand at (the Wqrld rowing championIships on Lake Karapiro last year when two crews contest the world Tornado yachting championships off Manly next month. | As it happened at Kara-, (piro, when the Soviet Union’ I made a famous first by; sending a large team to j compete in New Zealand, 1 the Tornado championships I will also create a record. It will be the first time 1 the Soviet Union or Eastern bloc countries have contested a yachting event in New Zealand waters, and |the Russians are not coming Ito New Zealand for a leij surely southern summer holiday. They are shipping their own yachts from Europe with the object, obviously, to win gold at the Moscow I Olympics next year. ! Russia is a world-ranked nation in Tornado sailing'

,and only the best crews are .being sent to New Zealand, i Viktor Potapov, who will (sail with Alexander Zybin as ■ forward hand, was the world (Tornado champion in 1978; and won the pre-Olympic re- ’ •gatta at Tallinn several (months ago. ( The second Soviet i nion (helmsman, Yakon Stiver, ! ; with Sergi Fogolev as crew,! (is the 1979 European champion. ( Among the officials travelling with the team will be( ( the top Soviet Union yacht- ( (ing coach, Alexander Sobo-( Hen. Listed in the entries for. the Commercial Union sponsored world series is the! current world and Montreal( Olympic chatflpion Reg ( White (England). Jorg | Spengler (West Germany), a! two-time world champion ( and the bronze medalist at' Montreal will also sail in ( the series. The Tornado champion-! 'ships came closer last Sun-! (day when the doors of the ' roll-on, roll-off vessel La- 1

landia opened up and a trailer containing the first Euro- ' pean yachts for the champ,'ionships was wheeled out The trailer was loaded in (Hamburg soon after the fallinn regatta and the yachts forwarded to New Zealand. Ihe yachts and spares presumable belong to the West (Germans, Spengler, R. Markens and Tobias Neuham. ( Neuham was third at the 1979 world championships at Kiel while Martens was 18(h (at the Tallinn regatta. ( New Zealand skippers (most likely to trouble the big European contingent ire Rex Sellers (Nelson) and Bret de Thier (Christchurch). ( Competition in the Tor(nado class gets under way (at Manly on January 3 with (the start of the national (Sleepyhead Catamaran week. ( Dutch crews entered for (tl world series are tentative entries for the cat I week. The Russian and West !German crews are not expected to arrive in Auckland 'until later in January.