Labour weekend saw the 24th running of the Aviemore Classic sailed on Lake Aviemore out of Otematata Harbour, organised and run by the Timaru Yacht & Powerboat Club and this year supported by Trust Aoraki.
The South Island Otago Trailer Yacht Championships attracted 70 entries and were sailed on Saturday along with a fun race in a variety of winds from flat calm to a brisk southwesterly wind.
Yachts travelled to Lake Aviemore from as far afield as Picton and Invercargill with some people flying in from Wellington to crew on local yachts.
Yachting New Zealand has two new Board Directors elected at the recent 2012 Annual General Meeting held in Wellington. They are Aucklander Peter Dawson (Murrays Bay Sailing Club) and Wellington’s Jamie McDowell (Worser Bay Boating Club).
The first of the season’s Zone Development Clinics for the Otago Region took place over the weekend of the 13th and 14th October at the Macandrew Bay Boating Club on the Otago Harbour.
The Zone Development Clinic was targeted at the growing fleet of Starling sailors in the area at present. The goal was to see these sailors competing with confidence at the Nationals in Picton later in the year as well as other significant regattas both within the region and the greater South Island.
At the opening of the 2012-13 Summer Sailing season recently the Port Chalmers Yacht Club was able to display some yachting history, both of regional and national significance.
Two miniature trophies awarded by the late Mr George.A.Wiseman were shown to members for the first time in many years. The trophies date back to 1925 and are exact silver replicas of the actual trophies that Mr Wiseman won that year.
The Service Awards are all about exemplary or selfless services to the sport of yachting – and this list of ten all truly deserve to be recognised. They’re generally the type who don’t seek fanfare, don’t like a fuss, they just get on and get the job done. Giving year and after year of service, the total collective time given to yachting by this group of Service Award winners is extraordinary.
It was a tough year for the Judging Panel as many more very dedicated individuals were nominated and they were required to select this year’s ten winners. Come November 23rd each will step up to receive a Yachting New Zealand Service Award at the 2012 Yachting Excellence Awards.
This year’s Service Award winners are…
Whaingaroa Fisheries Company Limited has applied for a significant area of space inside Whangaroa Harbour for marine farming. The area is absolutely inappropriate for aquaculture and it is important that boaties and clubs put in a submission to the Northland Regional Council voicing their concerns otherwise the bay may be lost.
Hudson Andrews is a 14 year old lad who has cerebral palsy and is mad keen on sailing.
Recently Chris Andrews and her son, Hudson, got in contact with Bluff Yacht Club to see how to get Hudson into the sport of sailing. The team at the club has embraced the idea and is totally committed to seeing him on the water.
“Chris has recently purchased an Access Dinghy 303 and has been out for a few sails so far,” reports Graeme Wall, Yachting New Zealand Regional Support Officer.
Sport Auckland has announced the nominees and finalists for the 2012 Sporting Excellence Awards and two yachting crews are among the finalists.
Andrew McKenzie is a finalist in the Junior Sportsman category, and Jo Aleh and Olivia Powrie are finalists in the Team of the Year category. In all categories a large number of quality sportsmen and women were nominated.
The announcement of the winners of each category as well as the overall winner of the 2012 Sport Auckland Sporting Excellence Awards will take place on Thursday November 29th at 6pm at Top of the Park, Alexandra Park Raceway.
A new series of championship regattas will be organised in Europe next year, under the name EUROSAF Champions Sailing League® using the above logo. The new series, which incorporates all Olympic disciplines, had previously been announced in May of this year. These regattas will incorporate new innovations in race formats that will make sailing easier to follow and more attractive for sailors, media and spectators alike.
The EUROSAF Champions Sailing League® will be staged over five professionally organised events, starting in May 2013 at the Fraglia Vela Riva, Lake Garda, Italy. The Dutch Delta Lloyd Regatta in Medemblik is next, followed by Sail for Gold at the 2012 Olympic venue of Weymouth & Portland in the UK. Kieler Woche in Germany will be the fourth event in the series, which will conclude later in the year with the Semaine Olympique Française, at La Rochelle, France. The first four events take place in the ISAF defined ‘European Window’ and all five events qualify for ISAF ranking points.
Several new records, including one standing for 16 years, were broken or set in the Coastal Classic Auckland to Russell Yacht Race, organised by the New Zealand Multihull Yacht Club this weekend.
By the narrowest of margins, TeamVodafoneSailing set its third consecutive record in the Coastal Classic Auckland to Russell Yacht Race this afternoon, when it crossed the finish line at 15:41, for a final finishing time of five hours, 41 minutes, and 4
The LiteClub programme is proving popular with 16 yacht clubs around the North Island already on board and freeing up money through the energy efficiency service offered.
As part of this completely free service, the LiteClub team visits clubs and shows them ways to be more efficient with electricity, water and waste management.
16 yacht clubs are now working with LiteClub including the Ponsonby Cruising Club, who was one of the most recent to be visited.
If you are racing in the NZMYC Coastal Classic today and wanting a wet fast ride, you will be thrilled. If you want to bask in the sun and enjoy the scenery, not so much.
20-30 knots is expected at the startline at Devonport Wharf in Auckland today and the 170 expected starters, including around 1,000 sailing crew, are looking at achieving some of the fastest times ever posted in the 30 year old race.
The NZOC is seeking to recruit and appoint a suitably qualified and experienced person to its Games Team Selection Panel for the period 2012 – 2016. This will involve selecting for the 2012 Winter Olympic Games, the 2014 Commonwealth Games, and 20
The 2013 Two Handed Central Triangle Race starts from Wellington on 2nd March 2013 with the first leg of 195 nautical miles to Akaroa. Leg two takes the fleet 350 nautical miles north to Napier with the final 205 nautical mile leg taking the fleet back to Wellington.
Manly Sailing Club, on the Whangaparaoa Peninsula, has been elected by the NZIODA to host the 2014 Optimist National Championships over the Easter holiday period (18-23 April) for five days of fleet racing on the waters north of Big Manly Beach.
Yachting is a very adaptive sport that everybody can get something out of. Whether it is intense racing, sailing around the world, or just an afternoon picnic cruise, sailing is a sport to be enjoyed by everybody!
It's going to be a busy season ahead- so be sure to put these dates to your calendar now, and start planning ahead. These events and many others can all be found on the YNZ Online Event Calendar and while you're there add your club events for everybody else to see too!
Did you read about the foursome of Olympic class sailors, past and present, who will take to their stand up paddle boards on Saturday 27th October for the 2012 Starboard Paddle for Hope - an annual charity fundraiser festival of Stand Up Paddle Boarding (SUP)?
Dubbed the Real Sailors - Andrew ‘Hurricane Force’ Brown, Marcus ‘Mad Dog’ Hansen, James ‘the Terminator’ Turner and JP ‘Twin Turbo’ Tobin will hit the water at Auckland Viaduct going up against other teams including an Emirates Team New Zealand entry in a fun relay race.
Sunday 14 October saw Manly Sailing Club hosting the Hibiscus Coast Youth Regatta. After the north westerly gale that wreaked havoc over Auckland and much of the country on Saturday the forecast at 0700 Sunday was for 18-20kts decreasing in the afternoon. However what was forecast and what happened were not quite the same.
The plan to run open fleet races out of Big Manly Bay in clear winds were scotched 10min into the first race when winds were averaging in the high 20knots range forcing racing into the Bay in flatter water.
NZL Sailing Team sailor and 2012 Radial representative in London, Sara Winther reflects on her Olympic debut and thanks her supporters…
The Olympic Games was an experience like no other. You plan and prepare for an event like this by talking to people who have been there and done it, but I now know that until you actually live and experience it for yourself that you don’t truly realize what it is like.
A good, fast sprint with a high chance of a record is forecast for this week's Coastal Classic Auckland to Russell Yacht Race, particularly for the boats that will lead the pack.
The wind forecasting site PredictWind.com is suggesting that the boats will encounter a strong 25knot South West breeze off the start at 10am on Friday, moderating that night, a scenario that will see most boats hoist brightly coloured spinnakers or gennakers off the waters of the North Shore, and depart the Hauraki Gulf quick smart.
Yacht racing wouldn’t be possible without the dedication and commitment of qualified race officials including Judges, Race Officers and Umpires, and those that put in the time and effort enjoy the challenge and the rewards that these roles offer.
Yachting New Zealand administers these qualifications and offers courses for those looking to get started as well right through to those with significant experience who can revalidate their qualification and keep up to speed with the latest rules and practices.
The following National Race Officers have recently revalidated their status for another four years…
The Equipment Rules of Sailing (ERS) for 2013-2016 has been made available to download online and for the first time, as an iOS application ahead of the worldwide date of implementation on 1 January 2013.
The official ERS iOS Application, available on all mobile Apple devices, allows the user to quickly find information about all aspects of the rules that govern the sport on the water.
The sailing season has begun and it’s time to set some goals to improve your skills... why not get stuck into an intensive training clinic for Paralympic Classes at Wanaka next month? The dates have been set for November 23-25 ... so get your registrations in and start planning.
Followers of the NZMYC Coastal Classic: put forward your best guesstimate of the winning time in next Friday's race, and be in to win a trip for you and a friend aboard Steinlager II.
The NZ Sailing Trust was originally established for the preservation of Lion New Zealand. It has now grown with the recent acquisition of Steinlager 2. Sir Peter Blake took the lessons learned from the 85-86 race with Lion NZ and applied all of it into the design and build of Steinlager 2. She became a world class competitor winning every Whitbread leg over the line and on handicap, a record still standing today.
Just who will be named 2012 Orbit Corporate Travel Sailor of the Year won’t be unveiled until Friday November 23rd, but we now know who is in the running. Yachting New Zealand has revealed the list of 2012 Performance, Service and Cruising Award Winners, the winner of the Emerging Talent Award and a short-list of finalists for both the Young Sailor of the Year and the Coach/Official of the Year.
New Zealand has entered a team to sail the Red Bull Youth America’s Cup 2013 set to take centre stage on San Francisco Bay in the time window between the Louis Vuitton Cup and the Americas Cup in 2013.
Yachting New Zealand wants to hear from eligible sailors keen to be part of the New Zealand Team.
RAYC is hosting another Advanced Sea Survival Course before the Around White Island Race.
Date: 17-18 November
Times: Saturday from 0830, Sunday – early!
Where: RAYC
Cost: $395 per person includes morning/afternoon tea and a light lunch
Here’s a look at the up-coming sailing events around the country for the remainder of October. Don’t miss out on some free promotion for your sailing events by adding them to the YNZ on-line calendar.
Whether you’re already coaching and wanting to up-skill or want to get started by learning how to deliver Learn to Sail Yachting New Zealand has a range of courses available around the country. Here’s a look at what is on in the next couple of weeks.
See yachtingnz.org.nz for more information about the full range of courses on offer.
