Issue date
It's been a busy season in the central region with plenty of regattas, clinics, camps and celebrations, not to mention a couple of club rebuilds.
The old clubrooms at the Worser Bay Boating Club are due to be replaced after 62 years.
Construction
One of the most exciting developments coming up is the construction of a new jetty at Titahi Bay for Sailability Wellington which will not only be a great asset for the organisation but will also be very beneficial for other clubs and boat users.
The jetty has been designed to last for at least 50 years and the biggest advantage will be with the ease of launching yachts and coach boats. The present setup is very tidal, which creates headaches for many users.
The Worser Bay Boating Club has just begun work on a club rebuild and the Waitara Boating Club is undergoing a major refurbishment.
The upgrade at Waitara should be completed by the end of winter. This includes a complete relining of the existing club rooms, new deck under which the paddlers will store their boats, new accessible toilets and ramp, and new roof, windows and doors. Sailability Taranaki will also operate from the club so it will be great when it's all completed.
Worser Bay will be replacing the original clubhouse with a new two-storied complex. A barn dance was staged when the clubrooms were opened 62 years ago and current members recently celebrated in a very similar way at the Worser Bay Wild West Hoedown.
Greg Wright won the Zephyr national championships.
The rebuild comes after an extremely busy period for the club. They hosted both the Zephyr nationals and then the Starling national championships when Sean Herbert beat a field of 109 boats to win his second title.
Some big names of New Zealand sailing have previously won the Starling national championships, including Russell Coutts, David Barnes, Craig Monk, Dan Slater and Peter Burling, but Herbert joins an elite group as a two-time winner of the John Peet Trophy.
Other two-time winners are Rohan Cooke (1992-93), Tim Christiansen (1999-2000) and Burling (2005-06). No one has ever won it three times.
"I'm pretty proud to be in among that crowd," Herbert said. "We have been talking about whether I go back next year and if I get the chance I will go back again."
Sean Herbert joined elite company when he won his second Starling national title. Photo: Chris Coad Photography.
Clinics and regattas
The new spring Opti clinic run at Worser Bay over Labour weekend proving very popular, with 26 of the more experienced young sailors from Wellington, New Plymouth and Picton learning from four top Wellington coaches and getting a good kick-start into the season.
The Optimist North Island championships were hosted by Lake Taupo Yacht Club and, as usual, they did a great job running this event hosting 114 boats in the open fleet, 29 boats in the green fleet and 30 in the Starling fleet. A range of conditions were thrown up, with zero to 25 knots over the three days.
Wakatere sailors had a great regatta, with Josh Hyde, George Lee Rush and Mason Mulcahy (also Murrays Bay Sailing Club) taking out the top three spots in the open fleet.
The Napier Sailing Club's summer regatta proved as popular as ever as it includes the Laser North Island championships and the Wanganui Sailing Club and Evans Bay Yacht & Motor Boat Club both hosted O'pen Bic regattas, which attracted good numbers.
The Wellington Optisail three-day live-in camp was full again this year and thanks must go to the Titahi Bay Boating Club for their wonderful organisation.
The Wellington centreboard regatta had more than 80 boats competing at the Muritai Yacht Club, complete with new trophies provided by the Wellington Yachting Association, and the Gisborne Yacht Club hosted a successful Sanders Cup for the Javelin class.
New Plymouth hosted the 50th Paper Tiger national championships and did a great job despite a cyclone coming through during the regatta.
Lowry Bay Yacht Club ran another successful 24 Hour race, and the Wellington Boat Show held at Seaview Marina, which included a yacht display for the second year, is gaining popularity.
Port Ohope Yacht Club will host their annual Queens Birthday regatta, which attracts a good fleet of dinghies, especially Lasers.
Next summer will also be a big season for the Evans Bay Yacht & Motor Boat Club as they celebrate 100 years, and they will be running the Elliot 5.9 national championships, P-Class Tanner and Tauranga Cups, Paper Tiger nationals and their annual regatta.
Over the winter, clubs who pay their coaches will be applying for their Yachting New Zealand MOSS exemption and I’m looking forward to working through this with them so they will be all sorted for the coming season.
