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Whakatu regatta

Resene Regional Roundup - the South Island

Issue date

In our regular focus on the regions, South Island regional support officer Ian Gardiner writes about what has been happening in the area.


Queen Charlotte crowned

The Queen Charlotte Yacht Club's rebuild is progressing well with the roof finally on and the roof shout for the hard-working Tory Channel contractors coming up on Friday.

See here for the latest drone footage.

Tuia 250

The club are also gearing up for the Picton leg of the Tuia 250 commemorations on Friday, November 22, with the club's new decking and wharf providing a supporting role.

The Tuia 250 vessels are due to land in Tōtaranui/Queen Charlotte Sound on November 21,          with a huge community welcome planned for the Picton foreshore the following day.

The key vessels include two waka hourua (double-hulled canoes) - the Haunui from Tāmaki Makaurau/Auckland and Ngahiraka Mai Tawhiti from Tauranga – and Fa’afaite i te Ao Mā’ohi, a va’a moana from Pape'ete, Tahiti.

The heritage vessels joining the flotilla are the HMB Endeavour replica and Spirit of New Zealand.

The Tuia 250 commemorations mark the first sustained onshore encounters between Māori and Europeans, with the arrival of James Cook and the Endeavour in 1769. They also      acknowledge the voyaging traditions and cultures of Te Moana Nui a Kiwa (the Pacific), the feats of Pacific voyagers, their mātauranga (knowledge), innovation and non-instrument navigation prowess and their decision to settle in Aotearoa before European explorers arrived.

​Marlborough is one of only four key landing sites in the 250 Voyage, and events and         activities locally are being overseen by the Tōtaranui 250 Trust.

2020 Evolution Sails Nelson Regatta

Nelson Yacht Club

The dates for Nelson's biggest regatta have been confirmed for January 17-21, when a full programme of racing will be held over four days that will showcase Tasman Bay with great sea breezes and a fantastic mountain backdrop.

A large fleet of trailer yachts will be competing for the South Island Championships and there will also be sports boats, keelboats and cruising divisions. 

Feeders for the regatta include the Royal Port Nicholson Yacht Club's Wellington to Nelson Race and the Waikawa Regatta two weeks beforehand. There will be just enough time to celebrate in Nelson before flying out to join a boat for Bay Week.

The regatta is scheduled to start on the evening of January 17 with a rum race in the harbour for all divisions, and include two days of round-the-buoys racing.

During this time, the annual Wellington to Nelson race will bring visiting keelers to Nelson. The keelboat divisions will continue, with the official competition starting on Sunday with three races round the cans for the Romeo and Juliet divisions and a coastal race for the cruising boats.

On Monday, the keelboats will set off across Tasman Bay for two days of coastal racing which will include a night in Torrent Bay, a chance for a beach party and a night in the Abel Tasman National Park.

The Nelson Regatta was conceived in 2009 by a group of local sailors with ambitions of placing the region back on the national sailing map. The format has evolved over the years to create a competitive and social week of racing that showcases the beauty of Tasman Bay.

Bianca Cook's national tour hits the south

Bianca Cook

Ocean racer Bianca Cook visited the South Island as part of her tour touching base at yacht clubs and spreading the word about her yet-to-be-named Ocean Race campaign. 

Cook, who was part of the Turn the Tide on Plastic team during the last Volvo Ocean Race, also shared her experiences with fellow sailors as her ambitious project for a New Zealand team in the next instalment gathers momentum.

This leg of the tour included visits to the Waikawa Boating Club, Queen Charlotte Yacht Club, Nelson Yacht Club and Naval Point Club Lyttelton. 

Whakatu Regatta

Whakatu regatta

The Nelson Yacht Club’s annual Whakatu regatta (all centreboard classes) is approaching again.

This year the club are excited to welcome sailors contesting the Starling South Island Championships and Flying Dutchman South Island Championships (January 10-12) as well as all the regular classes over the weekend.

The South Island 29er championships are being established following the growth of the class in the South Island and Nelson waters will provide superb conditions for the skiffs.

2019 Naval Point Professionals South Island Elliot 6 Youth Regatta

Naval Point
Isaac Armstrong receives the trophy from Professionals Christchurch managing agent and former Naval Point commodore Colin Lock alongside his crew of (R-L) Thomas Pirker, Claude Southwick and Rebecca Lee.

A number of South Island crews of secondary school age recently contested the South Island championships in Lyttelton.

Congratulations to Naval Point's No 1 team skippered by Isaac Armstrong, who took out The Professionals South Island Inter-club youth regatta over Labour weekend.

Teams racing hits Otago

Teams racing

The arrival of six 420s from New Plymouth has provided the impetus for teams racing to grow in the Otago region.

A new sailing club, called Otago Secondary Schools Team Sailing, was launched last month under the umbrella of the Otago Yacht Club.

About 15 sailors gathered at the club on the weekend of November 2-3 for an open day, which was an introduction to teams racing and sailing in the 420 class.

A big thank you to Ross Sutherland from the New Zealand Team Sailing Association for driving all the way from north of Auckland, picking the boats up from New Plymouth and driving through to Otago.

The New Zealand secondary school team sailing nationals are set to be held at Lake Hood, a man-made lake east of Ashburton, in Easter. The event is being targeted by several schools in the Otago region for the season.

Lake Hood will also host the lower South Island regional championships for the third year, on March 29-31.

Ravensbourne look forward to cleaner future

Ravensbourne Yacht Club
Ravensbourne Boating Club commodore Warwick Graham.

The Ravensbourne Boating Club could soon have working toilets and showers after a long wastewater dispute.

The club have tried to install a sewerage system for more than seven years but uncertainty over ownership of the land, which was once owned by the Otago Harbour Board, meant they couldn't apply to connect to wastewater.

The Dunedin City Council have been providing a portable toilet for the club during the summer seasons. City council property services group manager Dave Bainbridge said the council were now negotiating with the club about a lease, which meant they would be able to connect to wastewater.

Club commodore Warwick Graham said he had received complaints from parents about the lack of facilities and a lease agreement was what the club had "been wanting for seven years''.

"For the kids, it's been pretty hard using a Portaloo and no shower.''       

Once the lease is finalised, the club will work through the process of creating a wastewater system, which would cost about $35,000.

RSO tips for running your club

Petrol in New Zealand has a big percentage of excise tax included in it, currently 66.52c per litre.

There is a rebate from the NZTA available to clubs who have gone through the MOSS exemption process.

The first rebate is often enough to cover the cost of obtaining the initial MOSS exemption. The process is simple - keep your receipts or a statement from your fuel company, submit a quarterly paper return to NZTA and job done. 

A MOSS (maritime operators safety system) exemption is necessary under the Maritime Transport Act 1994 for any clubs who pay anyone to operate a boat.

See here for more information or contact Ian Gardiner on iangardiner@yachtingnz.org.nz.