The PredictWind Emerging Talent Award at the 2025 Barfoot and Thompson Yachting Excellence Awards recognised three of New Zealand’s most promising young sailors: Blake Batten, and the RS Feva duo of Zofia Wells and Charlotte Handley. Supported by PredictWind, the award highlights youth sailors who show exceptional potential, rapid progression and world class results, marking them as future stars of the sport.
Blake Batten, from Murrays Bay Sailing Club, earned the award through a standout year across both the P Class and 29er fleets. He claimed the prestigious 2025 Tauranga Cup, dominating the P Class National Championship with four race wins from nine. Batten also excelled in the two handed 29er class, finishing second at the PredictWind New Zealand Youth Championships with partner Merrick Sanderson. His achievements were further recognised when he won the Under 16 Sportsman of the Year at the Counties Manukau Sporting Excellence Awards. These results position him as one of the country’s strongest emerging sailors with clear potential for international success.
Zofia Wells and Charlotte Handley were recognised for their extraordinary performance at the 2025 RS Feva World Championships in Aix les Bains, France. The pair became Female World Champions in a massive 168 boat fleet and finished second overall in the mixed fleet, missing the overall title by just two points after the final day was cancelled. Their campaign featured a perfect day of four straight wins that temporarily put them atop the entire fleet. Their rapid progression was particularly remarkable given they had only started sailing the RS Feva together less than a year earlier, building on strong foundations from their Optimist careers. Their world championship success also earned them an Appliances Online Youth Performance Award.
Together, Batten, Wells and Handley embody the purpose of the PredictWind Emerging Talent Award: to identify and support young New Zealand sailors who demonstrate the skill, determination and trajectory needed to reach the highest levels of the sport. Their achievements at national and world championship level underline the strength of New Zealand’s youth development pathways and highlight the rising generation poised to follow in the footsteps of the country’s top Olympic and professional sailors.
