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If names are anything to go by, the Pleasant Point Yacht Club should be one of the most serene in the country.
Demolition of the Pleasant Point Yacht Club in 2011.
But the past seven years have been a battle. If the Christchurch earthquakes weren’t hard enough, destroying their clubhouse and forcing them off the land they had occupied for many years, they also suffered an arson attack and were burgled. And there were efforts for them to close their doors and merge with another club.
“It was like a kick in the guts each time,” Pleasant Point life member and publicity officer Nigel Humphreys says.
But through all the adversity, the club survived and they can now see an end to their challenging period with plans afoot for a new clubhouse to be built.
The Pleasant Point Yacht Club was established in 1921 and eventually settled on in-filled land called Rat Island on the Avon-Heathcote estuary. They had about 200 members during the halcyon days at the turn of the century.
The first Christchurch earthquake of September 2010 changed life for many, not least of all the Pleasant Point Yacht Club.
“It completely destroyed the building, jetties and ramps,” Humphreys says. “It pulled the building apart. When we got there, the sewer was fully out of the ground and knocked on its side. Within a week, we had the assessors down and they said to get all of our gear out.
“There were many earthquakes afterwards – about 14,000 over two to three years. The old members said we should fill the ground in and rebuild again but we knew that wasn’t possible. The earthquakes had dropped our side of the estuary down 700mm and even before the buildings were destroyed we had water coming through.”
The old yacht club was demolished in June 2011, leaving the club officially homeless. They had been hosted by Naval Point Club Lyttelton and were then invited to sail at the Mt Pleasant Yacht Club, across the estuary from their original site.
After the February 2011 earthquakes, the entire estuary was closed by the council for 18 months as all manner of things flowed down the Avon river.
The club was put into recess as they looked for a new site. They looked briefly at one option but it was an old landfill site before realising they could relocate 600m and return to where the club started in 1921 – South New Brighton Domain.
It wasn’t exactly perfect, with no power or running water, but it had a small jetty and ramp and they put five shipping containers on the site to house their equipment. They were up and running for the 2013/14 season.
A big tree crashed onto one of the containers, putting a significant hollow in it, but it didn’t dent their enthusiasm.
Soon after, a renowned graphic designer put together some concept drawings and they received resource consent approval to develop the site.
Still there were setbacks.
Last year, some “toe rags”, as Humphreys describes them, set alight a portaloo standing beside the containers which caused severe damage to some yachts and support boats. Only recently did the stench of smoke finally disappear.
And also last year thieves broke into one of the containers and stole an outboard motor, some radios, fuel and other equipment.
Through all that, the club has survived. Membership now sits at about 100-120 (some departed after the earthquakes) and they sail a host of classes from dinghies to trailer sailers. They even have a shipment of Finns arriving this year.
“We’re never going to be an Olympic feeder club, but we’re a local community club,” Humphreys says. “We have a real mixture of club members.”
An artist's impression of the new clubhouse.
It’s hoped a new 300m2 clubhouse and possibly even a new boat house will be built within two years, but a lot of that depends on a fundraising drive. They certainly want to have a new home by the time of the club’s centenary in 2021.
“We were like gypsies for two or three years,” Humphreys says. “Once we had the location, it lifted our spirits. It’s still like we are camping but the smiles on the member’s faces is quite something. We might not have the facilities but we have got people back on the water, and that’s the most important thing.”
# The Pleasant Point Yacht Club need to raise money to build a new clubhouse. You can donate here (givealittle link).
