Issue date
The four Yachting New Zealand regional development managers take a look at what has been happening in their areas and also highlight the importance of following safety protocols.
This time of the year is usually the busiest on the sailing calendar, but the weather can be very unpredictable.
With many events coming up, it's essential to remind coaches, race officers, parents and volunteers of essential safety practices, particularly if they are going to a different or new venue.
A recent spate of incidents highlights the need for all RIB operators to be reminded to use kill cords and all occupants on a RIB need to wear a lifejacket.
Clubs who operate with a Maritime Operators Safety System exemption will be familiar with the Yachting New Zealand's rescue operator and training programme resource that Yachting New Zealand has available to help upskill members who skipper rescue vessels or coach boats.
This resource is available for any club to use and we recommend the Maritime NZ Maritime Operators Safety System as a great best practice template for all clubs to follow.
For clubs that run regattas where there are visiting club members operating RIBs as race management support or assistant rescue craft, it is important for the visitors to know about local hazards or how things are managed in an emergency.
To help with sharing this information, Yachting New Zealand have developed a handy support boat safety card that clubs can personalise and modify to share with visitors.
Please reach out to your regional development manager with any questions.
Hansa and Open Skiff national championships
This year's Hansa national championships have been rescheduled until early December, mostly due to a problem with algae at Lake Ngaroto.
The Hansa association considered moving the nationals, which were due to take place on March 11-13 to a different location but decided to remain at Lake Ngaroto, but at a different time of the year.
The Open Skiff national championships at the Naval Point Club Lyttelton have also been delayed and will now take place on November 4-6. These were due to take place later this month.
Noelex 25 national championships
Outnumbered, skippered by Nick Coultas, dominated last weekend's Noelex 25 national championships at the Napier Sailing Club.
The Naval Point Club Lyttelton crew won five of the seven races to finish ahead of Que Sera Sera (Derek Dumbar - Mt Maunganui) and Sheet Music (Paul Redman - Napier Sailing Club).
Most of the races were contested in winds of 16-20 knots and there was also a mixture of sunshine and rain. But few would have complained about the weather given many regattas have been postponed or cancelled due to Covid-19.
A handful of other regattas are scheduled to take place in the central region over the next couple of weeks, with the Muritai Yacht Club hosting a junior regatta and New Plymouth Yacht Club staging another one there.
That will be followed by further regattas at both the Waitara Boating Club and Royal Port Nicholson Yacht Club the following weekend.
Titahi Bay Boating Club
Another very successful Wellington Optisail was held at the Titahi Bay Boating Club recently, with 20 young sailors and all the Wellington dinghy clubs represented over the three fun-filled days.
Huge thanks must go to the volunteers from Titahi Bay for their superb organisation, as well as the support of the Paremata Boating Club for the use of their ribs and young coaches.
It was also great to work with coaches from the other Wellington clubs and was a chance to share tips on running their own club learn to sail programmes.
One of the best things to see was the sailors' confidence grow over the duration of the camp and the friendships made.
Panmure Yacht & Boating Club
Join Panmure Yacht & Boating Club on March 11-13 for their 44th edition of the two-handed, three-legged race and be part of a competitive and fun weekend.
The event, which gets under way at 7pm on March 11, is open to all comers and competitors must complete all legs to qualify for overall prizes. This is a great chance to race against and socialise with competitors from other yacht clubs.
Overall prizes will be awarded in divisions of general handicap and classes will sail for an additional overall prize if five or more entries are received. Other awards may be allocated at the race committee’s discretion at the Monday night prizegiving.
The legs are just the right length for a crew of two people to sail competitively and still be fresh enough to participate in our social events, and go back to work on Monday.
See here for more information, including the entry form.
Ross 780 national championships
Charteris Bay Yacht Club are predominantly known as a dinghy club but took on the job of hosting the Ross 780 nationals recently, which proved an overwhelming success.
It was the first time CBYC had run and hosted a trailer yacht regatta and, although numbers were down on what had originally been expected, seven boats from around the country still competed. This was a decent number given the current circumstances.
Originally it was expected there would be a record number of boats for the regatta with SailGP the following weekend but the postponement of SailGP under next year dented those hopes.
Richard Hawkins with Menace convincingly won the regatta with seven wins out of eight, followed by Tristin Ornsby on Ghost Train, and Steve Rushbrook on Aqua Taxi. Full results here.
Racing got closer as the regatta progressed, which made for exciting racing, and competitors revelled in the great conditions and largely flat waters.
The regatta was a great event, thanks in no small part to the Charteris Bay Yacht Club which provide a great facility in such a beautiful setting, and the volunteers and race management led by Brett Willcock.
Next year’s national championships will be hosted by the Napier Sailing Club.
Townson Rally
Photo: Mark Orams
The Townson 32 and Townson Owners Association are hoping to get as many as 30 boats participating in a rally on February 19, which would be one of the biggest gatherings of Townson boats for some time.
Organisers are running it as a rally and it is non-competitive. There are no sailing regulations, other than those that normally apply for yachts at sea, and boat owners can choose how much the participate in the overall plan.
It's intended the fleet will depart Orakei Wharf between 10.50am and 11.10am, with the smaller boats leaving first, and head to Awaawaroa Bay off Waiheke Island. No official function is planned but boats are welcome to anchor and enjoy a "cup of tea or glass of wine" with other boats owners.
Anyone interested in joining should email Jason Butterfield on t32sunbeam@hotmail.com
Cambridge Yacht & Motor Boat Club
An awesome regatta was had by all over the weekend at the 2022 Cambridge Yacht Club Regatta sponsored by Burnsco Hamilton.
Day one saw shifty conditions in the morning but this settled into a nice easterly in the afternoon, which made for some fun action.
Shifty wind conditions again and a bit of rain on day two didn’t faze the race committee who managed to get in a total of nine races over two days.
It was great to see the regular Cambridge racing group, plus two 3.7s from Hamilton and an Open Skiff from the Royal Akarana Yacht Club.
Results can be found here.
Rum Bucket
The Auckland OK Dinghy fleet gathered at the Wakatere Boating Club recently for a simplified edition of the Rum Bucket - no paperwork, no going inside the clubhouse, just great courses, great weather, and great sailing.
Andy Philips showed his class, winning four of the seven races over the two-day regatta, to finish ahead of Rod Davis, with Ben Morrison close behind in third.
The OK Dinghy fleet is stacked with quality and includes the likes of Davis, Dan Slater and John Cutler, and 24 boats competed in the Rum Bucket.
The first day started in a glorious 15-knot north-easterly and Philips started impressively, taking three wins from four on the first day. Slater won the other race.
The breeze softened on day two but Philips continued to excel, winning the first race of the day, before wins for Rohan Lord and Morrison.
Philips took the Rum Bucket for 2022 showing that, despite a year away, he is still a force to be reckoned with in the competitive class.
Huge thanks to Simon Probert for organising the event, Dan Bush for running excellent races with minimal fuss as PRO, and everyone else who helped out.
This regatta showed that great sailing contests can be held during Omicron and was a breath of fresh air for sailors who badly needed it.
Queen Charlotte Yacht Club
As many as 13 sailors came together at the Queen Charlotte Yacht Club for a Starling clinic over Waitangi weekend.
The clinic, run by Gareth Moore (Moore Coaching Services) and Nelson youngster Noah Malpot, was a great learning experience for the youngsters.
As with the rest of the country, the weather was less than ideal with some 40 knot gusts being recorded. This meant there was plenty of theory done in the times they couldn't get out on the water. A big thank you to Gareth and Noah.
Bay of Islands Yacht Club
Kids at the Bay of Islands Yacht Club didn't let a little rain stop them from enjoying the club's Open Skiff holiday programme last week.
The programme was organised and run by youth coaches Ella Parker and Jacob Fewtrell and the week was chock full of fun activities, ranging from destination sails to treasure hunts and cave exploration to the Bridge of Doom.
The treasure hunt, for example, consisted of the 10 youngsters collecting clues hidden around the yacht club grounds and on the local beaches and boats, and the clues led the sailors to a faraway cove on the island we like to call Fiji.
They sailed off through the wind and rain to dig for the treasure box buried on the beach but had to be quick because of the advancing tide.
The yacht club would like to thank everyone involved in the week and Cookie Time and Countdown Waitangi for sponsoring all the treats for the excited and victorious sailors.
The week certainly got the thumbs up from Ollie Tiedeman who said: “Imagine the most fun you have had in your life.”
Auckland 29er and 420 championship
Competitors at the Auckland 29er and 420 championship concluded the event in challenging conditions at the Murrays Bay Sailing Club recently.
The last three races in the nine-race series were sailed in a large north-east swell and more than 20 knots, which proved particularly challenging for the 29ers downwind. All of the top teams capszied at various times in the afternoon, to highlight the difficult conditions, while some opted to head ashore and grab the early shower.
A huge thank you to our race officer Phil Elworthy and the large team of volunteers from Murrays Bay whom ran a seamless regatta (with very high Covid protection systems in place throughout).
Congratulations to the 2022 Auckland Champions:
29er - Male: George Lee Rush and Seb Menzies; Female: Lucy Leith and Lizzie Shapland
420 - Female: Vivien Webster Chung and Kiera Sinton; Male: Cam Brown and Alex Hebberd
Congratulations also to the 2022 Auckland Anniversary Champions:
29er - Female: Lucy Leith and Lizzie Shapland; Male: George Lee Rush and Seb Menzies
420 - Male: Lucas Day and Sam Scott; wFemale: Vivien Webster Chung and Kiera Sinton
