Come Friday afternoons, sailing icon Penny Whiting can still be found down at Westhaven Marina getting ready for a rum race. It’s just that nowadays her crew is a little smaller – not in numbers, but physically. Nowadays her six-year-old grandson Jax is often part of the crew who slip the ropes and motor out onto the harbour, just as Whiting has been doing all her life.
Penny, now 73, and her sailing school have become an intrinsic part of Auckland’s maritime landscape. She’s sailed all over the world, dined with royalty, been on the city council and put her organisational skills and force of personality to work for several charities. Her 13.7m yacht, , has hosted thousands of wannabe sailors over the last 50 years, learning the ropes – literally – with the benefit of Whiting’s vast experience and sense
