ASHBY TO HELP KIWIS

By Tanya Paolucci
Updated November 7 2012 - 4:05am, first published November 8 2010 - 11:07am
IN FORM: Glenn Ashby won the inaugural Cairn Curran Classic and is bound for NZ.
IN FORM: Glenn Ashby won the inaugural Cairn Curran Classic and is bound for NZ.

He’s helped the United States conquer the America’s Cup and now Bendigo sailor Glenn Ashby will be part of Team New Zealand as it strives for similar success.After winning the A Class Fleet Catamaran event at the inaugural Cairn Curran Classic at the weekend, Ashby told the Bendigo Advertiser he had accepted a role to help the Kiwis in their quest to clinch the coveted America’s Cup in 2013.“I’ve just signed up with team New Zealand for the next America’s Cup,” he said.Ashby, who was the head coach of the successful 2009 Oracle America’s Cup team, will assume a much more hands-on approach with Team New Zealand as a sailor.“I’m going to have more of a sailing role this time rather than focusing on the actual boat like I did last time.”The Beijing Olympics silver medallist said the offer to work in New Zealand rather than in America or Europe was the best one for him and his young family.“The offer from Team New Zealand was just too good to refuse,” he said.“The offer was obviously closer to home than the US, and the sailing role was very attractive to me.”The Cairn Curran Classic was an opportunity for Ashby to visit home and support the local sailing club.“My reason for coming down was to support the local country clubs,” Ashby, a dual winner of the Bendigo Advertiser Sports Star of the Year, said.The long-running awards are sponsored by WIN Television and mecu credit union. “I did quite a lot of sailing at Cairn Curran when I was younger, but it wouldn’t have been for about 15 years. “These sorts of clubs have been struggling financially in previous years, but after the success of this year’s event I’m sure that next year’s event will be 2 to 3 times bigger, which is just great for the club.“It’s really nice to able to come home and support clubs in the country areas.”Ashby said that Cairn Curran being at 97 per cent of capacity and perfect weather conditions contributed to the success of the event.“It was great to see so it so full and it brought back a lot of fond memories for me,” he said. “There were shifty winds, which were tricky sailing conditions and it was a lot of fun.“Sunday was a bit windier but it was perfect sailing conditions all weekend.”The 2010 Cairn Curran Classic attracted more than 120 participants across swimming, kayaking, sailing and triathlon events.Swimming results include: 1.5km - Open Female: Nicole McCallum (21:07 minutes), Open Male: Justin Rodda (29:34 minutes), Senior Female: Jennifer Barras (29:51 minutes), Senior Male: Michael Egan (23:04 minutes), Junior Male: Jack Collings (21:29 minutes), Junior Female: Chelsea Deason (24:53 minutes), 3km - Open Female: Carol Sing (51:48 minutes), Open Male: Stuart MacIntyre (44:36 minutes), Senior Male: Neil Wright (42:39 minutes), 500 metre - Female Junior Swim: Zoe Deep, Male: Adam Turnbull.Kayak: 500 metre - Junior: Rebecca Mann (1:59 minutes), 1.5km - Open Male: Mathew Mann (5:53 minutes), 1.5 - Open Double Kayak: Max & Ben Tulloch (8:31 minutes), 9.0km - Open Male: Mathew Mann, Open Female: Rebecca Mann, Open Double: Richard & Libby Mayes.Triathlon – Junior: Liam Frye (1:13:50), Open male: Geoff MacIwain (1:08:05). Open female: Hayley McCullum (1:50:10). Senior male: Gerald Salmon (1:21:40), Teams: Peter Neville, Barry Parson, Frank Crameri (1:15:07). Sailing: Catamarans - A Class Fleet: Glenn Ashby, Ashby Sails, Open: Mathew Stone, Unko, Mono Hull - Impulse Fleet: Dougal Watt, Stroke of Luck, Open: John Shallwey, Little Wing (Finn).

Subscribe now for unlimited access.

$0/

(min cost $0)

or signup to continue reading

See subscription options

Get the latest Bendigo news in your inbox

Sign up for our newsletter to stay up to date.

We care about the protection of your data. Read our Privacy Policy.