Issue date
Pleasant Point Yacht Club opened its 2013/2014 season on Saturday 14th of August at its new home in the South New Brighton Domain, running three races for their fleet of yachts.
Three years from the September 2010 earthquake that destroyed everything we had, the members of the Club are just glad to be back sailing in our home waters, even if the shore facilities are very primitive and without services.
We were finally granted a license to occupy an area of land in the South New Brighton Park just 5 weeks ago, and since then the Club members have worked tirelessly to get facilities established on the site, clearing the land and building foundations ready for the arrival of four shipping containers out of which we will operate for the foreseeable future.
It’s certainly basic and nowhere near what we had at Rat Island alongside the Bridge, but it is really good to finally have a base to operate from and a place to call home.
For all its basic facilities, the Club members have embraced the location and the enthusiasm of the local community has been appreciated.
We have had people walking through the park stopping to chat to us, and all were thrilled to see us there and making an effort to get back up and running under our own steam.
The Club got the nod from the Council just in time to have everything ready for Saturday, which was great as the Committee had made a commitment to the loyal Club members that this would be the season that we got back to running our own events out of the South New Brighton Park.
We have had great moral and even financial support from the Burwood Pegasus Community Board who are really behind getting a new sporting facility built in the heavily damaged East of Christchurch and Joanne Walton from the Council has steered us through the process with the council.
The Club will now work on the next phase of its resurgence, that being to gain approval in principle from the Council to lease an area of land on which to build, after which they will need to undertake geotechnical research on the land prior to starting the design phase of any new Club facility.
However first the Council’s new Management and Development plans for the South New Brighton Park have to go through the public consultation phase and then be adopted by the City Council before any green light can be given.
The Committee has been carefully guarding the Club’s insurance payout, but this will not cover every thing in the re-build, so extra funding will be sought and fundraising is a major focus for the next few years.
Pleasant Point is grateful for the support from other Christchurch Clubs over the last three years. We have been hosted by Naval Point Club on Lyttleton Harbour immediately after the September 2010 quake and Mt Pleasant Yacht Club on the Estuary has hosted our racing programme for two seasons.
The Club has programmed racing each Sunday in its home waters on the North side of the Estuary starting on the published Lyttelton high tide time.
We would welcome seeing anyone interested in sailing at our Container Clubhouse in the park, just south of the jetty. Entrance to the South New Brighton Park is off Beatty Street.
There will be a junior learn to sail programme run in the school holidays.
Contact Nigel or Jocelyn Humphreys on Christchurch 349 2422 for more information.
