Broad Reach Radio - The Yachting New Zealand Podcast

Ep 12 - Jenny Armstrong

Jenny Armstrong competed at two Olympic Games, one for New Zealand and another for Australia. She went to the 1992 Barcelona Olympics under the New Zealand flag and finished fourth in the Europe dinghy. Eight years later she was sailing at 'home' in Sydney for Australia and winning gold in the women’s 470 with Belinda Stowell. The pair are now members of Australia Sailing’s Hall of Fame. Armstrong’s decision to switch allegiance is one that still irks her but she says it’s one she would still make today if facing the same circumstances. 

She goes into the background behind that decision, being written off by legendary coach Victor Kovalenko, winning Australia’s first gold medal in sailing in 28 years, trying to learn the Australian national anthem right up until the moment she stepped onto the dais and her recent return home to Dunedin and move into the world of coaching.

Ep 11 - Nick Egnot-Johnson

Nick Egnot-Johnson has been second in the world match racing rankings since October 2019, something he achieved when he was still 21. But Nick rather fell into match racing because of an unfortunate set of circumstances. He talks about his earlier days, what influence his mother Leslie Egnot had on him, his Olympic ambitions and how he got into match racing. He also delves into how he found himself racing, and often beating, some of the world’s best at the Congressional Cup when a relative unknown, the times he’s felt like a salesman trying to get into events and the amusing story behind how his team, Knots Racing, came up with their name. 

Ep 10 - Aaron McIntosh

Aaron McIntosh has worn a series of different hats throughout his career. As an athlete, he won three windsurfing world titles in the 1990s and went on to win bronze at the 2000 Sydney Olympics. For the last decade he’s been the windsurfing coach with the Dutch national team and achieved incredible success, delivering multiple world and Olympic titles. More latterly, Aaron has been an advocate for windfoiling, pushing for the class to replace the RS:X on the Olympic programme, which was confirmed late last year for the 2024 Paris Olympics. We talk to Aaron about his journey to the top as an athlete, his relationship with Bruce Kendall and his Olympic experiences and then his reinvention as a top coach. We also delve into why someone who coached the world’s top two RS:X windsurfers would push so vigorously to see that class dropped in favour of windfoiling, and what he thinks the change could mean to the New Zealand windsurfing scene which was once at the top of the world but has been largely dormant for the best part of the last decade.

Ep 9 - Justina Kitchen

Justina Kitchen has rapidly established herself as one of the world's best female kitefoilers and has her sights on the 2024 Paris Olympics. It will be her third attempt at competing at an Olympic Games after previous attempts in windsurfing but this campaign is completely different and she does it as a mum of two young girls. Justina talks about growing up as the daughter of two-time Olympic medallist Rex Sellers, coping with Olympic dreams being shattered then acceptance that going to a Games just wasn't meant to be and now renewed hope of achieving that ambition with the goalposts shifting yet again. She also discusses the difficulties of campaigning as a fulltime mum and offers advice to others interested in taking up the fledgling sport of kitefoiling.

Ep 8 - Josh Junior and Andy Maloney

Josh Junior and Andy Maloney both wear a couple of different sailing hats these days. Both are America’s Cup winners with Emirates Team New Zealand and they're also among the world’s best Finn sailors, with Josh becoming the first Kiwi to win the prestigious Finn Gold Cup in 2019 and Andy currently ranked third in the world. They talk about their pathway to the top, weight gain, riding bikes on boats, their Olympic experiences and what the 12-month delay to the Tokyo Games means for them, getting to grips with a new class and, like everyone on the show, their worst wipeout ever.

Ep 7 - Leslie Egnot

Last week marked the 25^th anniversary of Team New Zealand's victory at the 1995 America’s Cup but that was only one of a number of major storylines during a dramatic event. Leslie Egnot was skipper and helm of America3, a women’s team who came agonisingly close to beating Dennis Conner and Stars and Stripes for the right to defend the Cup against Team New Zealand. In many ways, that team became a symbol for feminism, not only in sailing, yet they encountered so many obstacles along the way, whether it was gender stereotypes or some pretty unkind jibes from Dennis Conner himself. Leslie tells her story from the '95 campaign, how she became involved, the challenge of putting a competitive team together, her interactions with Dennis Conner, the controversy of a man being substituted onto the boat from the semifinals series and the backroom deal that saw Conner’s team survive to make it to the final and ultimately take on Team New Zealand. She also delves into her Olympic sailing and the injury that ended her career.

Ep 6 - Sam and Molly Meech

Sam and Molly Meech are best known for winning bronze and silver respectively at the 2016 Rio Olympics but they also spent seven years as youngsters sailing around the world before returning to New Zealand and making a name for themselves in the youth and Olympics classes. They talk about their upbringing, being accosted by the military in the Red Sea, going to school for the first time when Sam was 12, being part of the highly-successful generation of sailors to come out of Tauranga, their experiences at the Rio Olympics and their achievements and challenges on the world stage.

Ep 5 - Glenn Ashby

Glenn Ashby is New Zealand's favourite Australian sailor and in 2017 skippered Emirates Team New Zealand to victory in the America's Cup in Bermuda. In this podcast, Glenn talks about that campaign and how things are shaping up for the next one but also delves into his background, his love of motorbikes, winning the first of his 17 world titles on his first overseas trip as a green 18-year-old, the impact of missing out on winning gold at the Beijing Olympics and what it was like for the boy from Bendigo to get immersed in the big business world of the America's Cup. And, like all guests, he describes his worst wipeout ever, and it was a painful one.

Ep 4 - Bianca Cook

In 2018 Bianca Cook became the first Kiwi woman since 2001/02 to compete in the Ocean Race and now she's looking to be the first Kiwi woman to skipper a boat in the iconic round the world race. She talks about her plans for the next Ocean Race but also shares her experiences from her first trip around the globe, looking at some of the highs and the lows. And like all guests, Bianca dives into her world wipeout ever. 

Ep 3 - Phil Robertson

Phil Robertson is a Kiwi sailor in demand as a multiple world world champion, SailGP skipper and former world No 1 match racer, but it wasn't always an easy pathway to the top. He talks about his journey in the sport as well as the time he was rescued by the Auckland police boat, his run-in with Sir Ben Ainsley and what it was like to get his hands on the flying SailGP catamaran for the first time. He also tells his story of his worst wipeout ever, and it's not a pretty one.