It's been a while!

 Well, here we are again.

After a near seven year hiatus, I'm back talking sailing on the Manukau Harbour again.

I'm struggling to find details on some of the local clubs, bear/bare/beer?? with me on that.

Here's what I do know...

The Hartley 16 fleet at MYMBC are still active.

The Noelex 22 fleet now splits it's time between MYMBC and Weymouth YC.

There are presently five Noelex 22's active in the South Auckland area.

Rob K has sold the beachcomber, and purchased a very quick Noelex 22 instead.

Aaron L has sold the Cherry, and bought a not-so-quick (yet!) Noelex 22.

Early november will see the entire Nelex 22 fleet heading to Lake Ngaroto in the Waikato for a couple of days of intense sprint racing.

That's it, I know nothing more, except that Pete H is working hard at Weymouth trying to get the ball rolling again.

More Shortly.

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.

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.

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.

Weymouth 2013 Opening Sprints

Today saw the formal start to the 2013-14 racing season at Weymouth Yacht Club, in Manurewa, greater Auckland.

Four short races were held, with a wide variety of boats, in quite light, testing conditions, which improved throughout the day.

The first race was a short affair, and the three Lasers opened up a sizable lead on the rest of the fleet, however it was Angela in the Starling, finishing fourth on the water, who took the handicap honours.
Aaron, sailing with two year old daughter Cailey as crew, was third Laser for most of the race, but found some luck on the final beat, passing Rob and Pete as they sat in a windless hole.

Seven year old Ashley, sailing in a plastic Optimist dinghy, sailed the entire course on her own, with no outside help. This was quite an achievement, having only ever sailed on her own once before. New member Neil also deserves mention here, as it was also the first time he had ever raced in a sailing boat.

With Aaron, Cailey, and Ashley out for race two, the fleet was closer together, and this time Angela showed that a good start really helps, as she lead the Lasers for most of the first leg. In time, of course, the Lasers were able to catch and pass the starling, however it was Gina, sailing her Topper, that got the eventual win.

Race three was a very close fought affair, as Rob and Pete match raced around the course leading the fleet, whilst Gina in the Topper, and Angela in the Starling, sailed their own races, and once the handicaps were applied, there were just a few seconds between the top four boats. The two ladies also finished only seconds apart on the water, right behind the Lasers.

In the final race of the day, Neil had finally figured out the unique starting system, and the entire fleet got clean, fast starts, and kept very close together.

After the racing there was a sausage sizzle, and a few other members turned up to chat.

Special thanks go out to our volunteers, Murray, Roger, and Simon. Without you, today would not have been the success it was.

Full results now up on the club website, in the results section.

2013 Manukau Regatta

Today was the annual Manukau shield challenge, hosted this year by French Bay Yacht Club.

66 boats faced the starters flags, with visitors from Maraetai, Manukau, Panmure Lagoon, and Weymouth clubs, as well as twelve-foot skiffs from Auckland Sailing Club. Two races were sailed, each lasting just over an hour.

Maraetai also provided some extra safety cover, in the form of three RIB's.

The weather gods turned on yet another perfect day, with temperatures in the mid to high twenties, and wind ranging between 5 and 15 knots. The water was fairly flat, although once the tide started running out, the chop started to build.

The on-water action was really hot, with everyone having a good tussle with the boats around them.

I was busy with the Laser fleet, where we had 12 boats. Most were sailing with standard rigs, although a few opted for the radial rig.

The wind shifted part-way through the starting sequence of the first race, making the start line a bit biased to the left, although looking up the course showed what seemed to be a right hand shift. This resulted in most of the fleet starting on the left end, while me and a few others went out on the right.

There didn't seem to be a lot in it, as at the top mark I rounded as the first of the right-siders, in fifth place but right behind the leaders.

Don won this race quite easily in the end, setting the standard for the rest of the fleet.

Race two saw a much more orderly start, and Chantal picked it right, taking first around the top mark, with me in second. We then took off down the reach, heading in the wrong direction! This dropped us down the order a tiny bit, although both still in contention.

The final results showed PLSC sailors taking the top three places, with Don winning both races.

Looking forward...

The shield challenge seems to have lost its glory and prestige, with very few eligible clubs sending teams to compete in recent years. Ineligible clubs have been sending large numbers of boats, with Taikata sendng several boats to Weymouth last year, and PLSC sending good numbers today.

One must wonder, therefore, whether the shield should be re-defined, and such clubs allowed entry.

Trailer Yacht fun at Weymouth

Two days of great fun was had at Weymouth Yacht Club over the first days of Anniversary Weekend.

Rob L had his new Hartley 16 on site, so the first day became a long match race between this and the Cherry 16. Later in the day we were joined by Rob K in the Beachcomber 22.

In the light winds, the Cherry struggled to keep pace with the Hartley early on, trailing until Rob made a bad decision and got caught in the outgoing tide.

Mid afternoon, we started experimenting with crew positions in the Cherry, and found that by sending the heaviest crew member far forward, that upwind performance improved dramatically in the light winds.

Sunday morning dawned cooler, and the same three boats (with different crews) were out for some serious-ish racing.

The first race was a long L shape, with return legs, totalling around 5 miles. At the first mark, following a long reach, the Hartley was just leading the Cherry, with the Beachcomber a little further back, struggling with sail changes in the variable conditions. The next leg was a long beat, with winds gusting between ten and 20knots. Early on, the Cherry got her nose in front, until half way up the beat they went to the left side of the course looking for a favourable shift that wasn't there. This let the Hartley gain the advantage, which they held on the return legs all the way back to Weymouth.

The beachcomber found the going tough, and was unable to keep pace in the changeable conditions today.

The second race was much shorter, only around two miles. The race became a procession as the wind turned slightly making it a beam reach in both directions. The Hartley again showed why they are the worlds favourite trailer yacht, and lead the other boats all the way.

Heavy weather fun

Sunday saw a good strong breeze, puffing up to around 30 knots, with calmer bits of around 20 knots in between.

Three keen Laser sailors decided to give it a go, and had an absolute blast.

Rob and Pete both decided to reduce sail, and reefed their boats, while Aaron opted for full rig.

After a few minutes, Aaron started to wonder if he had made the wrong decision, after capsizing in a gybe during one of the calmer patches.

Pete discovered that some of the lines on his previously untested boat were not quite right, and also had a few swims.

As the day wore on, all three attempted several gybes, mostly successfully. All three showed signs of rust, and improved markedly during the day.

After an hour or two of ripping around, Pete got a little too close to the lee shore, and with those lines stretching uncontrollably, found it difficult to get sailing upwind off the shore, so decided to wait for a tow back to the clubhouse.

On one occasion, Rob and Aaron lined up for a bit of a drag race. Upwind in the 25-30 knots, there was very little difference in the speed of the full versus reefed sail, at least in the steep chop and over the short distance they had. Turning downwind, however, was a very different story, as the power of the full rig came into play, and speeds were poles apart.

Big thanks to Simon and Murray for manning the rescue boat - we probably wouldn't have gone out without you!

Coming up next we have the first of our River Races on Saturday 17th November, followed by our first Harbour Race on the Sunday.

The River Race is open to all boats, and will go towards the motorway at Papakura, while the Harbour Race is limited to bigger boats, sunburst or larger, for safety reasons as we will be leaving the sheltered area of the estuary and hitting the exposed waters of the main harbour. The course should include the LPG terminal as a rounding mark.

Weymouth YC Opening Day

Awesome weather greeted the small but keen fleet of sailors on Sunday 7th october, for the season opener of 2012-13.

There was around 10-15 knots of wind, blowing straight up the channel past the clubhouse.

Although only three boats started, all of the sailors were new members, some of which had just taken part in our beginners course.

As it happened, if the club had had more sunbursts available, there would have been more boats on the water, as two of the boats were over-subscribed (sailing 3-up), and two other members stayed ashore.

A simple windward-leeward course was set, with a start/finish part-way up the beat. The first race was two laps.

For simplicity we opted to use the reef pole as one end of the start line. This proved to be very entertaining for the spectators, as each boat took its turn performing a not-so-graceful pirouette as they hit the reef. I might add that it was a little frustrating for the competitors.

The white sunburst, sailing 3-up, being helmed by Paul, spent more time on the reef than the others, running onto it immediately after crossing the start line. This proved to be a good thing, as it gave the others a chance to get their noses in front.

The red sunburst, sailing 2-up and being helmed by Rob L, hit the front, and held on to their lead for most of the race, only being pipped by Paul quite near the finish. The blue sunburst, sailing 3-up with Ajith on the tiller, were always close by, just not quite hitting the front.

So at the end of race 1, the finishing order was white, red, blue.

In the second race of the day, paul sailed a flawless race, leading from the start, to win by a large margin. as the other two approached the line, it was anyone's guess, as they switched places often. In this race the blue boat was being steered by Pete. Thirty seconds out from the line it looked like the blue boat was going to be in front, but it was not to be, as Rob just managed to squeeze past.

Once the handicaps were applied,  Paul and Rob had a win each, while Ajith and Pete had managed to secure two thirds.

Full results on the Weymouth Y.C. website.

Next club day Sunday 14th, at 9:30am.

Pakuranga Sailing Club website

Pakuranga Sailing Club have started work on their new website.

We will be providing some pictures and help with setting it up, but the credit really goes to Rose-Mary, who is busily working away as we speak.

Check it out here but remember it is a work in progress, and only went live mid-week. It's a sportsground site, so a big thanks to SPARC for providing the hosting free.

If you've never been to Pakuranga SC, it's off Bramley Road, in Farm Cove. Although tidal, the water is clean, and quite flat, and the junior racing is great, especially during the winter series.

More winter sailing... July 7 & 8, 2012.

Saturday 7th seems to have absolutely nothing on, anywhere. However, there's something on almost everywhere on Sunday.

Sunday 8th...


On the Waitemata...


Pakuranga SC dinghy winter series continues at 0830.

PLSC Winter series for Lasers continues at 0930.

Taikata SC has frostbite racing at 0930.

And on the Manukau...

French Bay YC has winter sailing #2 at 1030.

Manukau YMBC Trailer Yacht winter series continues at 1300.

Waiuku YC has winter series #4 at 1300.

So there it is -

Remember, each club has it's own "niche", with PLSC being a Laser stronghold, MYMBC being a trailer yacht club, WYC and FBYC cater to all dinghy classes, with PSC mainly catering for junior sailing, Starlings, Sunbursts and Scout Cutters being the main classes.

Plan your weekend carefully, and you could really cram a lot into one day!
If my spare parts arrive in time, I hope to be sailing at two venues again, it really makes getting up worthwhile!

Fun times in the rain.

This mornings Pakuranga SC winter series proved challenging in more ways than one.

In the first race, boats drifted in all directions, with virtually zero wind, for around 20 minutes. Two sunbursts managed to excel in the drifting conditions, and opened up a huge lead over the rest of the fleet. Then suddenly, the breeze filled in, gently at first, around five knots, then building very rapidly up to around 15, with a few gusts getting close to 20. Those two sunbursts proceeded to plane flat out down the run, while several of the following fleet fell over! Those that stayed upright got soaked, thanks to heavy rain just before the wind kicked in!

The breeze then settled down to a nice solid 15 knots, which held in for the rest of the time I was there.

Today I took my Laser, so was unable to get any photos.

The second race started while I was de-rigging, having broken a small but crucial fitting between races.
________________________

Later in the day, the trailer yacht winter series continued at Manukau Yacht and Motor Boat Club.

For some reason, the Noelex fleet were absent, so the fleet was five Hartley 16's and one Cherry 16.

As this was the first time in over a year we had had a chance to line the Cherry up against the Hartleys, no-one had any idea how competitive or otherwise we would be.

Unfortunately we missed the first start while helping some fellow Weymouth sailors in a Hartley with rigging problems. Sailing around before the start, cruising downwind, we were significantly slower than all the Hartleys, which was somewhat worrying.

A good start in the second race saw us just behind the top Hartleys, doing better than we suspected we would, as we rounded the first mark. The two robs, sailing in the new Hartley, were struggling to get to grips with the boat, and had fallen behind somewhat. Sailing downwind, we had speed that seemed pretty close to the boats ahead. The breeze was around 15-20 knots, so we had occasional spurts of planing, especially when we sailed a little high.

The next beat the breeze was a little higher, and we were close to matching the top boats. Again, Rob was struggling upwind in the breeze.

Back down to the finish, and although we were a small distance behind the leaders, we had all had a good day on the water, and found out a little more about our boats.

Rob's new Hartley showed moments of brilliant speed, and once they get it tuned up properly should be pretty quick. Stay tuned for more!

coming soon to some water near you.....

This weekends sailing around the southern bit of Aucks...

Saturday seems to have nothing on anywhere, but Sunday has quite a bit...

In the morning...

Pakuranga SC at Farm Cove have day two of their dinghy winter series, starting at 8:30am.

Panmure Lagoon SC have Laser winter series at 11:15am.

And in the afternoon...

Manukau YMBC has the second day of the Trailer Yacht winter series, 1pm start, two races planned.

Waiuku YC have day 3 of their winter series, also at 1pm.

French bay YC have nothing planned, so lets hope they travel to one of the other clubs.

Weymouth YC also have nothing planned, but will be seen all over the place, with several members confirmed racing at Manukau in the afternoon, and several others considering Pakuranga in the morning.

Expect clear skies, about 13-15 degrees, and around 15 knots. possibly even a few very light showers late in the day, when some cloud rolls in.

Winter sailing at Pakuranga and Manukau

This morning marked the start of the Pakuranga Sailing Club dinghy winter series, sailed at farm cove.

The fleet was mixed, with a handful of various classes, competing alongside a large number of Scout Cutters and Sunbursts.

The fastest sunburst eventually took the honours, with the breeze varying between 10 and 20 knots.

In the stronger bits, a few sailors managed to capsize, but everyone had a great day out, and looked pretty tired by the end of the second race.

Here's a few pics... Click on them to see them full-screen!

ok, More than a few!

This afternoon saw the start of the Trailer Yacht series at Manukau Yacht and Motorboat Club, which was well attended with 4 Noelex 22s, and several Hartley 16s. I was trimming on one of the Noelexs, so no time for photos, sorry.

The Noelexs proved faster today, with the top three placings on line going to them, followed closely by the top hartleys. In the first race, the first five boats finished within 100m, and the whole fleet within just a few minutes.

The second race was also a Noelex benefit, with the top two boats managing to get a slight jump on the rest, with the other Noelexs just edging out the Hartleys.

Hopefully next time, on June 24, I will be able to sail in both events.

Winter sailing around South Auckland.

Tomorrow, Sunday June 10, sees a lot of activity on both harbours.

Here's a quick rundown....

Pakuranga Sailing Club (Farm Cove) start their famous dinghy winter series at 10am.

Panmure Lagoon Sailing Club (Ireland road) have day 2 of their hugely successful Laser winter series at 11am.

Manukau YMBC (Mangere Bridge) start their Trailer Yacht winter series at 2:30 in the afternoon.

French Bay YC start their Winter series at 12noon.

Slightly outside the area, Taikata Sailing Club in Te Atatu have racing at 10:45am.

Those keen enough and organised enough could race on the Waitemata in the morning, and the Manukau in the afternoon. Which is what I hope to do.

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!

Hartley 16 sails wanted

I've had a comment left on an earlier post looking for Hartley 16 sails.

Contact the buyer directly on 0221358087 if you can help.

Thanks

A note of thanks

A special THANK-YOU to all those people who helped to make the weekend the success it was.

In no particular order...

South Auckland Glass Services - event sponsor.

Murray Boucher
Rob Kent
Simon Tidbury
Jodie Tidbury
Pete Hagglund
Codie McMaster
Danya Byrnes

Keith Sharp, for bringing most of Taikata Sailing club along to compete.

Murray and Kim for helping run the races.

Cyril, Tony and Mark, for supplying rescue boats, allowing our members to race.

All the sailors, visiting and local.

And absolutely everyone else involved with the regatta, who I either missed off my list, or don't know your names!

Thanks again.
Aaron.

Manukau Regatta - Day 2.

Today was the actual Manukau interclub Regatta, with the Manukau Shield up for grabs.

Like yesterday, the weather gods smiled on us, with near perfect conditions - hot and sunny, with a nice 10 knot breeze straight from the Tasman sea. Unlike yesterday's shifty stuff, tho', todays breeze was relatively consistent.

A keen fleet of 21 boats fronted for the first race, with teams from the host club Weymouth, and the defenders French Bay YC. The largest fleet was from Taikata SC, who were not eligible for the Manukau Shield, and instead were racing for their inaugural Frostbite Travellers trophy.

A large olympic course of a triangle and two windward leewards was the order of the day, and OOD Murray Gallagher, from Clarks Beach YC, with Kim Admore from Yachting NZ, had the fleets away nicely.

The visiting Jollyboat sailed by Rene' Vanderboert from French bay set a blistering pace, and lead Murray Boucher, from the home club, also in a Jollyboat. These two were being keenly chased by Jim Quinn sailing a Laser radial, also from FBYC. Next in the mix was a jumble of boats I couldn't keep track of from the safety boat. The lead frostbites were right up there too, enjoying the conditions, as was the Moth.

In the junior fleet, Codie McMaster (WYC) was just ahead of Max Gruebner (FBYC) both in Starlings. Next was the scout cutter, Helmed by Simon Tidbury (WYC), and several sunbursts.

Unfortunately for Murray, he had a slip-up at the final turning mark, and got overtaken by Jim, giving French Bay the top two senior placings. The Junior honours were shared between clubs, with Codie getting the better of Max.

In the Frostbite fleet, Brent Jeffries took this race, followed by Keith Sharp.

The second race was pretty similar, except that the breeze had built slightly, which allowed the Paper Tiger catamaran of Pete Hagglund to get the lead shortly after the start. Sadly for him, the breeze lightened off after a while, and the monohull dinghies got back in front.

Rob's moth had suffered undetected damage during Saturdays racing, and took on a lot of water, so he decided to sit this race out. Codie was feeling too cold to go back for the second race, so also stayed ashore.

After the racing, the results were worked out for all the divisions, and the prizes were awarded as follows:

Senior fleet - Rene Vanderboert, Jim Quinn, Brent jeffries equal first in an unprecedented three way tie.


Junior fleet - Max Gruebner 1, Simon Tidbury 2, Locquahn Tukerangi 3.

Frostbite Travelers Trophy - Keith Sharp 1, Brent Jeffries 2, Adam Fincher 3.

Manukau Shield winning club - Weymouth Yacht Club.

The entire event was sponsored by South Auckland Glass Services.