With his long-time sailing partner Peter Wood unavailable for the 2023 NZ Sunburst National Championships, in Dunedin, over the weekend, Mr Nees (74) said he was weighing his options when he thought of a plan.
He did not necessarily have to skipper the boat; he could crew if he could find someone to take the helm.
He asked up-and-comer Zach Stibbe (17) to join him and Zach said he would do it.
It was a boon for the veteran of Otago Harbour.
"Zach, the level he sails at, there’s good coaching available to them," Mr Nees said.
"When I started sailing 65 years ago, or whenever, you just sort of got in a boat and Dad said ‘pull this’, and ‘do this’, ‘do that’.
"I’ve never had the structured coaching that Zach’s been brought up with.
"His management of the boat and the way he does things is very professional compared to the sort of ‘seat of the-pants’ role that I usually adopt.
"It’s quite exciting really, I’ve got stuff to learn.
"And no doubt, for Zach, it’ll be a new experience for him too."
The only issue was that Zach was only just back from Auckland on Tuesday after competing in the ILCA (Laser) Nationals in Auckland.
It was their first time in a boat together and the breeze was about 25knots northeast.
"It was quite full-on," Mr Nees said. "And we each had new roles to learn and to co-ordinate things.
"Maybe the things that didn’t go quite right, we’ve learned from, but I can learn a lot from someone like him."
Zach said he was keen to get out on the harbour and have a good time with Mr Nees, and to get more race experience "because that’s what I really need" .
In lighter conditions, Mr Nees was "quite a weapon".
When asked if Mr Nees had anything to learn from him as a sailor, he laughed.
"Potentially. My parents are both quite into sailing, so I’ve learned most of my stuff off them."
Zach’s mother is Dunedin’s Jenny Armstrong, who won a sailing gold medal at the Sydney 2000 Summer Olympics for Australia.
His father is Erik Stibbe, a Dutch-born, sailing coach.
The regatta hosted by the Vauxhall Yacht Club continues today and tomorrow.
