News

The official ISAF film of the London 2012 Olympic Sailing Competition is available to order on DVD now.

The first book about Sir Peter Blake for younger readers Sir Peter Blake was a New Zealand hero – sailor, adventurer, leader and environmentalist. With the passing of over 10 years since his tragic death, the time is ripe for children and young adults to know more about his life and legacy. In The Story of Sir Peter Blake, award-winning author Tessa Duder tells Sir Peter’s life story for young readers, revealing what made him an inspirational leader and sailing legend.

It is an exciting time of the yachting year – event announcements, local yachting now in full swing and Awards recognition for many deserving yachties. Heading into the festive season I’d like to wish everyone a happy and safe Christmas whether cruising or racing. If you happen to be parked in a nice bay somewhere on our fantastic New Zealand coastline take a minute to remind yourself that we all need to continue to actively protect and preserve those magic spots for all recreational users – at Yachting New Zealand we certainly put it high on our priority list.

Here’s a look at the up-coming sailing related events around the country for the next couple of weeks. See the YNZ on-line calendar for full details of these events and those on in January and beyond. Don’t see your event in there? Don’t miss out on some free promotion for your sailing events by adding them to the YNZ on-line calendar here.

With summer kicking in and a lot more people getting out on the water it is timely to remind boaties to keep an eye on others out on the water. For those of you yacht racing, remember “Rule 1.1 Helping Those in Danger – A boat or competitor shall give all possible help to any person or vessel in danger” This is also a good rule for anyone else out on the water, cruising, fishing or otherwise if you see someone in danger, stop, see if you can provide any assistance and contact Coastguard on *500 from your mobile phone. Report all serious incidents requiring assistance on VHF Channel 16.

Sailability Auckland held their annual have a go day on December 1st, and despite the rescheduled date and conflict with other community events, 16 new sailors turned up to embrace the opportunity to try sailing.

New Zealand has an exciting new high profile yacht race on the calendar with the launch of the A2B Blue Water Classic Yacht Race announced today at the Royal Akarana Yacht Club. The opening edition of the race is set to take place in February 2014 and its anticipated the A2B will become an iconic kiwi blue-water ocean race.

Wairoa Yacht Club hosted the Wairoa River Regatta and East Coast Championships last weekend with great weather and wind for both days of the event. Junior training officer Jill Metz-Mayhead said it was one of the biggest regattas since their 50th in 2008.

The 11th edition of the Sir Peter Blake Torbay Regatta hosted by the Torbay Sailing Club was another great success over the weekend of 1st and 2nd December 2012. With over 360 competitors in 19 different classes competing over three courses the event is a great tribute to New Zealand’s greatest ocean sailor. Conditions were challenging with westerly winds gusting to 30 knots on the Sunday. A number of capsizes, broken masts and rescues tested the competitors and the vast number of volunteers and helpers who make this massive regatta possible. Certainly the fortitude and determination of Sir Peter Blake was needed by all sailors to complete the event.