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 on what your club can do over the winter months.
Winter club opportunities
The summer sailing season has come to an end, but it doesn't mean clubs need to shut down. It’s good for clubs to keep members engaged and this can be done in a number of different ways.
- Run a monthly fun regatta with social activities at the end, such as pizza night or bring-a-plate evening. Plan for an afternoon start so you're not interfering with other winter sport commitments and it's also typically the warmest time of day. Some fun ideas are rallies, parent vs child races, sail/run races or games such as yacht ball.
- If your club is lucky enough to have a keelboat fleet, invite junior members onboard to experience keelboat sailing.
- Invite a rules expert to the club to discuss rules and have a Q&A session.
- Encourage members to upskill themselves by completing one of the many planned Yachting New Zealand coach or race management courses. Or bring in an expert to teach volunteers to drive RIBs.
- Hold fundraising events. Members are often less busy over the winter months and keen to socialise.
- Tokyo Olympics - the scheduling is still uncertain, however, it’s likely medal races will be available to view on SKY TV and TVNZ (the free-to-air channel). With Tokyo only three hours behind New Zealand, this could be an opportunity to invite members and non-members to the club for a social day watching the coverage.
Winter is also a good time for clubs to reflect on the past season (what worked well, what didn't) and plan for next summer and beyond. It's a good opportunity to work with regional associations on a more detailed calendar and also identify areas you might need money for.
Yachting New Zealand webinar - 2020 surveys feedback
You might remember we sent around a couple of surveys last year - one for clubs and another called the Voice of the Participant - and we now have the results to share with you.
Yachting New Zealand will be holding a webinar at 7pm on Wednesday, May 26, which will be a great chance for you to get a picture of what is happening around the country.
The results are also important to us because it lets us know how participants enjoy the sailing and boating experiences we offer and help us make decisions on how to improve our sport for everyone.
It would be great to have a participant from your club join us and you can register your interest for the online session here.
New Plymouth Yacht Club
Race management were at the top of the list at the New Plymouth Yacht Club's recent prizegiving when they received the Volunteer of the Year award as a group.
The club are very fortunate to have such a great group of people to run the club's racing, as most don’t have kids involved. It takes a lot of work and phone calls to gather a group of this size every Saturday but the use of WhatsApp has made things like rostering and communication much easier.
Again, a huge thank you to this wonderful group of people.
Gulf Harbour Yacht Club
Photo: Ant Carter.
The Hibiscus Marine Coatings Winter Series got off to an awesome start in brilliant winter sunshine last weekend, with 20 boats taking part in the popular racing series.
A number of regulars took part in the racing, as well as some newcomers, and the conditions allowed crews to fly their kites to provide a colourful spectacle.
Big Kahoona took line honours in the white division, and was first equal with Fast Lane on handicap. Southern Rebel was third.
Patiko crossed first in the gold division, with Whirinaki IV taking the win on handicap ahead of Blazin White and Patiko.
You can find some more photos from the day's racing here.
The club hosted Elana Connor as she neared the end of her figure of eight journey around New Zealand raising funds for children in foster care to go sailing on the Spirit of New Zealand. You can find out more about Elana's journey here.
Otago Radio Yacht Club IOM Championships
As many as 15 boats from as far afield as Nelson and Auckland took part in the Otago Radio Yacht Club IOM Championships at the Vauxhall Yacht Club recently.
The two-day event enjoyed some stunning conditions, although boats required B rigs on the Sunday with some exciting surfing on the harbour chop.
Graham Cross took the title after 24 races, followed closely by Keith May (North Shore Radio Yacht Squadron) and Rick Cassels-Brown (both Pegasus Radio Sailing Club).
See here for more information on radio yacht sailing.
Murrays Bay America's Cup event
Elise Beavis will be among the panel of experts. Photo: ETNZ
Five experts from Emirates Team New Zealand will be able to share some of their knowledge at the Murrays Bay Sailing Club alumni's America's Cup event, which is now set for May 22 after it was postponed last year due to Covid-19.
The theme of the event is 'the fastest boat always wins the AC' and the expert panel will share some of the team's inside story on designing, engineering, building and maintaining Team New Zealand's AC 75 boats. They include:
- Geoff Senior - construction manager
- Tim Meldrum - mechanical engineer
- Jeremy Mitchell - boat builder
- Scotty Barnes - hydraulics engineer
- Elise Beavis - performance engineer
Tickets (which include dinner) are $30 a head but tickets purchased last year are still valid.
The cash bar will open at 6.30pm and anyone interested is asked to purchase tickets early so organisers can arrange catering.
For more information or to register your interest, email julian.beavis@xtra.co.nz
Yachting New Zealand regatta calendar
Clubs and class associations are reminded they can enter their events on the Yachting New Zealand regatta calendar.
This is a great way to let potential sailors know about your event as well as help other clubs and class associations plan their own events.
Simply enter your details here.
