Rob gets the kite up!!

For the first time in a long time, the revamped Beachcomber finally got it's kite up.

The light winds were perfect for a test run, so let's see how it went...

First they dropped the jib

Then turned downwind...

Got in a little muddle...

Which they easily sorted, then hoisted the kite.

 And even in the light winds, they covered a lot of ground really quickly.

When they got back upwind again, I hoped to see another hoist, as the breeze had built up to around 10-15 knots.

It looked promising, as they dropped the jib, and turned downwind...

But sadly they only went for a smaller jib, and the kite stayed down below for the rest of the afternoon.

So now, following the awesome reaching and upwind speed she showed last week, the Beachcomber is looking like it could well become the Manukau's fastest trailer yacht. While she may not be as close winded as the Noelexes, this scribe feels she could well be faster around a course, especially in up to 15 knots with a full race crew. 

It was promising, see!

Trailer yachts at Weymouth

Today's trailer yacht racing at Weymouth was lacking in numbers, but as all the competitors had made alterations over the winter it was still anyones day.

In the very light winds of the first race, the Cherry 16 steered mostly by seven year old Ashley showed excellent form and lead from start to finish, ahead of the Quicksilver 16.

In the second race these two were joined by the Beachcomber 22, and the racing was a lot hotter.

The Cherry and Quicksilver got away from the start well ahead of the Beachcomber, but Rob found some magic and rapidly overtook both the smaller yachts, to lead easily by the first mark. Downwind the fleet stayed pretty close together, and all three boats rounded the turning mark very close together, the Beachcomber just leading the Quicksilver, with the Cherry just seconds behind. Upwind, the smaller boats in previous races have shown better ability, however the work done to the Beachcomber has really sped her up, and she continued to pull ahead. the quicksilver and Cherry were close together up this leg, as both boats experimented with different settings. The Cherry then ran aground while trying to get upwind of the Quicksilver, so their race was almost over, as the time they were aground left them further behind the other two. On the final leg to the finish, all three boats made good pace, but neither of the smaller boats could close the gap, as the beachcomber claimed her first line-honours win of the season.

Full results available on the club website, as soon as I work them out.

Support the Papakura CoastGuard!!

Papakura coastguard are holding a "Massive Garage Sale" to raise funds.

Please donate any saleable items you have laying around to this very worthwhile cause.

Drop off's or collections by arrangement, call Jan Frost on 027-220 7779.

The garage sale, if you want to buy something, is on:

 Saturday 23rd November, 8am to 3pm.

Wellington Park, 1 Great South Road, Takanini.

Come on down, the guys could use your support!

Change of website - MYMBC

Manukau Yacht and Motorboat club have advised a change of address for their website.

www.sportsground.co.nz/mymbc

is the new one.

Try it out, it looks pretty good to me!

The link on the main blog page here will be updated shortly.

It's official!!

The annual Crew.Org.Nz rum race has been set for Friday December 20th.

Put it in your diary and book the day off if you have to!

Remember the start is quite late (5:45pm for the first boats last year) so aim to be at westhaven by around 4pm to allow plenty of time to rig and get to the start. If rigging takes you a while, then give yourself some extra time. Being late for the start is not a good thing, especially in a slow boat like ours!

Come on over and have a blast! Remember to bring a torch or two for the trip home, and for de-rigging.

A little update

Weymouth hosted the YNZ "Have a Go!" scheme earlier this week, reports are that some 35 kids from local schools got to try sailing, and several have shown an interest in taking up the sport.

The "AK Splash" water safety fun day run by teams such as Coastguard, Surf Life Saving, Westpac Rescue Helicopters, Auckland council, and Mai FM, among many others was a very good event, with children being given "passports" upon entering the grounds, with various stations giving stamps to fill them up. Once the books were full, kids could take them up to the event managers site and win a prize. 500 of those prizes were new RFD lifejackets, and if the kids already owned a good lifejacket, they could get one for a parent or sibling.
Thanks to all those who made this event a huge success, water safety is a major part of what all water-sports clubs should be about!

and finally...

The annual Crew.Org.Nz end of year Rum Race is in its final preparation stages. 

Top prizes this year include a $3500 SUP.

The Ogre has said that dates should be finalised early this coming week.

More info here as soon as it becomes available, or go to www.crew.org.nz and check it out for yourself.
Last year I think we had 87 boats, the goal this year is to top 100.
We were the only small boat (excluding Weta's) to be involved last year, and the huge adrenaline burst of trying to get to the finish line before the huge ORMA 60 Vodafone (we failed, maybe this year) was with me for weeks afterward. Mark foy starts and different length courses, coupled with the brilliant Racetrack handicap system meant the whole fleet finished within just a few minutes. Simply awesome.

Coming up this month on the Manukau.

Saturday 9th November :
Series A at MYMBC  3pm.
Club day at Clarks Beach, 1pm.

Sunday 10th:
Club day at Weymouth, 2pm.
Open day at French Bay, 2pm.

Saturday 16th:
Club day at Waiuku 9:30am.
Club day at Clarks beach, 1pm

Sunday 17th:
TY race 2 at Weymouth, 9am.
MYMBC series A at 10:30am.
Spring series at French Bay, 10am.
Champs series at Waiuku, 10am.

Saturday 23rd:
Club day at Weymouth, 1pm.
Memorial cup at MYMBC, 2pm.
points racing at Clarks Beach, 1pm

Sunday 24th:
Club day at Weymouth, 1:30pm.
Spring series at French Bay, 1pm.

Saturday 30th:
Club day at Clarks Beach, 1pm.
Working bee at Weymouth -please note some roads around Manurewa will be closed this morning for the Santa Parade.

Sunday, 1st December:
Club day at Waiuku, 9am.

And coming up early next month:

The second annual Manukau Meltdown regatta is being held at Weymouth Yacht Club on Saturday December 7th. More details coming very soon.