Britain’s Duchess Catherine beat her husband Prince William in two sailing races.
The couple – who are on a three-week tour of Australasia with their eight-month-old son Prince George – boarded two Team New Zealand Boats at Waitemata Harbour in Auckland this morning (11.04.14) for the contest, and the duchess was the clear winner.
Catherine raced with Team New Zealand skipper Dean Barker and William with team manager Grant Dalton, with both spending lengthy periods at the helm of their crafts.
Once back on dry land, Catherine patted her husband’s shoulder and said: "I am sorry".
Rawiri Geddes, 21, a member of the Royal New Zealand Yacht Squadron youth training programme, was one of the crew members on the duchess’ boat and praised her skills.
He said: "She was good, she was really good – she took charge and won both races.
"She definitely didn’t want to come off the water being behind, I don’t think."
However, manager Grant appeared to suggest the race was fixed for Catherine to win.
Asked what went wrong, he told the New Zealand Herald newspaper: "I was just doing what I was told, really.
"[William] was pretty happy with that because he was just doing what he was told as well".
The prince also impressed his crew with his abilities on the water.
Grant said: "He was great, he had a really good feel for it and got off the line nicely in the second race, he was going really well…he was into it."
In 2011, the couple took part in a dragon boat race in Canada, which saw William sail to victory.
Duchess Catherine wins sailing contest
