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.

Sailing Today - 8-7-2012.

This morning saw the winter series at Pakuranga SC continuing, in light, testing conditions.

In the light winds, it was the starling "Quicksilver" that got around the course quickest, living up to it's name.

Here's a few pic's of the mornings action, showing a beautiful day on the Waitemata harbour.

Click the image to see it bigger, they're in low-res, but I am happy to provide higher resolution copies on request.

Beautiful day out there!

Todays overall winner!

Gypsy

First Scout Cutter today

Close racing for second and third!

Right to the wire, 278 just crossed the line ahead of 131.

In the afternoon, sailing on the Manukau harbour, was the third day of the Manukau Yacht and Motorboat Club winter series for trailer yachts.

In the light conditions, Hartley 16's took the line honours, just edging out the top Noelex's in both races.

Conditions were really shifty, and resulted in several attempts at laying the start line, before they could get a start away.

Pic's of trailer yacht action...

The Noelex fleet approach the bottom mark.

Three of the Hartley fleet beating upwind.

And also happening at MYMBC, the youth training is going really well. Here's a few more pics.

After sailing, I took a trip out to Weymouth, to check out the work on the new slipway and jetty.

Work has only started, and it looks a bit like a building site, but here's a peek...

And thats it from me today.

Except to say that not a single Weymouth boat went racing today, we should be ashamed of ourselves!

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.

Weymouth Yacht Club Easter Regatta

Saturday April 7
Dinghy sprint race series
All sailing dinghies welcome to take part in four sprint races, in three divisions, with the top three in each division going into a mark-foy type grand final. $5 entry, or free with Sunday entry.

Sunday April 8
Manukau Regatta
Mixed fleet racing in junior, senior, and Trailer Yacht divisions, with eligible clubs competing for the Manukau Shield.
Open to members of any YNZ affiliated club. Entry $20 seniors, $10 juniors.

Food and drinks available.

Saturday participants will get a free soft drink and sausage.

Come along and join the fun.

Manukau Yacht and Motor Boat Club website

Congrats go out to MYMBC who have finally got their new website up and running.

It looks good, but has a way to go before its complete at this stage.

Check the link above to see it.

Don't forget, if you have a competitive Hartley TS16 or Noelex 22, that's the place to be.

If you have a less-competitive small trailer yacht, Weymouth might suit you more.

Either way, come the winter months and we'll all be at the Manukau anyway!

Weymouth Trailer Yacht Summer Series

Here are some proposed dates for a summer racing series for trailer yachts and bigger dinghies at Weymouth YC.

Sunday February 12 Briefing 11:30, Start 12 noon.

Sunday February 26 Briefing 11:30, Start 12 noon.

Sunday March 11 Briefing 11:30, Start 12 noon.

Sunday March 25 Briefing 11:00, Start 11:30am.

Two races each day, on one day there will be a long harbour course. Day and course to be determined according to the weather.

These should give anyone interested a decent chance to try out our local patch before the Manukau Regatta on April 8.

And don't forget we hope to have dinghy sprint races on Saturday the 7th as well, with some decent prizes up for grabs, and entry is free for Regatta participants. $5 for others. Entry includes a drink and a sausage!

Labour weekend sailing... or lack there-of!

None of the Manukau clubs have anything scheduled for this weekend, or Monday.

Early morning/late evening tides have probably put a stop to that.

One thing that could be done, subject to enthusiasm, and decent weather, is an Out and Back cruise, departing from your favourite launching place early Sunday Morning, and going out with the tide.

With a little communication and planning (eg swapping mobile phone numbers or similar), all the boats could meet up somewhere, either for a BBQ on the beach, or just raft up for a picnic, floating down the channel.

Trailer yachts would be best, as obviously the rafting-up idea wouldn't work with Lasers, but anything with a halyard could do it!

Once the tide starts to flow back in, we could all head back to where we came from.

High tide is around 7:30 am, so it's an early start from Weymouth or Mangere, but without work or school on Monday, it doesn't matter if we get back a bit late, just as long as it's daylight.

Next weekend (29/30 October, 2011) seems to be a busy one, with sailing planned at most clubs for both days.

Manukau Winter Series 28-8-2011

This Sunday see's the final races of the MYMBC trailer yacht winter series near Mangere Bridge.
Start time is 0930, so no lie-in this weekend.

Last chance for us to line the Cherry up against the Hartleys and the Quicksilver. Newly tuned, we hope for enough wind to get a decent showing. At that time of the morning it's unlikely, but we can hope.

Sunday's forecast

I haven't done much this week, and with the pending battle coming up on Sunday I thought I should put the forecast into perspective. Just in case any international readers want to know what's happening.

The average wind speed is 18-20 knots (Force 5).
The wind gusts are 26-28 knots (Force 7).

Wind direction - Southwest, which is the prevailing wind in this area. It usually feels stronger than it really is.
                           ---------------                     --------------                   -----------------

The Cherry (my boat) is 4.75 m long, 2.15 m wide, sleeps four adults, and weighs 220kg fully rigged. It has no internal ballast. The working sail area is 11.4m2.

The Quicksilver (Rob's boat) is 5m long, 2.24 m wide, also sleeps four, and weighs 408kg, with 108kg of ballast. The working sail area is 17.7m2.

Neither of us will be carrying spinnakers.

With the rig size being offset by the weight difference, its easy to see why these boats are quite closely matched in theory. IF we manage to get decent starts, then there could be quite a battle!!

I know rob spent a few hours recently tuning up ready for a windy weekend, to be faced with drifters up 'til now. I spent about an hour doing the same thing today.

Of course, tuning on the driveway is fine, but until we get on the water, I have no real idea how well it's  worked. We're pretty much ignoring the Noelex's and Hartley's, although if we happen to be close, then who knows!

Check in here Sunday Arvo to see how it all goes down.

Trailer Yacht action this weekend

This Sunday, August 14 sees the penultimate day of the MYMBC trailer yacht winter series, held near Mangere Bridge.

The action so far has been hotly contested in all conditions, with the H16s and N22s sharing the honours.

This weekend the hottest competition will be going on near the other end of the fleet, as there is a challenge taking place between the Quicksilver and the Cherry. Winner takes all!

The start time is scheduled for 1015, and there should be two races.

At this time the forecast looks great, a little overcast, but fine with 15knot winds.

Finally all my family's personal dramas are over, so we should be able to attend, and compete, at last.

Light winds on the Manukau Harbour

Todays MYMBC winter series was hotly contested between 3 Hartleys and 3 Noelexes. In the light winds of the day, the fleet was quite small.

Two races were held, with the lead changing several times in each race.

Downwind starts didn't appear to favour either class, as the poled-out Hartleys gave the kited Noelexes something to chase. A little more breeze appeared between races, but in true fashion, dropped away right before the second start.

Manukau Trailer Yacht Winter Series

Day 4 of the MYMBC trailer yacht winter series is to be held this Sunday.

Start Time 1015, All welcome.

Located at the end of Kiwi Esplanade, near Mangere Bridge.

$10 entry fee, dont forget to allow time to rig!

Fingers crossed there'll be about 12 boats, mostly 16 feet long, with a couple of Noelex 22s also battling it out!

2011 Trailer Yacht North Islands

What: NZTYA North Island Champs
When : 3 & 4 September 2011
Where : Tauranga YC


Click here for more information.

Manukau Winter Series

Today's Manukau Yacht Club trailer yacht winter series racing was held in very light drifting conditions.

Two races were planned. In the light conditions, the Hartley 16s were showing the way to the Noelex 22s.

Sadly, both Rob in the Quicksilver and myself in the Cherry were unable to attend due to personal circumstances.

Weather for the weekend

Despite the storms raging over the whole country at present, the weekend looks good.

Race time Sunday is forecast to be:

Light winds 5-7 knots from the South
Clear skies and a high of 14  degrees.

Shame the racing isn't on Saturday tho, with 20kt winds, some light cloud and 13 degrees.

The rubbish weather returns on Monday, with rain all next week.

Forecasting by Windfinder.com for Auckland Airport.

Manukau winter series

The next race of the MYMBC trailer yacht winter series is July 17, starting at 1100.

Anyone with a small trailer yacht is welcome to attend, entry fee is $10.

The fleet is mostly Hartley 16s and Noelex 22s, with a quicksilver and a cherry also in the mix.

Full bar, and food available after the racing.

Weymouth members in action.

Murray has recently informed me that in the first outing with the newly renovated Jollyboat, he and Cody managed a first and a second across the line at Pakuranga SC.

Well done guys!

Also, Murray has been spotted enjoying some hard earned racing time at Manukau YMBC, sailing on a Noelex 22 called Blue Tango.