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The Pleasant Point Yacht Club have come through a lot in the last 10 years, with September marking the 10th anniversary of when the club’s world was turned upside down with the first Canterbury earthquake.
But they're close to putting that all behind them and are working on the final part of the jigsaw - a purpose-built shed - which should be ready in time for them to host next month's Sunburst national championships and then their 100th anniversary celebrations over Waitangi weekend.
The club's previous buildings on Rat Island were destroyed by the Canterbury earthquakes and members have worked tirelessly to re-establish the club on their original site on South New Brighton Domain they first occupied in 1921.
It took years of battling to firstly get a place to obtain a lease from the Christchurch Council and then settle on a design, re-purposing two Canterbury University lecture classrooms into a clubroom and a changing room / toilet block, utility space and start box.
This was opened in August 2018 and the club are now part-way through their second season in their new facilities. But there was a feeling it won't be quite finished until the boat shed is completed.
"With good luck and good management, the club secured enough funds to build a 15.6m by 13m Widespan shed behind the clubroom facilities for yacht and rescue boat storage and now the finishing touches are being applied to this new facility, including painted floors, lighting and plumbing, a yacht storage racking system for the members yachts, a security system, driveways and paths and landscaping," said Pleasant Point spokesman Nigel Humphreys, "all just in time for Pleasant Point Yacht Club to hold the Bunsco 2020/21 Sunburst National Championships over the 8th-11th of January next year and in February to hold the 100th year celebrations over Waitangi weekend.
"After that, the committee will breath a collective sigh of relief knowing they have kept the club together and running through the toughest of times and in the end have come out with a new yachting facility that is second to none."
