SAFA Skysailor Magazine

29 May | June 2024 SKY SAILOR The festival officially opened with Brent Findlay, skydiving in with a giant New Zealand flag that could be seen across Wanaka. It was so spectacular the first time festival goers were treated to a repeat performance on Saturday! The Acrofest Finals, NZ’s national aerobatic paragliding competition, also took place in front of the crowd gathered at the beach, with full (and funny) commentary provided over the speakers, to connect those on the ground to the pilots competing for 1st place. Brooke Watnall finished 1st place overall and Marika Pechackova won for the girls! Well done to our national Acrofest champs. Blake Round, owner of ParatowNZ and Sanae Noguchi were the team that brought Acrofest’s success to the shores of Lake Wanaka, helping to put it firmly on the international stage. All photos: Courtesy of Vicki Zadrozny and Dan Pugsley