What's happenin'

Saturday 28th:
Weymouth YC - training at 12:30pm.
French Bay YC - Training at 12 noon.
Waiuku YC - Cruising race at 1:00pm. Also beginner lessons.


Sunday 29th:
Weymouth YC - Racing at 1:15pm.
French Bay YC - Racing at 1:00pm.
Waiuku YC - Racing at 1:30pm. Also beginner lessons.

East coast....

Panmure Lagoon SC has racing at 11:30am on Sunday.

Pakuranga SC has racing at 11:00am

Trailer Yachts:

Manukau YMBC starts Series C  at 2:30pm Sunday.

Monday is the Auckland Anniversary Day Regatta, There is class racing at most clubs on the Waitemata, plus Waka Ama racing, plus One Metre class racing. I think this is still officially the biggest one-day regatta in the southern hemisphere, but cant be sure!

Google it to find out where your class is racing!

Another great day at Weymouth

Another great days fun racing was had by all at WYC today.

A small but quality fleet of seven boats fronted to start the first race, in 20+ degrees, flat water, and fresh 12-15 knot winds.

We had a couple of Sunbursts, a Paper Tiger cat, and one each of Starling, Topper, Frostbite, and NZ Moth. On paper it should have been an easy win for Pete in the cat, followed by Rob in the moth, and then it would be anyone's guess to pick the finishing order, as all the rest of the fleet share the same handicap.

In practise it was a different story, as a windward-leeward course was set, to minimise the cat's advantage.

In the first race, Keith in the frostbite and Murray in the sunburst took advantage of some race-rust on the part of the other competitors, and got a jump right off the startline. Rob took a quick dip a second after crossing the start, as the moth tried to shed it's rider. The others all had to play catch-up from then on.

Around the first mark, Keith had a small lead over Murray, with Angela in the Starling up in third, and Gina in the Topper close behind in fourth. With a big downwind leg ahead, it looked like the battle of the girls was about to get interesting, but as Gina gybed, the kicking strap tore out of the mast, so her race was done. Rob in the Sunburst and Pete in the PT were next, followed by Rob in the Moth.

For the rest of the race, the order didn't really change, except for Pete finding the gas pedal, and pulling through to third place, just ahead of Angela.

In the second race, the start was much more hotly contested,with Rob K, Angela, Murray, and Keith all crossing the line right on the gun. Murray got his nose in front just before the top mark, and had a big battle with Keith, and Rob, to hold on to the lead. Angela couldn't quite keep up with these three in the conditions, but stayed pretty close. The moth grew its wings in this one, and although Murray did his best, Rob flew past, and got into second, as Keith just got the win.

A third race was started, but no official results were recorded. On the water, it was the PT just heading off the Frostbite, with the Sunburst and Moth close behind. Rob L, in the other sunburst, and Angela in the Starling both had involuntary dips courtesy of a windy flat run.

After the sailing, everyone was smiling ear to ear, and vowed to return.

Things are looking up, with the fleet slowly building in size, and beautiful sailing conditions. Come on down and join the fun - you can even get a fizzy drink and choccy bar afterward!

Next weekends sailing

Saturday 10 Dec 2011
Waiuku YC racing 10am - Queen of the waves.
Weymouth YC training 9:45am


Sunday 11 Dec 2011
French Bay racing 10am
Manukau YMBC racing 11am - Memorial cup.
Waiuku YC Racing 10am
Weymouth YC racing 10am

Lets hope for good weather, for once the tide is in our favour!

Weymouth sailing today

Hot weather and hot action were the key topics for todays sailing at Weymouth.

Sunbursts, a Topper and a Beachcomber made up the fleet.

Proving the "handicappers of old" correct, the Topper managed to keep close to the quicker Sunburst, and well ahead of the slower one.

At the end of the long beat, the Sunburst was easily out in front of the Beachcomber, with the Topper a way back in third. On the downwind run home, the Topper rapidly made up ground, closing the gap on the other two boats before the finish, but not quite enough to get past.

Here's a couple of pics from afterward - sorry, my camera stays on dry land!

Love that sky!

The makings of a good racing fleet happening here! 

Members from other clubs with Sunbursts, Starlings or boats of similar speed - if your club has nothing on, check our website, and feel free to join us for a day.

Hot action on the water

Today saw a mixture of training and racing at Weymouth YC.

Initially Shannon was getting some one on one coaching in an Oppi, while the other sailors cruised around enjoying the weather.

Once the training was over, a few short races were held, over some windward leeward courses.

The blue Seascout Sunburst, after further tuning, proved to be the secret weapon, winning all its races with relative ease. It appeared to be faster than the Starlings, and the Beachcomber, in the 10-15 knot wind range, in all directions, even downwind without a spinnaker.

Unfortunately we did not have any other sunbursts for comparison today, but everyone involved thought it was going very well.

We have no sailing scheduled for Labour Weekend, however if the weather is good some of us will probably get out on at least one day.

Sunburst fun

Todays training session with the Weymouth Scouts was abandoned, which gave Murray and me a chance to tune the clubs red Sunburst, and the Scouts freshly refurbished blue one.

After a brief tuning session ashore, a course was set, and off we went.

The blue boat lead the way after the initial beat, although this was more due to the red boat being out of phase with the light and patchy wind. A mile of downwind running and the gap had not changed measurably.

Turning back upwind, it was immediately obvious that the blue boat had rather bad lee helm, requiring significant heel to balance things up.

The red boat showed much better height in the light conditions, although the speed seemed very similar.

After a short while, the red boat had got her nose in front, and the boats separated, one to each side of the channel, both trying to avoid the tide. The red boat then hooked into some better breeze, and pulled out a huge lead, while the blue boat sat becalmed.

At the final mark, before turning for home, the gap was around 5 minutes, and it stayed about the same all the way back downwind to the finish.

Back ashore, a little more rake was added to the mast of the blue boat, then we went back out for another go.

This time the boat felt much better, although the height was still lacking. A short beat put the red boat well ahead again.

The top batten in the blue boat was far too stiff, basically a straight line. I will be sanding it down tonight, and if I can find a tuning guide, will set it to the correct tension. This should help the leech of the sail to hook up a lot better, giving additional height and power.

Tomorrow is scheduled to be a racing day, so we shall see how it performs then. There's also meant to be a bit more wind.

Upcoming Manukau Harbour Sailing - 15 & 16 October 2011

Because sailing matters....


Saturday 15.

Weymouth training day starts 11:00

Waiuku YC opening day starts 12:00 - part of icebreaker.

Sunday 16.

Weymouth club day starts 11:45

French Bay opening day starts 12:00

Waiuku YC champs series starts 12:30 - icebreaker continues.

Manukau YMBC Summer series A starts 13:00 - Trailer Yachts.

And PLSC begins their Summer Series at 10:00 - during the summer season I will not be posting their regular events on here, or the Weymouth website, as they are not a Manukau Club, however I will publicise any larger events, such as the RSA regatta.

Todays sailing at Weymouth

Awesome sunny but calm weather and flat water gave a fantastic start to our sailing season.

Sailing a basic windward-leeward course, Gina in the Topper lead Murray in the Sunburst and Rob in the Laser at the end of the first near-drifting downwind leg. On the beat back to the finish, the Laser streaked past, opening up a sizable lead. Gina then hit the reef out in front of the clubhouse, allowing Murray to gain the advantage, which he held to the finish.

Simon ran the rescue boat, which was a very restful experience in the conditions.

Everyone really enjoyed themselves, and we are all looking forward to next weekend.

Come  on down and join in the fun any weekend through the Summer, lessons and training take place on Saturdays - our boats or yours. Casual mixed fleet racing or cruising happens every Sunday. The website and this blog are frequently updated, keeping you informed of what's on.

Upcoming sailing October 8/9 2011

Weymouth Yacht Club is sailing on Sunday, 9am start. All welcome.

Nothing scheduled for Panmure LSC or Manukau YMBC.

French Bay have Starling training both days.

Waiuku and Clarks Beach have nothing advertised.

Easter weekend.

We will be holding an invitational sprint race series on Saturday April 7, before the Manukau Regatta on April 8.

The regatta will probably follow the normal format of 2 or 3 old school olympic triangle races.

The Sprint series will be run on a new innovative idea that hasn't been tried before, but will certainly work up a sweat if there's wind. And thats just the race officer!!

If I have my way, Sprint entry will be included free with Regatta entry, or $5 just for the one event.

Todays sailing cancelled

Todays sailing at Weymouth has been cancelled due to the weather.

With the wind blowing between 20 and 35 knots, this seems the best course of action, especially considering that it is the season opener, and why risk breaking stuff on the first day.

The season starts here, whats on next weekend.

Upcoming events, Weekend of 1 & 2 October 2011.

Saturday:

Weymouth Yacht Club training day. Start time 12 noon.
FBYC working bee at 10am.

Sunday:

Weymouth Yacht Club opening day. Start time 2pm. All welcome.
PLSC handicap series continues, 11am start.

Things to note....

New and prospective members always welcome at all Weymouth Yacht Club events. We offer coaching for all levels from beginners right up to advanced race training. Free boat hire for members too!

Come on down and meet the team.

Click the link at the top of the page, go to www.sportsground.co.nz/weymouthyacht, or just turn up on the day. Even though we use the whole building, on most days we tend to be downstairs, so check down the hill if you cant  find us. or call me, Aaron, on 021 260 9822.

What happened today.....

Big wind, big waves, and, you guessed it, NO SAILING!!

Todays MYMBC trailer yacht racing was cancelled due to 40+ knot winds.

So, in conditions deemed foolhardy and dangerous in big-ish boats, I was itching to go out sailing. so I did.

I dragged my laser out from the back yard, and went out for a blast with a cut-down sail on, which meant that I shouldn't suffer any damage.

While rigging, a savage squall came through, and I almost changed my mind, but then the sun shone through, and with 30-something knots I launched.

Awesome sailing, just blasting back and forth, jumping waves.

Then the breeze died away to around 15, and it was time to come in.

Still Buzzing, it's been a while!

Instructors course

There are still spaces available for the sailing instructor's course on August 14/15.
Cost is $135 all up.
Venue is Clarks Beach.

I'm going! because my RYA cert is out of date and I keep forgetting to send it back to england!

YNZ listing update

I have sent the club information form off to YNZ for Weymouth Yacht Club.
Hopefully the directory information will be updated soon.

Sail Training at Weymouth - Manukau Sailing- Sailing Lessons.

I intend to run beginners race training over the winter months, most likely on Saturday afternoons.

The course will be based around the proven RYA Start Racing syllabus, with topics including starting, upwind, downwind, marks, rules, and finishing.

I will also cover the 5 essentials, which are the things that separate experts from the rest.

email watersports@instruction.com to register your interest now!