Pa’s
learn, to try new things, to
race under very competitive
conditions and often against
athletes who had been
trained in an environment
with many more resources
and training opportunities.
Next up for Tex is the Pacific
Games 2019 held in Samoa
in July, an event first entered
by the Cook Islands around 1970.
“I’m going for first or second,” Tex says,
the competition field consisting of 22
Pacific nations including New Zealand
and Australia. “Every time I go overseas
I think about what I’m carrying – I’m
carrying a name with me.”
“He and Helene are top performing
youth sailors in the Pacific Islands,”
says Anne Tierney, sailor and Technical
Director for Sailing Cook Islands (SCI).
And it’s tough competition when pitted
against New Zealand and Australia, with
New Caledonia and Tahiti also known for
their skilled sailors. “You need to think
what do we get out of it? We are part
of a more level playing field than other
international competitions. You need to
take the opportunities where they are.”
Tex has been a regular member of
the RSC team for the New Zealand
Secondary School Team Sailing National
Championships. Last year SCI purchased
three 420 sailing boats, meaning that
for the first time in the 30 years that the
Cook Islands has been competing they
were able to train in the boats they would
race in.
“We always have a strong team,” says Tex,
the competition entailing three teams
of two sailors. “When it comes to team
racing Cook Islands has an advantage as
the sailors know each other so well. So
much time on that water together - on
the water we’re connected.”
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Escape Magazine • 59
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