Yachting

Roy Roker and Peter Nees, rivals on the water for more than 50 years, have joined forces for the New Zealand Sunburst yachting championships.

Fraser Waters (12, right) leads Mathew Leach (11) around a buoy, with Kendall Brook (10) in the background, during the Otago Yachting Association-Water Safety New Zealand holiday sailing programme on Otago Harbour yesterday.

America's Cup rival and training partner Luna Rossa has been in Auckland for a fortnight but rather than look ahead to next year's big series of races in San Francisco, the priority for Grant Dalton is getting more speed out of Camper in the Volvo Ocean Race.

Andrew Shearer will be keen to enhance the family yachting reputation at the South Island Z class championships in Dunedin this weekend.

Singapore's Optiworlds sailing team coach Fernando Alegre raced to the Napier Sailing Club bar last night.

If Netherlands sailor Bart Lambriex's confidence levels are an indication, expect him to be on the podium when the world optimist championships end in Napier next week.

Investec LOYAL has been declared the official line honours winner of the Sydney to Hobart yacht race after an international jury dismissed a protest that the supermaxi had used outside assistance to beat Wild Oats XI by three minutes in the event's closest finish in 29 years.

Investec LOYAL's thrilling Sydney to Hobart line honours win is under threat after its crew was accused of using an ABC helicopter pilot to spy on rival Wild Oats XI.

After 16 days at sea and more than 5000 nautical miles Team New Zealand's Camper has been squeezed out of first place by just one minute and 57 seconds in a thrilling finish to stage one of leg two.

Alex Morris made it a hat trick of titles in his Laser yacht earlier this month but he admitted he was pretty knackered doing it.