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Etchell

Regional Roundup: around the country

Issue date

In our regular focus on the regions, the four regional support officers look at what has been happening in their areas and also provide some advice when it comes to liquor licences.


Alcohol Licences

An often-overlooked item in our clubs is the legal responsibilities around the supply and sale of alcohol.

There are some complex rules, which can change between different regions, and authorities have taken action against some clubs for non-compliances.

It's advisable for a club's management committee to review on a regular basis the club's status and compliance with local by-laws.

Some questions to perhaps ask your club:

  • Is the club on a club licence?
  • What is your procedure around visiting sailors at your club?
  • If you are subject to a spot inspection by authorities, how can you prove that everyone present is a paid-up member of your club?
  • Do you have a visitors' book?
  • Do your members understand their legal responsibilities if they sign a visitor in?
  • Does your club understand the obligations around no alcohol, low-alcohol drinks, free water and the availability of a minimum of three types of food?
  • What do you offer in terms of providing safe transport options?
  • What is the club's policy if a member of the public wants to purchase a drink?
  • What rules do you have in place around off-licence selling?
  • Is your constitution set up to allow for reciprocal visiting rights from other Yachting New Zealand-affiliated yacht clubs?

Handy hint: Your Yachting New Zealand member card is an excellent way for members and members of other clubs with reciprocal rights to prove membership.

You can find more information on what your club needs to do to apply for a licence here.

Bluff Oyster Regatta

Bluff Yacht Club

Bluff turned on superb southern weather together with the legendary hospitality and blue cod, crayfish, salmon and the famous Bluff oysters for the annual Buff Yacht Club Oyster Regatta recently.

Entrants came for around the region and there was even a Flying Dutchman crew who made the trek from Nelson to compete in the event.

Day one started with a steady, but cool, wind from the south-west and plenty of sunshine which allowed for five great races around the cans on Bluff Harbour.

There was similar conditions on day two with a beautiful southerly sailing breeze which meant the race programme was completed in good time to allow competitors to get back to the club for lunch and some more iconic southern hospitality.

Check out the Bluff Yacht Club Facebook page for a couple of videos of the action.

CBRE City of Sails Auckland Regatta

Auckland Regatta

This event, formerly known as the Jack Tar Auckland Regatta, is part of the Royal New Zealand Yacht Squadron's 150th celebrations and is expected to be the best one yet. 

Along with the existing divisions - A, B, C, Piedys, sports boats, multihulls, and Pacific keelboat challengers (MRX and Elliot 7s) - there will also be a 40-foot racing division, passage racing division for spinnakers and non-spinnakers and Young 88 division.

Racing stretches across the weekend, starting with the 40-footers on Friday morning, and finishes up with prizegiving at 6pm on Sunday.

Entries are still open and can be found here.

Evans Bay Yacht & Motor Boat Club

Evans Bay

Competitors aged from eight to 82 competed in the 2021 EBYMBC Regatta last weekend and they were treated to some fantastic conditions over the two days of racing.

A 10-20 southerly and flat water set a perfect scene for the variety of sailors from newcomers in the Opti green fleet through to the old salts in their keelboats and trailer yachts. The range of boats, and age of the competitors, provided an 'old-school' atmosphere and many reminisced about the variety of boats used in yesteryear.

Racing was tight across the fleets, but none more so than the Paper Tigers where just eight points separated second from seventh overall. 

It took a great team of volunteers to put the weekend together and results can be found on the EBYMBC regatta page here.

Teams Racing

Teams racing

Teams from Wanaka, Dunedin, Christchurch and Timaru competed in the lower South Island schools team sailing event at the Timaru Yacht and Power Boat Club recently.

The conditions were perfect, with the day starting with a gentle five knots building to 12 knots in the afternoon. 

Regional events in these Covid times are a great way of developing and staying connected without the risks of committing to a national event that may or may not happen if things change quickly - and we've seen they can.

The upper South Island regionals are due to be held in Nelson on March 25-27.

As many as 14 teams have entered, so expect to see another spectacular event hosted by New Zealand's oldest club, the Nelson Yacht Club.

Wellington Centreboard Regatta

Worser Bay Boating Club

This weekend sees the annual two-day regatta hosted this year by the Worser Bay Boating Club and early signs suggest this is going to be a big event with all of Wellington's dinghy clubs supporting it.

The major fleet numbers will come from the Zephyr, Laser, Paper Tiger and Opti classes, and should also see a good mix of other classes.

J14 Class

J14

The J14 class is in a healthy state in this country and will be a regular feature at various regattas over the coming weeks.

The national championships were held at the Taipa Sailing Club recently, when Rob and Guy Neeley (Kohimarama Yacht Club) fended off a field of 20 boats to take the title. 

They showed superior upwind speed to finish ahead of single-handed sailors Matt Hall-Smith, Roger Hall and Bill Hewitt who are all former national champions.

The John Spencer-designed skiff can be sailed either single or double-handed and is being used by many parents as a way to introduce their children to sailing.

The next major event will be the Ronstan/Mainstay North Island Championships being hosted by the Torbay Sailing Club on April 10-11.

You can find out more about the class, including details on how to purchase plans to build a J14, here.

Murrays Bay Sailing Club

Murrays Bay Sailing Club

More than 30 girls from the Murrays Bay Sailing Club recently took part in the first girls sleepover held in more than 10 years.

It was great to have this event back on the calendar and bigger and better than ever and it was good to see the youth girls led by Jess and Naiomi, with the help of Hermione, Leah and Nicola, make it happen.

Here's a video from the weekend.

Bridge to Bean

Bridge to Bean

There's a new start time for the Barfoot & Thompson Bridge to Bean Race, which is now taking place on April 17.

This new event was originally set down for February 28 but needed to be postponed when Auckland went into level three lockdown the night before.

This event being run by the Royal New Zealand Yacht Squadron is a yacht race for sailing dinghies and foiling vessels of all shapes and sizes from Optis to Nacras. It will start from the Auckland Harbour Bridge and finish at the iconic Bean Rock lighthouse.

Entries are still being taken and can be found here.

Gulf Harbour Yacht Club 

Gulf Harbour Yacht Club

There was some great action in the fourth race of the Aa Solar & Sunpowerplus Gulf Series recently, with Big Kahoonas taking line honours after a close battle on the final leg with Planet X.

Course 19 was selected for the racing in the 6-10 knot easterly, which took them towards the Tiritiri channel, Navy Buoy and then down to the Gulf Harbour mark.

One of the best battles was between Fast Lane and First Priority, with First Priority taking a wide angle into their gybe to achieve a tighter exit to pull off a successful overtake of Fast Lane on the inside of their mark rounding.

Fast Lane won overall on handicap from The Countess and Planet X.

More photos can be found on the Gulf Harbour Yacht Club Facebook page

Upcoming events

Etchell

We might be into autumn but there are plenty of events still on the calendar before the season comes to a close, including a number of national championships.

You can see those here on the Yachting New Zealand regatta calendar.

If your event is not listed, then simply fill out the details at the top of the page.

These events wouldn't be possible without the help of volunteers so, if you can help, get in touch with regatta organisers or your local club to offer assistance. 

The Manly Sailing Club are hosting a couple of national championships next month - the Zephyr (April 9-12) and RS Feva (April 24-25) and need safety boat skippers and crew. Please email secretary@manlysailingclub.org.nz if you can help.