Frostbites at Taikata

Today I enjoyed an invitation to Taikata Sailing Club in Te Atatu, where I was sorted out with a very tidy frostbite to sail, thanks to Keith and Doug.

The one race took around 92 minutes for the fastest boat, and the spread was around 15 minutes.

I'd like to report that I had cleaned up, however this was not to be the case, and I was struggling mid-fleet.

The race started off with a long beat in very light conditions, and although I was close to the front off the start, I couldn't really come to grips with the layout and tuning of the boat, and slowly slipped back from the leaders, unable to point as high, or foot as fast. At one point, I found myself very near the back of the fleet.

Fortunately the wind started to build as we approached the top mark for the first time, and I was able to settle into a routine for tacking, and get some performance happening. At the top, I was battling to avoid being tail-end charlie.

The next leg was a long run, and I was able to make up a lot of ground, opening up a healthy gap on the other back markers, and closing up on the bunch ahead. Rounding the bottom, there was open water between the front bunch, which I was almost up with, and the chasing bunch.

Sailing back upwind, I was again struggling for pace, and although I was hanging on, I again lost ground to the boats nearby.

Another short run and beat, and I had lost a little more ground. As we turned to head for home, I was safely in 7th place, well behind the front bunch and safely clear of the trailing group. With a long run back to the finish, Sub-Zero once again showed very good downwind pace, and I was able to close up to the four boats ahead, gradually gaining little by little.

Sadly for me, however, there was simply not enough race-course to get ahead, and although it was fairly close, I had to settle for 7th at the finish.

All in all, it was great to be out on the water, and I'm hoping to be invited back fairly soon. I'd like to drop a few more inches of rake in, to suit my sailing style, and wish for a little more breeze.

Thanks again to Keith, Doug, and Taikata SC for a great day on the water!

Winter sailing in Manukau

The long, hot days of late summer seem to have suddenly vanished, and the icy-cold nights of winter have appeared.

Weymouth YC has finished its season, and members are starting to disperse to other clubs in the area - We are always keen to support other local clubs.


Manukau Yacht and Motor Boat Club have their Trailer Yacht series. A few Weymouth boats will be attending, albeit only occasionally in my case.

Panmure Lagoon Sailing Club have their assorted Laser race series, I hope to do the River Race series.

Pakuranga Sailing Club at Farm Cove have their famed Dinghy Winter Series, where our affiliated Scout Cutter and Sunbursts should be frequently seen. I hope to attend a few of these, probably fighting with the love of my life over who gets to go sailing!


Each of these programs can be found in the Sailing Calendars section on our website.