BREEZE SPRING 2023

BREEZE

Official Publication of the Royal New Zealand Yacht Squadron

If you are ready to experience the amazing journey of building your own boat, come and talk to us.

Photography by Lloyd Stevenson

EDITORIAL

Please address all editorial correspondence to the Editor, Ivor Wilkins ivorw@xtra.co.nz

Phone 09 425 7791

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inklink@xtra.co.nz

Phone 09 378-1222.

DISCLAIMER

The views and opinions expressed in this magazine are purely those of the authors and are not necessarily the official view of the RNZYS, nor of the publishers.

PERMISSION

Reproduction rights in part or in full of the contents of this publication must be applied for from the Editor.

DEADLINES For Summer 2023 Issue

Now 4 seasonal issues per year

Cover: Keryn McMaster flanked by her daughters, Lexi Henderson (left) and Zoe Henderson at the Women’s Day Out regatta –Chris Cameron Photo

GRATEFULLY ACKNOWLEDGES THE SUPPORT OF

MAJOR PARTNERS

SUPPORTING PARTNERS

TRUSTS / NON-PROFIT PARTNERS

FROM THE COMMODORE

Andrew Aitken

Who would have thought that I have been Commodore for a year already – what a year it has been. Shortly after it began, we appointed a new General Manager and started the rollercoaster ride that became our club ‘Reset’. This has continued right through the year and still continues as we focus on rebuilding your club.

With much of the bad news behind us, there is a lot continuing to happen to ensure your club turns around and moves towards delivering a break-even trading result. We have a great team together with new accounting, information and member communications systems, a revised sailing programme, and new food & beverage offerings.

You will know we are also reviewing our ownership of the land and buildings occupied by Kawau Boating Club along with our membership structure to encourage younger members and more participation by the local community. We are also looking at our governance structure to ensure that it continues to be fit for purpose.

The real key to a successful Reset has to be building an offering of on- and off-water offerings and event programmes that appeal to members. While much has happened, we still need you to come down and be part of your club. The more you get involved as a participant or volunteer, the more people you will know and the more you will feel at home in your place.

Two key offerings that build future membership and the future of yachting are our youth and adult learn-to-sail programmes. The recent David Innes Memorial event for Mastercard Youth Training Programme members was a great opportunity to put YTP members together with a number of alumni as they raced NZ Sailing Trust vessels Lion NZ and Steinlager 2 around the Hauraki Gulf. This event was real evidence that YTP has built long-term club membership for some, and the number of Learn-to-Sail participants who now own boats that race with RNZYS is also a testament to the value this service offers.

Recent successful events for members include various tasting evenings, quiz nights, the Cruising Dinner, the first All Blacks game, and the list goes on. We are now at that point where we move from winter sailing to the summer programme with all the good things that an El Nino summer should bring. This year we are also looking to encourage launch owners and cruisers who don’t race to join the various Cruising Division beach events around the inner Gulf.

Personally, I’m really looking forward to the promised great summer. As Commodore, you will see me competing in the summer sailing programme. I will be crewing on Wednesday nights and racing my own boat, Favourite, in the Commodore’s Cup and Cruising Division events. I am also planning to do the Three Kings Race two-handed.

Other events to look forward to are the Ocean Globe Race and SailGP coming to town, and our own Christmas Race on December 20.

They say ‘Life is what you make it’ – so is your club. Please don’t be a stranger. Come and make the most of it. Please also remember us if you are arranging a meeting, a party or any sort of event, large or small – or, just come sailing!

FROM THE General Manager

Sarah Wiblin

About the time that this magazine hits the post and is sent to our members I will be celebrating one year as your General Manager. This past year has been filled with challenges, and while I was expecting plenty of them when I signed on for this role, it would be fair to say that for not only myself, but the Flag Officers and the General Committee the year has had more challenges than expected, and complicated ones too.

Both the incoming General Committee and I inherited a range of issues that needed attention, from infrastructure improvements to financial stability, and internal organizational changes. However, I was confident that with the unwavering support of our members and the hard work of the incredible team of staff, and our engaged committees, we could overcome these challenges. I am proud to say we have made great progress.

We have spent much time in the past year communicating with members on our challenges, so I won’t touch on these again. Instead, I would like to mention some of the great things that we have achieved and have planned, starting with the Women’s Day Out in August.

This event was an idea that came together over a glass of wine with friends, and it was truly special to see it unfold with over 200 women enjoying a day of sailing, great food, friendship and making memories. To have so many of the participants reach out in the days after the event and want to immediately sign up again for next year – was a great compliment to what was a brilliant day. Save the date for August 24th, 2024.

The new total IT system, which we refer to as the Ecosystem solution, is being implemented and is a massive step forward for our club. This encompasses Xero as our Finance System, Hello Club as our membership management tool, Clarity for our event management, Mailchimp

for our communications and Swiftpos for our point-of-sale solution; it is already paying dividends. The speed of access to information, the simplification of our processes, and the improvements in our offering to members that are already being seen from this system are game changing, and I can’t wait to be fully operational with more aspects coming on stream shortly.

Our events and food & beverage offering continues to evolve and improve and it has been great to receive fabulous feedback from our members.The new Summer Menu launches in the Members’ Bar in a few weeks’ time. I have had the privilege of sampling some of these items and they are delicious. The regular RNZYS Tasting Series has been a great hit with members, and the Rum, Gin and Church Road Wine Tasting Events have confirmed that our members have a strong appetite for this style of event – so watch this space for more.

The launch of Lighthouse is another exciting milestone as we work to evolve our member offerings and diversify our revenue streams. Lighthouse will provide a range of coffee, cabinet food, real fruit ice cream and other delights for our members and the wider public, and is located at the eastern end of the Dinghy Locker facing onto the North Lawn. I know that as Ryan, Sam and I head down to the boat, we will be popping in for coffee and a takeaway lunch and it will be hard to resist an ice cream as we come off the water. I encourage all members to stop by to check it out soon!

And then I come to sailing. I’m pleased we have a Category 2 Race - the Three Kings Race on the calendar for April, and our reset sailing offering for the coming season should see some great events and new plans to continue to improve in this space. Our Mastercard Youth Training Programme and Performance Programme are well underway and it is great to see these numbers growing.

As we head into the summer season, I am particularly excited about the calendar of on-water activities planned, and am confident that they will bring our members together in a spirit of camaraderie and competition. Our clubhouse will once again be abuzz with activity, and I can’t wait to see the vibrancy that defines the RNZYS in full swing.

I want to take a moment to express my gratitude to all of you for your support, patience, and dedication throughout this past year. Your passion for sailing, love for the RNZYS, and willingness to be a part of our journey have been instrumental in our progress.

While there is still work to be done, I am optimistic and excited about the future. Together, we have navigated through challenging waters, and the horizon ahead looks brighter than ever.

Thank you for your continued trust and support. Here’s to an exciting and prosperous summer at the Squadron! Fair winds, lots of sunshine, and following seas.

Sarah

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Just go: Geoff Thorpe exhorts cruisers to push off

At the annual Cruising Dinner in September, The Quarterdeck Restaurant was buzzing with friendly chatter as RNZYS members, friends and family gathered for dinner and to listen to entertaining speaker Geoff Thorpe relate his passion for cruising a catamaran around the world. “Just push off and take one leg at a time, just go!” was his mantra, “and before you know it you’ll be thousands of miles from home.”

As a proud member for 42 years, the Squadron burgee flying from Salanjo’s starboard shroud required regular replacement as the winds

tested the fabric’s endurance, even blowing a hole through the middle! This was far from the worst of Geoff’s mishaps caused by inclement weather while cruising.

Once, when a wave took out all the nav gear in the middle of the night, Geoff was able to fire up Navionics, which proved to be a capable back-up on more than one occasion. “A big advantage of a catamaran is that you have two of everything.” Geoff said this was a big help when doing repairs and maintenance on the go.

Solanjo’s world voyage took in historic villages basking in the sun (above) and spectacular anchorages in the shadow of mountains (below).

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Geoff’s scariest experience was a lightning storm off Indonesia, which took out every chip which operates all electronic systems on board. He was about to throw in the towel and return home, but decided better of it and elected to replace everything. Ever since (especially returning to New Zealand from Fiji in November last year) he has been very aware of approaching storms, electing to significantly alter course to avoid their passage overhead.

A new season of cruising is imminent, and we are all looking forward to more sunshine and enjoyable boating weather. The Cruising Committee would like to also encourage launch owners to join us at our destinations for the sharing of stories, friendship, and promoting RNZYS by flying your burgee with pride. Look for the PIC and RNZYS flags ashore and join the new WhatsApp group to keep in communication. Remember to bring your reusable beverage vessels for drinks ashore, and a bucket for the beach clean with prizes thanks to Ecostore.

As our first PIC Insurance Brokers Cruising and Motor Yacht Series is quickly approaching, now is the time enter online via rnzys.org.nz or at RNZYS Reception for the series of six cruising events, and don’t forget about the Easter Rally!

Dates:

2023 – October 28, November 11, December 2

2024 – February 17, March 16, April 20

Colin Forbes Easter Rally March 29 – 31

Sheryl Lanigan

Geoff Thorpe (above) regaling a rapt Cruising Division audience (top) with tales of his adventures on the catamaran Solanjo

RNZYS SAILING REPORT

What a winter it has been, we are so pleased to have got through the Doyle Sails Winter Series with nine of 10 races completed; only one race was abandoned and a very challenging last race was sailed. The series saw a great turnout of boats entered for the full series – over 80 entries across 10 divisions with some races having well over 100 participate.

Congratulations to all of this season’s divisional winners on handicap including: Mr Kite II, Georgia One, Bizarre, Fast Company, Vellamo, Touch of Gloss, Flash Gordon, Go, Magic Dragon and Ariki

With thanks to Doyle Sails, the SailGP Auckland VIP Grand Prize Draw winner was also announced at the prizegiving ceremony. Congratulations to Murray Deeble, who has won two special passes to the Adrenalin Lounge for this exciting event in March 2024.

As per tradition, the Havana Club Rum Race Series ended with colour and laughter at the Circus Party. It made a nice change for this series too with so many evenings of sunshine and settled weather – the perfect way to end your work week on the water with some social racing.

We are now looking forward to the summer sailing season; after Opening Day on September 30, we are straight into it! The full club sailing calendar with Notice of Races and links to enter is available online rnzys.org.nz, and there is a WhatsApp group set up for each series. We encourage you to join via the QR code below. Some key points to note include:

The Summer Series Havana Club Rum Race start time during daylight savings time is now 5:00pm.

The Barfoot & Thompson Women’s Series will be sailed fortnightly on a Thursday, and in a new format with more opportunities for women to learn, improve and enjoy competitive sailing.

PIC have come on board as sponsor for our fortnightly Tuesday Sprint Series for the MRX & Elliott 7’s – thank you PIC for your continued support.

The Doyle Sails Wednesday Series starts on October 11 and remains our biggest series of the summer, and of course the 36 Degrees

Brokers Commodores Cup, PIC Cruising Series, Gold Cup, CBRE Club Champs and more continue in tradition as per years previous.

If you are competing in multiple series throughout the year, you will want to consider the Squadron Boat Pass – a simple way to pay all of your entry fees for $950 at one time –which could save you $500 over the year. Now is the time to book a learn to sail course – we have new options for womenonly and for during the school holidays. Share this link with your friends and family: www. learntosailnz.com.

We are really looking forward to seeing members and supporters from over the years come together for the YTP Reunion Regatta and Party on November 11. Whether you’re a past or current participant, sponsor or general enthusiast of the programme, please come help us fundraise for the future of the Mastercard Youth Training Programme. We need your help to keep evolving the programme to do more epic things like the recent 24-hour David Innes Memorial Challenge on board Steinlager 2 and Lion NZ

We are also looking forward to playing host to the Ocean Globe Race when it arrives in to Auckland in December. Marking the 50th anniversary of the first Whitbread, this eight-month adventure around the world for “ordinary sailors” on “normal yachts” will depart Cape Town on 5th November, and RNZYS member Ryder Williams will be racing. Please get on the water and enjoy the nostalgia when these boats and Ryder arrive midDecember.

The RNZYS Race Committee does a great service to members on station and attending to race flags in all seasons yearround.

Some other upcoming special dates to mark on your calendar now:

• A new Combined Clubs Rum Race December 1. We look forward to co-hosting with our neighbour clubs for an epic night on the water to be remembered!

• Sundowner Beach Party at Motuihe Island December 2. This social afternoon is one to enjoy a BBQ, music and games on the beach.

• Christmas Race December 20, the last race of the year before the holiday break. Come and celebrate the Festive Season with your friends and family!

• January 12 will be another special rum race in celebration of the Ocean Globe Race before they depart Auckland on January 14. You’ll want to mark your cruising calendar now to be back in time for that spectacle.

• Lastly, the Corporate Regatta will now be held on March 7, 2024.

See you on the water, Georgia, Brooke, Zak, Emily and the team of on-water volunteers.

The RNZYS has set up new WhatsApp groups across the full sailing calendar, which members can join via this QR Code. Scan the code on your phone to join the RNZYS WhatsApp Community.

Podium finish for RNZYS crew at New York Invitational

By Will Reid, Photos by Daniel Forster

The first and only rule for the regatta was simple: have fun. When you’re enjoying yourself, you naturally go faster, and the results follow. In a very competitive Corinthian fleet at the Rolex New York Yacht Club Invitational Cup, this mindset is essential.

As the youngest crew in the fleet of 19 teams representing yacht clubs from all over the world, we adopted this formula and managed to get 3rd overall, just 1pt behind 2nd place; we also won the Resolute Trophy for the best non-American team.

It says a lot that the entire crew, including coach Alex Dyet and special brief guest appearance bonus coach Chris Steele, are graduates of the Royal New Zealand Yacht Squadron Mastercard Youth Training Programme.

Well, that was deliberate. When I got the opportunity to organise and lead the team back in early 2022, I recall discussing with Commodore Andrew Aitken that an essential criterion for participating in the crew to represent RNZYS was to be a graduate of the world-renowned YTP.

A couple of the 2023 crew had done the event before in 2019 when we finished 12th. In an impressive fleet, this was a creditable first-time result (the 2021 event had no Australasian teams).

But we’re also hyper-competitive Kiwi yachties, and coming into this edition, it left us with a point to prove.

So when I called Josh Salthouse in February 2022, we had a good chat about how essential it was for us to go again and give a better account of ourselves.

The line-up in the end comprised Andrew Clarke (bow), Byron Van Vugt (mast), Will Reid (pit), Bex Costello (downwind trim)Anna Merchant (upwind trim), Jordan Stevenson (helm), Harry Hull (runners, strategy, moding) and Josh Salthouse (tactics).

Started in 2009 in Swan 42s, the regatta is a biennial event hosted by the New York Yacht Club at its Harbour Court Clubhouse in Newport, Rhode Island. It’s restricted to entirely amateur teams representing yacht clubs from around the world.

In 2019, the club commissioned 20 IC37s to replace the Swans. Suffice to say, it’s some of the most competitive one design racing around, and it’s the best regatta in which I’ve ever been lucky enough to participate.

Arriving in Newport, we took full advantage of the four practice days as coach Alex Dyet took us through a checklist of manoeuvres, scenarios and modes.

From the get-go, the team was slick and kept getting better throughout the event. We did have a couple of tough races, but going into the last day, we were sitting in third and needing some lucky dice to get us into the top spot.

With a hurricane brewing, the regatta had been shortened, but the

The New Zealand flag flew prominently throughout the highly competitive regatta.

approaching storm brought some breeze after what had been a largely light and shifty event. With only one race on the final day, a very tight battle ensued for the top honours, which ended up with San Diego Yacht Club coming out on top, followed Corinthian Yacht Club 2nd and RNZYS 3rd.

We’d like to extend our thanks to the New York Yacht Club for their gracious hosting and vision in initiating this event. Also to our sponsors, Zhik, Barkers and Max, North Sails, Brand.it Kiwi, ID Sign Ltd and Live Sail Die.

An enormous thank you, too, to the RNZYS, and in particular to the

Sailing Committee for the trust it placed in us. We’re sorry that we didn’t get the top prize, but we’re working on that.

Newport feels like our second home in no small part due to the fantastic people who extended us kindness and generous hospitality. It is one of the best places in the world. We’re already planning to come back and give it another crack. It would be rude not to, right?

Above: Cutting it fine, the NZ port-tack crew squeeze past a starboard-tack opponent in the heat of battle.

Below: Smartly outfitted by Barker and Max sponsors, the Kiwi contingent collect their silverware.

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It’s back to the future for Youth Programme

As part of an exciting rebuild for the future, the Mastercard Youth Training Programme is circling back 35 years to the foundations that made it a formidable force in New Zealand yachting.

“It is a bit like a new beginning,” confirms coach Zak Merton, who adds that the current intake of students is highly motivated and working really well.

“They are buzzing about it, even organising their own extra training sessions and asking me to come out and help where possible.”

As part of this rebuild, Harold Bennett – who established the programme with Past Commodore Richard Endean in 1987 following New Zealand’s first foray into the America’s Cup – has agreed to return in a mentoring role.

“We are lucky with the strength and reputation the programme has built over the years,” says Merton. “This provides a lot of good people we can lean on, but Harold is obviously the guy who established it in the first place and had the initial ideas of what it should look like.

“It is great that I can use him as a sounding board to bounce ideas off. He can provide clarity and back-up for what I am doing on shore and on the water, and help give direction.”

Following an approach from Vice Commodore Gillian Williams and her husband, Nathan, who is a programme graduate, Bennett agreed to meet with Merton.

“We had a long conversation,” Bennett confirms. “I told Zak about the whole thought process behind the programme when it was originally set up and also passed on a lot of data I had accumulated.

“It is definitely not about me standing over Zak all the time. It is about working alongside him and being a sounding board.”

Bennett believes there has been a drift away from the core role of producing high performance sailors and more towards a learn-to-sail school.

“Right from the beginning we set goals for what we wanted to

achieve in international racing and we succeeded within the first couple of years,” he recalls.

“It was about the fundamentals of educating young sailors about the whole process of campaigning. It is not about just stepping on the boat, sailing from 9 to 4 and heading off to the pub.

“It is about discipline, preparation, checking and maintaining every part of the boat and equipment, debriefing after every session, figuring out what worked and what didn’t, how to do better.

“Those were the reasons why international teams snapped up people who had come through the Squadron programme. They were not just good sailors. They knew their way around boats and how to look after them and had learned the disciplines of campaigning.”

Post Covid, the programme saw a significant decline in participation, but Merton says it is building back. “We are noticing good retention. Students are getting their friends to come along and join, so we are back in a growth phase,” he says.

And he is expecting the new fleet of Elliott 7s donated by Emirates Team New Zealand will add to the momentum. The boats are being built by McConaghy in China, with whom ETNZ has an existing relationship through the AC40 project.

“Since we launched the first fleet of E7s, about 10 other clubs have followed suit,” Merton says. “There has been a bit of refinement over the years. Our new boats will incorporate all those changes, plus a couple of details we have added, so they will be the very latest version.

“They will start arriving early next year and we expect to move through the commissioning phase quite quickly.”

Meanwhile, the existing fleet will be taken over by Bucklands Beach Yacht Club. “That is great,” says Merton, “because it opens up the possibility of bigger youth events in Auckand in future.

“We could have 20 boats competing in a gold and silver fleet situation, moving through to a 10-boat final.”

The replacement of the Elliott 7 fleet, courtesy of Emirates Team New Zealand, is expected to add impetus to a rebuild of the Mastercard Youth Programme which includes founding coach Harold Bennett returning in a mentoring role.

Life lessons offshore on YTP Big Boat event

By Ella Sagnol

Over 24 hours on the weekend of September 9-10, 25 Mastercard Youth Training Programme sailors competed in the Inaugural David Innes Memorial Challenge, which took them nonstop around a 200nm offshore course aboard two former Whitbread maxi yachts.

Split between the NZ Sailing Trust’s two iconic former Whitbread Race yachts, Lion NZ and Steinlager 2, the youth sailors were mentored by YTP alumni Nathan Williams, Claudia Pierce, Toby Scoones, Damon Joliffe, Andy Pilcher, Zak Merton, Brooke Adamson and Josh Tucker, who have thousands of offshore miles racing experience between them.

The challenge course took them around Rangitoto, Channel Island, Cuvier, Great Barrier, Little Barrier, The Mokohinau Islands and the Hen and Chicks before finishing in front of the RNZYS at approximately 1030 on Sunday 10 September.

Making a change from their usual weekend sailing aboard the Elliott 7’s, the sailors took charge of all roles on board including helming, trimming, navigation, meal planning and preparation, giving sailors as young as 15 years old a glimpse into the challenges and pleasures of offshore racing.

For James West, sailing aboard Lion NZ was a unique opportunity to experience firsthand some of the stories his father told about racing in the 1985-86 Whitbread Round the World Race. He explains: “My Dad raced against this yacht. He was part of the Digby Taylor’s crew of NZI

Enterprise. It’s cool being aboard Lion NZ and imagining what it must have been like for him and the crew.”

Lucky for James and the rest of the young RNZYS members, they didn’t experience a dismasting, which was NZI Enterprise’s fate during her third leg of the race.

Marin Armstrong revelled at the opportunity to test his foredeck skills and didn’t hesitate to get involved up on the pointy end over the weekend. Marin reflects on the physical challenges of offshore racing: “Your body has to be always ready to work, one minute you’re sitting on deck late at night, maybe there’s not too much happening and you’re feeling tired, then all of a sudden you’re up grinding, or changing sails.”

Jamie Kwong enjoyed the experience so much he has now expressed interest in volunteering for NZ Sailing Trust.

Whilst the boats were blessed with fair winds and calm seas, not all the crew were spared their first bout of seasickness out in the deeper waters of the Hauraki Gulf.

For many aboard, this was their first time sailing through the night, but they took it all in their stride. Back on the dock on Sunday afternoon, Nathan Williams provided sage advice to the young sailors: “Don’t let seasickness deter you. It’s just a part of offshore racing. You may overcome it, or you may not, but you’ll learn how to manage it!”

Upon disembarking after the voyage YTP Sailor Ella Arnold thanked the crew of NZ Sailing Trust and remarked on how special this

experience was. “Not many of us have even set foot on a yacht like this, let alone had the opportunity to take the helm.”

“The event was a huge success” said RNZYS General Manager Sarah Wiblin. “It would be great to integrate it into the programme’s annual calendar as it gives our sailors the skills necessary to bridge the gap between Elliott 7 sailing and Squadron races like the Commodores Cup, or distance events such as the PIC Coastal Classic or Three Kings Race.”

This event was made possible by a generous bequest made from former RNZYS General Committee member David Innes, and was a

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wonderful way to honour his memory. David joined the Squadron in 1979 and was an active member of the Cruising Division with his Lotus 10.6 Break free

He also played an active role with the Kawau Island Boating Club and towards the end of his life made a big contribution to the reorganisation of the RNZYS Peter Cornes Memorial Library.

• Members interested in making similar bequests to support particular RNZYS activities are encouraged to visit the website www.rnzys.org.nz/ donations, or email legacy@rnzys.org.nz

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YTP Sailors Mario Paliotto (helm), from left; Sam Scott, Austin Candlish, Andrew Wight and YTP Alumni Damon Jolliffe aboard Steinlager 2.

Brooke Adamson aboard Lion NZ with YTP graduate Andy Pilcher (foreground).

Keeping the show on the road – Cook Island mission overcomes setbacks and makes a contribution

Adaptability in overcoming challenges to keep the show on the road became a big part of Barry Martin’s second expedition to Rarotonga with his Bizzarre crew to participate in a fun regatta racing Cook Island vaka. This followed a similar visit last year when Bizzarre won a draw at the RNZYS prizegiving.

They enjoyed that experience so much that they decided to go again this year. Not only did they pay their own way this time, but they also organised sails and materials to donate to the local fleet.

Even before the nine-day adventure began, circumstances forced two crew to retire with injuries. “There was going to be six of us, but we went with Dagmar Bellamy, Sue Histen and Dave Hart,” says Martin, who serves on the RNZYS General Committee.

The weather in Rarotonga was cooler than usual and the wind blustery around 15 knots but squally and shifty. The RNZYS crew got caught out many times, but at least the water was warm.

Vaka are locally designed 5.5m plywood outrigger sailing craft that are blistering fast on a reach. Quick to accelerate, they require dexterity and balance to keep them upright.

“The first day sailing was a practice day and we had a sail up the Rarotongan coast heading southwest from Muri Beach Lagoon,” says Barry.

Further crew reshuffling was required when Dave Hart had to withdraw from further participation after injuring his back during the practice session.

Martin quickly recruited a substitute when he had a chance encounter with a friend at the Rarotonga Sailing Club, which hosts the event. “But,” says Martin, “he found the boats a bit of a handful, so we got local kids from the yacht club to crew, which was very cool.”

Over the next two days of racing, three teams representing the Rarotonga Sailing Club, a New Zealand Northland crew and the RNZYS competed with the RSC taking out the championship once again.

“The following Saturday was a club day for the RSC with a blessing for some training

Optimist-type dinghies and an opportunity to get some more local children out sailing the vakas,” says Martin.

“There was plenty of breeze and the kids had an absolute blast getting soaked, wide grins and shrieks of delight all round.”

Supported by Doyle Sails, Plywood City, electrical and data suppliers J.A. Russell Ltd and Prolectrics, Martin and his Bizzarre crew arrived bearing gifts of four complete sets of vaka sails – comprising Idle Along mainsails and 420 jibs – and sheets of plywood for vaka repair and maintenance.

Martin also acknowledged Rarotonga Sailing Club and Muri Lagoon Lodge and Cottage for putting the event together and hosting the RNZYS team.

Barry Martin and local kids rigged up and ready to go in Rarotonga.

He’s been picked to crew on the Cape Town-to-Auckland leg of the Ocean Globe Race

Of all the people following the Ocean Globe Race around the world, it is probably safe to say few are paying closer attention than Mastercard Youth Training Programme graduate Ryder Williams, who has been selected to join one of the yachts for the 7,400 mile leg from Cape Town to Auckland.

The race, which recreates and celebrates the spirit and conditions of the first Whitbread Round the World Race 50 years ago, started on September 10 from Southampton.

It includes an opportunity for a youth sailor to join race organiser Don McIntyre’s Swan 57, Explorer, on the leg finishing in his or her home port. For the Auckland leg, Ryder was “pretty excited” to be selected for the coveted slot.

Ryder has sailing in his blood. He was born in Valencia, Spain while his father, Olympic and grand prix sailor Carl, was competing in the America’s Cup for the BMW Oracle Racing Team.

“I have been sailing since I was a one-year-old,” says Ryder, “and have completed many miles at sea with my family aboard our Davidson 55, Emotional Rescue.”

Ryder’s grandmother is Penny Whiting MBE, who was the first woman (with Rachel Upton) admitted as a member of the RNZYS and, at this year’s AGM became the first woman to receive Life Membership for her

contribution to sail training in Auckland. His great aunt, Debbie Whiting, was the first woman elected as a member of the RNZYS General Committee and was also honoured with a Service Award at this year’s AGM.

Ryder’s application received strong support from Zak Merton, RNZYS Performance Sailing Manager and Youth Programme coach, who spoke of his infectious “can-do attitude” and maturity beyond his years. Brian Petersen, owner of V5, and Guy Endean, boat captain of the Melges 40, Menace, also backed the application.

“The passage from Cape Town to Auckland will absolutely be the

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Ryder Williams off to join the Ocean Globe Race – Debbie Whiting Photo.

longest offshore passage I have ever done,” says Ryder. “I am looking forward to the whole life experience of living and racing on a boat like Explorer and getting to see the Southern Ocean.

“Hopefully we will get some hard downwind conditions and see how we go.”

In preparation, he is doing a couple of sea survival courses and keeping up with whatever sailing he can. “I have also been talking to (Volvo Ocean Race veteran) Brad Marsh, who has given me a gear list of what to take. It has been pretty handy listening to somebody who knows first-hand what they are talking about.”

Ryder flies to Cape Town at the end of October and will spend a week helping with boat maintenance and preparation ahead of the November 5 departure.

The race is described as “an eight-month adventure around the world for ordinary sailors on normal yachts”. Racing ocean-going GRP production yachts designed before 1988, there are no computers, no satellites, no GPS, and no high-tech materials. “Sextants, team spirit and raw determination alone in the great traditions of ocean racing are allowed on this truly human endeavour.”

The OGR fleet is divided into the Adventure Class (47ft-56ft), Sayula Class (56.1ft- 66ft) and Flyer Class, which is for yachts previously entered in the 1973, 1977, or 1981 Whitbread Round the World Races, or of ‘relevant’ historic significance and ‘approved’ production-built, oceancertified yachts generally 55ft to 68ft LOA.

Fourteen yachts ranging in size from 51ft to 74ft are entered, representing France (five), Australia (two), Finland (two), and one each from the USA, South Africa, Spain, Italy and UK.

For the Auckland stopover this summer, the RNZYS has agreed to

host the fleet and undertake race management operations for the finish and restart.

The fleet is expected to arrive shortly before Christmas and remain in Auckland until the January 14 restart. Auckland boaties and Squadron members in particular are urged to put out the welcome mat and support the fleet with the hospitality that, over five decades, made this city the competitors’ favourite stopover. Events planned include:

• A welcome party for the fleet at the RNZYS on Saturday, December 23.

• A reunion of Whitbread veterans on Friday, January 12. This will be a luncheon at the RNZYS where the current racers will join with Whitbread veterans and Squadron members in celebrating their long association with this event.

• After lunch, a special Ocean Globe Rum Race will be followed by the official farewell party for the fleet before they head away for the Southern Ocean leg around Cape Horn.

• On Sunday, January 14, the RNZYS will host a farewell breakfast open to members, race crews and their supporters, before heading out on the water to give them a rousing Auckland send-off. In association with the NZ Sailing Trust, Steinlager 2 and Lion New Zealand will join the farewell fleet on the Waitemata Harbour. Members are strongly encouraged to get their boats out on the harbour to make this send-off a real spectacle.

• The RNZYS is hosting a fundraising dinner and auction to support Ryder’s participation in this amazing adventure on Saturday October 7, from 6pm.

© Lissa Photography

Timing is everything and a new APP makes it easier

Story and picture by Debra Douglas

One minute, 30 seconds, 20 seconds, 10 seconds – BANG!

It’s countdown time at the Westhaven Tower, made much easier these days for our Race Management volunteers by their new team member, the Voice Sail Start Timer App.

Described as a personal race management assistant, the app timer for sailing races features fleet, match, team and radio controlled race modes with voice sound. The voice, which in the Club’s case belongs to ‘Karen’, or you could let ‘Gordon’ do the talking, keeps track of time

and reminds you of your next actions.

“With the app’s add-on, the Tower’s horn talks to the Club’s iPad through Bluetooth and will automatically fire at the right time. It can also be used for finishing sequences,” said Membership and Offer Manager, Georgia Witt.

“Race Officer Megan Kensington brought it to the team to streamline processes and It has been over-whelmingly embraced by our Friday Rum Race crew. It’s increasingly difficult to find on-the-water volunteers, so it is good to have back up and automate some parts of their roles.

“Our volunteers now have more time to focus on their other duties and for our sailors, it is proving to make racing a more seamless experience.”

Members of the Race Management team with their new assistant. From left, Bryan Taylor, Richard Wingfield, Ray Nixon, Neville Collett and Stewart Heine.

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V5 Determined to lay the Three Kings ghosts to rest

Words and Pictures by Ivor Wilkins

As one of Auckland’s most dedicated offshore sailors, V5 owner Brian Petersen found last year’s Three Kings Race an agony of frustration. As the yachts jockeyed on the startline below the harbour bridge, he watched on from the RNZYS Members’ Bar, marooned ashore with his left leg encased in a moonboot.

“It was a real bummer to miss out last time,” he says. “I had damaged my right Archilles tendon a few months earlier. That cleared up okay, but then I completely broke my left Archilles tendon. I was in plaster for three weeks and in a moonboot for six weeks after that.”

Petersen’s temporary disability was just the beginning of V5’s troubles in last year’s event. Unable to join the race himself, he left V5 in the capable hands of Keith Hogan and his regular crew, setting up a good potential match race with Rob Bassett’s Wired for the 500-mile race. But, the sailing gods were clearly not smiling on V5 that day.

Following a long delay, the start gun finally sent the fleet on its way, with Wired and V5 already locked in battle. Just minutes later, however, V5 disengaged and its headsail came down, indicating problems on board.

“I got a call from the crew that the engine was overheating,” Petersen recalls. A broken fanbelt was identified as the culprit. “I had one of those horror moments,” he continues, “when I realised the spare fanbelts were at home in my workshop.”

With home more than an hour’s drive away, Petersen raced over to the North Shore to see if he could find a replacement fanbelt. “Not an easy task after 5pm on a Friday afternoon.”

He did manage to find a couple of fanbelts and rushed back through

the traffic jams to Westhaven – as the rest of the fleet blasted away across the Hauraki Gulf.

“We just couldn’t get anything to work, so in the end we had to pull the pin,” he says ruefully. “It was a real shame. The boys would have had a great tussle with Wired.”

As the record shows, Bassett and his crew revelled in the conditions, never relinquished their lead from beginning to end and secured an extraordinary sweep of all the prizes in the fully-crewed division: 1st on line, 1st on PHS and 1st on PHRF.

“The timing of the engine failure right at the start was really unfortunate,” says Petersen. “If it had happened three or four hours into the race, they could have just carried on. The boat does not rely on the engine for any of the sailing functions.

“The canting keel is run entirely by batteries and they could have lasted the entire race without running the engine to charge the batteries. However, it would have been irresponsible to start a race of that nature without a properly-functioning engine.”

Given his disappointment at missing out a year ago, he is thrilled to be getting a second chance with the news that the RNZYS will run the race again, starting on April 11 next year.

With eight months to go, the official entry list at the time of writing showed only two candidates: Nick Roberts’ Dehler 41 Akonga, and Guy Pilkington’s evergreen Stewart 34 Playbuoy, which has been repaired after being dealt out of this year’s two-handed Round North Island Race by a spectator boat collision on the startline.

However, barring any further interference from the sailing gods,

Minutes after the start of the 2022 Three Kings Race, V5 (bottom right in the photograph) was forced to retire with engine trouble.

Petersen and V5 will definitely be seeking redemption – and no fewer than three spare fanbelts are already tucked away on board.

Rob Bassett says he is keen to defend Wired’s stunning record and relishes the prospect of a battle with V5

“It will be a good punch-up,” he says from France, where his attention is temporarily more focused on rugby and supporting the All Blacks than on sailing. However, at news of another Three Kings race, his response was immediate: “We will be there.”

Last year, 40 yachts submitted entries but various circumstances, not least enduring Covid uncertainties, halved the fleet by the time the start gun went – with V5’s plight taking another one off the board right after the gun.

Those who completed the course loved the experience of rounding

such a spectacular and rarely-visited group of islands off the northwest tip of New Zealand, where the Pacific Ocean and Tasman Sea meet.

Most of the finishers completed a survey after the race, with all but one (who reckoned old age was taking its toll) saying they were keen to do it again. Just over half said the race should be held every two years, 25% preferred every three years, while one was keen to go every year.

For Petersen and his V5 crew, a busy summer lies ahead. “They plan to defend their title in the PIC Coastal Classic, then,the April Three Kings Race, which will provide a good work-up for the next Auckland-Noumea Race.

“I bought V5 to do offshore racing and so far I have only managed the Bay of Islands and Tauranga,” he says. “I am not getting any younger, so I figure I may as well max the boat out while the body is up to it!”

After leading the fleet from start to finish in the 2022 Three Kings Race, Rob Bassett is keen to defend his record again next year.

Squadron yacht scores a famous Fastnet victory

As nightfuall descends, Max

A record entry of 430 yachts came under starter’s orders at the Royal Yacht Squadron’s historic clubrooms on the Isle of Wight. But, a stormy first night with 40-knot wind over tide conditions took a heavy toll.

One boat sank, several were dismasted and Coastguard crews along England’s south coast were kept busy with dozens of call-outs. There were no casualties, but 166 yachts retired.

As the conditions conspired to produce vicious 5-6m seas, the strategy on Klink’s New Zealand-built TP52, Caro, was to survive the night without serious damage and then move into full race mode as the weather abated.

Speaking from Switzerland, Klink said the Caro crew had frequently raced in 30-40 knot winds before. “But I have never experienced conditions like that before,” he said.

By Ivor Wilkins • Photos

courtesy of

RORC Fastnet

Race Swiss Squadron Member Max Klink chalked up a victory to remember at the 50th running of the Royal Ocean Racing Club’s Rolex Fastnet Classic in August, completing the challenging 700mile course to claim the major prize for 1st overall in IRC.

“I think I was a bit naïve about the forecast,” Klink added. “I thought it would be fine, but the guys with local experience were quite concerned and warned us that it was going to be tough.”

Beating out of the Solent into the north-westerly gale, with the notorious south coast tide races at full ebb produced “heinous”

conditions, forcing the crew to try to keep the speed below 6 knots. Under two reefs and J4 headsail, it was impossible to avoid crashing off the back of the steep waves.

“We watched as a number of other boats in our class pulled out one after the other with damage,” said Klink.

Kiwi four-time Volvo Ocean Race veteran Justin Ferris from Doyle Sails serves as watch captain, sail trimmer and helmsman aboard Caro and said even though the storm was well forecast, nothing quite prepared the crew for what they encountered in the early stages of the race.

The worst of it was at Portland Bill, near Weymouth. “The movement of water there was like watching Olympic kayaking where it looks like the paddlers are getting sucked under heavy rapids before they pop back up again,” Ferris said.

“We slowed the boat down in steep breaking waves, but we were still making 13.5 knots across the ground. It was unbelievable.”

As the winds decreased the following morning, the Caro crew, settled into full race mode.

However, along with a couple of bent stanchions, the wind-wand at

the top of the mast had been blown off during the storm. When the sea-state allowed, a replacement wand was installed, but the cable was damaged beyond repair, leaving the crew to fly blind.

“It was back to seat-of-the-pants racing, no proper angles, no wind speed information, no polars,” said Klink. “We just relied on the experience of the guys on board,”

Klink has sailed for several years with the same crew, but for the Fastnet he added considerable local knowledge and offshore experience in the form of British Olympic sailor Adrian Stead as strategist.

“He was key to our success,” Klink acknowledged. “He knows the English coast like the back of his hand.” Caro’s customary navigator was committed elsewhere, so was replaced by young Australian Andy Green.

The rest of the crew was made up of regulars Wade Morgan, Andrew McCorquodale, Cian Guilfoyle, Harry Hall, James Paterson, Jonno Swain, Ryan Godfrey and William J. Parker.

Taking a northerly arc out from Lands End and across the Celtic Sea brought Caro reaching into the Fastnet Rock in 25 knots of wind and ahead of its main class rivals.

After rounding the famous landmark just before dawn, they negotiated a slow patch of light air before finding a building breeze that took them on a fast spinnaker run to the Scilly Isles before hardening up to a straightline blast reach all the way to the finish line off Cherbourg-enContentin in France.

“This was unbelievable sailing,” Klink exclaimed. “With a fractional code zero, a staysail and switching between full main and a single reef, we were sitting on 18-22 knots for hours and hours, aiming straight at the finish mark. It was absolutely awesome.”

And profitable: Caro steadily extended into an unassailable lead, finishing more than 2 hours ahead of the next boat on corrected time to claim the coveted trophy. “Winning the 50th Fastnet is something I will always remember. I am so proud of all the guys,” Klink declared from the winner’s podium.

“A very tough race,” was Adrian Stead’s verdict. “We worked hard. We had a great run to Scillies and then for the last 180 miles we got out the chocolate bars and worked extra hard.”

Looking back on the achievement a week later, Klink reflected that they went into the race better prepared than any of their previous races.

On the Wednesday before the start, the crew did a full circumnavigation of the Isle of Wight in full race mode the whole way.

With a 25-knot breeze, they timed the trial run to coincide with

the tidal state expected for the Saturday send-off and did three or four practice starts to settle on a strategy for the real thing. The effort paid big dividends.

“When it came to the race, we had a glamour start,” Klink said. “We started exactly where we wanted to and controlled our class to lead the whole way out of the Solent.”

This “dream-come-true” result in one of the world’s most prestigious offshore races follows a string of significant podium finishes since Klink launched Caro, his Botin-designed offshore TP52, which was built at Core Builders Composites (now SailGP Technologies) at Warkworth.

A 3rd on debut in the 40-knot 2022 Middle Sea Race was followed by a 2nd in the Rolex Transatlantic Race, 1st in the Voile de St Barths regatta in the Caribbean, 1st in Hamilton Island Race Week and 3rd in the 2022 Rolex Sydney-Hobart Classic.

With the tough Fastnet ticked off, Caro was due for a thorough maintenance check before heading to Malta for the Middle Sea Race in October and then back to Australia for another crack at the SydneyHobart. “That is unfinished business for me,” said Klink. “We were good last time, but not good enough.”

After all that “wet, cold and uncomfortable” sailing, he reckons he will probably embark on a lighter racing programme and spend more time with his family.

But, he confesses he continues to love what has been a hectic couple of years of high level competition with the same group of people. Watch this space.

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Max Klink (2nd from right) and his Caro crew celebrate their Fastnet win.

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Women Water

By Ivor Wilkins • Photos by Chris Cameron

on the

Spoilt by hosting the Women’s Rugby and Football World Cups in successive years, New Zealand has experienced an unprecedented focus on women’s sport – and sailing is not missing the opportunity to join the zeitgeist.

Record live and TV audiences at both world cup events revealed a growing appetite for women to break the glass ceiling, even in sports traditionally dominated by men.

The Rugby World Cup, in particular, showcased a distinct tonal shift from the life-or-death struggle of the men’s game as the New Zealand women danced to victory with joyful verve, freedom and generosity –but no lack of commitment or will to win.

New Zealand sailing’s post-Covid recovery has not been helped by a 2023 plagued by poor summer and winter weather, but the recent RNZYS Women’s Day Out attracted a crowd of 200.

Some were experienced sailors, who had maybe drifted away over recent years, some had carried on sailing at some level, balancing family and career commitments on the way, but many were total newcomers.

“We had a fun day out,” says Leslie Egnot. “There were heaps of people we knew, lots of old friends, but I was really blown away by the number who had not had access to sailing before. That shows a definite interest in getting involved.”

Olympic 470 silver medallist and the first woman to helm an America’s Cup campaign – with Bill Koch’s 1995 Mighty Mary crew –

Leslie Egnot has been a standard-bearer for New Zealand women’s sailing for many years.

She has seen considerable change since the days when, as a young girl racing P-Class dinghies, she had to stand outside changing rooms, waiting for the boys to finish before she could use the facilities.

Not to be deterred, Egnot persevered, racing against the boys to ultimately become the first girl to win the coveted Tauranga Cup, the pinnacle of P-Class racing in the country.

Nowadays, she is encouraged by premiere events like the America’s Cup, the Ocean Race and SailGP either offering all-women opportunities, or mandating mixed-gender crews. “There are so many opportunities now that never used to be there,” she says. “We are definitely heading in the right direction.”

Egnot says this provides a platform for women to build experience at that level, but, equally important, it gives girls and young women inspiration to see that career paths are opening up at the top echelons of the sport.

She sees a place for both mixed gender and all-women formats across all levels of sailing. “Women will always struggle in classes, or roles where a lot of strength is required,” she says. “But, there are classes and positions on boats where women can compete equally.”

It has been notable, for example, that increasingly yachts competing in the Squadron fleet, right up to the larger A Division yachts, have selected women on merit to work on the bow, a key performance area demanding skill, agility and strength.

Egnot credits the RNZYS Youth Training Programme, which, from its inception 40 years ago, insisted on a mixed gender approach to training. “Both genders are taught all the roles on the boat,” says Egnot, whose

son Nick, graduated from the programme and went on to become world match race champion.

“Some real talent comes out of there,” she says, “including women, who are filtering out into the international scene and racing in big boats in meaningful roles, not just weight on the rail.”

RNZYS Performance Sailing Manager Zac Merton says building on the foundations established from the start, the gender split in the Mastercard Youth Programme is currently close to 50-50.

He notes that the four crews busy training for this year’s Oceanbridge Youth World trials all opted for mixed gender crews. “Nothing was imposed on them, they made up their crews purely based on merit and the best skills available,” he says. “They are working really well.”

The RNZYS adult learn-to-sail programmes are also attracting a similar gender mix, according to manager Emily Chambers. “Over the past 18 months, it was pretty close to a 50-50 split for Level 1 courses, while the more advanced Level 2 and 3 courses were more male dominated.”

For Gillian Williams, poised to become the first woman RNZYS Commodore next year, increasing women’s participation in the club and sport is a priority. She progressed through the dinghy ranks as a young girl and represented New Zealand at several international regattas before qualifying as a lawyer (her legal client list includes the 2007 BMW Oracle Racing America’s Cup team). She continues to actively race in a number of keelboat classes on the RNZYS calendar.

Williams saw the Women’s Day Out event as “just the start of our journey to create a community and pathway for the future, where the RNZYS can be known for not only producing world class sailors, but for also being inclusive and open to change”.

Radio personality Mel Homer (right) leads a panel discussion on women in sailing with (from left) Penny Whiting, Liv Mackay and Leslie Egnot.

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While welcoming these positive developments in the sport, Egnot, who also serves as a New Zealand Olympic selector, believes sailing needs constant promotion. “It is a tough sport to access compared with some others, where youngsters just get dropped off at a field for a practice session and get picked up again afterwards,” she says.

This is where she reckons Women’s Day Out events – which are gaining popularity at other clubs as well – play such a useful role in providing a relaxed and enjoyable introduction.

After participating in the day’s racing, Egnot joined a panel discussion back in the RNZYS clubrooms. She was joined by Life Member Penny Whiting, whose eponymous sailing school introduced more than 30,000 adults to the sport over 53 summers, and Liv Mackay, who races as strategist with Peter Burling and Blair Tuke’s Live Ocean crew in SailGP and is in line to compete in the Women’s America’s Cup.

Mackay also races on the ETF26 circuit with Kiwi Olympic sailors Jo Aleh, Molly Meech and Alex Maloney, giving her an insight into pro sailing with mixed gender and all-women line-ups. In an interview, Mackay acknowledges a “slight difference in approach,” but insists “the all-women team is 100% committed to doing everything they can to win”.

She adds: “With most of my high-performance sailing career in mixed gender crews, the clear difference between males and females is the experience gap, which is hopefully closing with the Youth and Women’s America’s Cups, as well as various other circuits integrating more women.

“I really hope the Women’s AC will bring a shift where professional female sailors aren’t just ‘grateful’ for the opportunity to compete at that level, but are able to own it and have the resources to seriously show what they are capable of.”

Mackay encourages young girls coming into the sport to get as much experience as they can in different boat types, learning the multiple skills involved – including all aspects of boat and equipment maintenance.

“Enjoy it” she urges. “Don’t be afraid to commit and go all in. Professional careers for women in sailing are opening up, making it an exciting time for young girls in the sport.”

In terms of developing the fundamental sailing skills Mackay was talking about, Penny Whiting’s place on the panel was entirely appropriate.

She initially launched her school half a century ago to teach women about yacht racing. “But I quickly realised there was a greater demand for them to learn to sail,” she says.

Her ready laugh, calm and down-to-earth approach helped create a supportive environment for building confidence on the water and allround sailing skills.

“Over the years, more and more men joined, but I would say the overall mix would have been 60% women” Whiting says. “I taught them all the right way – my way.”

Whether the ultimate goal is a professional career or simply to introduce and retain women in recreational sailing, clubs have a crucial role to play. “Having a great community and ensuring the club is a place where people genuinely want to spend time is key,” Mackay confirms.

Her memories of growing up and spending time at Napier Sailing Club, are less about sailing and more about “messing around with my friends, which I genuinely believe was a big part of why I love the sport.”

In this respect, much work remains to be done. At a national level, Yachting New Zealand last year completed a survey of its 108 member clubs around the country and found women made up less than 30% of the membership, with a similar representation on club committees.

“While we have experienced some growth in the number of female sailors in the sport, inequalities remain,” says Raynor Haagh, Yachting NZ’s national sport development director.

“As part of our ongoing efforts to grow a confident and connected female sailing community, we have refined the strategy to have an even crisper focus on highlighting pathways, removing barriers, and improving visibility for wahine (women).

“This year has seen the welcome addition of two new women-only regattas to the domestic sailing calendar, events we know have the potential to attract new and returning female participants to the sport.”

Shortly after the Women’s Day Out, Penny Whiting became the first woman to receive a Life Membership at the RNZYS. Her citation recognised her sail education role, particularly in relation to women – Sarah Wiblin Photo.

Women are increasingly selected on merit to key performance roles on leading yachts racing in the RNZYS fleets – Ivor Wilkins photo.

RNZYS Women’s Day Out has one and all a-buzz

By Debra Douglas

“It was a day that just kept buzzing,” said Membership and Offer Manager Georgia Witt describing the Club’s inaugural Women’s Day Out. “The club was alive with more than 200 women taking part.”

Following coffee and pastries in the Dinghy Locker and a briefing in the Ballroom, racing started at 11.30am with a break for packed lunches on the water and more racing in the afternoon.

Before dinner, the evening programme, MCed by radio personality Mel Homer, included prize giving with presentations from guest speakers, Life Member Penny Whiting, Barcelona Olympic silver medallist Leslie Egnot and SailGP NZ strategist Liv Mackay.

Georgia: “On the water we hosted a range of experienced sailors, even some Olympians as well as absolute beginners. They raced on the Elliott 7’s, or members’ keelers in spinnaker and non-spinnaker divisions.”

So, what made the day so successful? Georgia: “We put a lot into communicating with the participants beforehand, to let them know what would be happening. There was the right mix of on-the-water

and-off-the water elements making for a full day. And the weather was lovely, with sufficient breeze to move around in and safe enough for a few manoeuvres.

“Of course, we could not have gone ahead without our Race Management volunteers and the 24 boat owners who supported the day. A big thank you, too, to our event sponsor Mastercard, also to Ecostore and Barfoot & Thompson, who supplied the goodie bags, and Marlborough company The Sisters for the wine and prizes.

Georgia says there was a flood of emails on the Monday following from women saying thank you and wanting to sign up for next year’s event.

“The next step for some could be to join the Barfoot & Thompson Women’s Series, now on a Thursday, starting in October. This has a similar format to the Women’s Day Out, with the option of harbour racing on members’ keelers or Elliott 7 sprints.”

Not only was the day in part tailored towards encouraging young women into sailing, but it also appealed to mothers who had been away from the sport for some time and needed a confidence boost. One of those was Anna Hawken, who hadn’t sailed since the birth of her first child seven years ago.

“For me it was exciting being back,” said Anna. “I’d missed sailing so much. I wasn’t alone; with me on board Doyle Sails, were three other mothers with the same story. I’m keen now to continue sailing in the Elliott 7’s.”

Former Squadron Sailing Manager Sara Tucker crewed on Mr Kite 11, skippered by Vice Commodore Gillian Williams, which took line honours in the spinnaker division. Skill levels didn’t matter on the day, she said. “It was so relaxed. You could feel that everyone was enjoying themselves.

Close action around the mark during the RNZYS Women’s Day Out – Chris Cameron photo.

“Overall, it was an awesome day. It was just so easy – you walked in and everything was done. It was very well run. I’ll absolutely do it again next year – 100%.”

• The 2024 RNZYS Women’s Day Out will be held on August 24th.

Photos below by Debra Douglas

Among those who went out for the day ...

1/ From left, Anna Hawken, Kate Grigg, Annmarie Waugh and Lucy Grigg.

2/ From left, Sara Tucker, Jan Airey and Paula Satterthwaite.

3/ Maia and Ella Bowie.

4/ From left, Annie Clark, Isabel Bierwirth and Alyssa Alexopulos.

Wild and windy Waikawa Women’s Regatta

By Sheryl Lanigan • Photos by Debbie Whiting

RNZYS was well represented at a windy Marlborough Sounds over a fun filled weekend catching up with friends and meeting new sailors from all over New Zealand for the Evolution Sails Waikawa Women’s Regatta.

Arriving a day early, we embarked on a wine tour, so starting the programme with taste sensations and much laughter!

Hosted by Waikawa Boating Club, proceedings began on Friday, September 15 when most of the 250 participants were allocated to power boat owners for a trip to McAlister Cove, a family property on the western side of Queen Charlotte Sound / Tōtaranui.

There we enjoyed local sponsors “Taste of Marlborough” including a paella dish full of Sanfords mussels, Cranky Goat cheese, Deziree caterers Vege Kebabs, Ora King Salmon on croutons, and BBQ lamb accompanied by liquid refreshments from Lawson Dry Hills/Sisters wine and Boom Town beer.

Isabel McAlister welcomed us all explaining the history and passion for gardening by their ancestors as the property was handed down the generations. Even the light persistent rain couldn’t dampen the spirits and excitement of recognising faces in full wet weather gear including our Vice Commodore Gillian Williams, GM Sarah Wiblin, and many former YTP sailors.

All too soon we were ferried by RIB to our respective anchored vessels, ours being a Jacobite Greenline launch ably skippered by Cathy and Emma, so we sat back and enjoyed the Giesen wine tasting.

Race day dawned with the rain replaced by wind which sounded quite manageable, but with gusts to 30 knots! Briefing messages from Race Officer Viv Butcher included an extra race scheduled due to the inclement forecast for Sunday of gale force winds.

Starting with a harbour course around Allports Island, not many extras were seen initially, but soon a colourful array of spinnakers/ gennakers added to the backdrop of spectacular scenery. Races 2 and 3 were “around the cans”, requiring precision timing to gybe in a lull.

Oh, and you must give plenty of room to the frequent Cook Strait ferries, or suffer severely wiping out in the vacuum and backwash!

Sarah Wiblin recounted doing 16 knots under gennaker on her brother’s Thompson 30, when a ferry suddenly appeared around a headland. With rapid closing speeds in an enclosed waterway, their only option was to execute a deliberate wipe-out – radical action, but disaster averted. Textbook crisis management.

After dinner at Waikawa Boating Club, speaker Viki Moore entertained with her experience as on-water Operations Manager for SailGP Lyttleton, enlightening the audience that women can be employed in the yachting industry in roles other than as professional sailors.

On the final day, true to forecast, the racing abandoned flag signal was displayed as a major storm swept the upper South Island and lower North Island, causing extensive damage. The entrance to Waikawa Bay was strewn with williwaws – or was that whale spouts?

Prizegiving was brought forward with appropriate acknowledgements to sponsors, boat owners and especially to the many hard-working volunteers in front of and behind the scenes who really are the “heart” of any club.

For many, the flights home were as lumpy and boisterous as a stormy Cook Strait ferry ride, but they took comfort in the memories of an action-packed weekend of women enjoying a great event in a stunning part of the country.

Results: Div 1, Yo McGill, Viola – Beneteau 54 Div 2, Nicky Jenkins, Tiamana – Hanse 345 Div 3, Cherry MacVicor – Beale 11.2

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Top: Sarah Wiblin’s crew racing to windward of Gillian Williams at Waikawa. Middle: Light drizzle does nothing to dampen the fun at the McAlister Bay property that has been in the family for generations. Bottom: Happy sailors enjoying sponsor’s product from Lawson’s Wine.

Rick Dodson book receives stellar send-off

Story and Pictures by Debra Douglas

Described by a reviewer as “gripping, funny, scandalous and heartrending in equal measure”, the book Storms Ahead – Rick Dodson: America’s Cup champion to Paralympian, written by yachting journalist Rebecca Hayter, was launched at the Dinghy Locker in July.

More than 150 people attended the function, including America’s Cup sailors Tom Schnackenberg, Sir Russell Coutts, Matt Mason, guest speaker Joey Allen and Rick’s brother, Tom Dodson.

Rebecca began writing Storms Ahead in September 2021, covering Rick’s career as a two-time world champion, successful Admiral’s Cup and One Ton Cup skipper and America’s Cup strategist in 1995 and 2000 for Team New Zealand.

In 1997, Rick was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis (MS) and in 2012, with the late David Barnes, Rick co-founded Kiwi Gold to compete at the 2016 Paralympic Games in Rio.

Rick wanted to have his story told, partly to inspire other MS sufferers that life doesn’t end with a diagnosis. Storms Ahead is the story of Rick’s two lives: as a top, able-bodied sailor and as a Paralympian.

Copies are available at the RNZYS retail store RRP $39.95. Among those at the book launch were...

1/ Author Rebecca Hayter and Rick Dodson

2/ Dougall Love and Jaz Love.

3/ Eight-year-old Nena Grabow-Clifford and Jean Salthouse.

4/ Evelien Van Vliet and Jo Ivory.

5/ Hayden Whitburn and Rick Dodson.

The period from the 1960s through to the 1990s witnessed enormous change in New Zealand yachting, both in terms of construction materials and technology and also in terms of a growing international sailing reputation.

As a boatbuilder and sailor, Gilbert Littler was closely involved in both aspects of this remarkable march to prominence and has written a highly informative and entertaining book about it.

He served his boatbuilding apprenticeship at Charles Bailey & Son, which traced its lineage all the way back to the early European settlement of Auckland. The great rivalry between the Bailey and Logan houses fuelled the early development of fast yachts in New Zealand.

His subsequent career with a number of prominent yards in Auckland and Sydney traversed the explosion of post-war growth and the transition from timber construction to modern materials – which ultimately forced him out of the industry as exposure to early epoxy affected his health.

On the water, he was at the leading edge of New Zealand’s breakthrough to the world stage. In 1967, he joined Chris Bouzaid’s crew on Rainbow II, as part of New Zealand’s team of three yachts in the first running of the Southern Cross Cup in Australia. New Zealand finished 2nd to New South Wales, but the Rainbow II legend grew with accounts of its wild spinnaker blast to Tasmania to claim an historic 1st in the Sydney Hobart Race.

Littler’s first trip to Europe was as crew with Rainbow II at the 1968 One Ton Cup in Germany. The Kiwis arrived as an unknown quantity, but had the cream of international yacht racing paying close attention after finishing 2nd in a top-flight fleet of 22 yachts representing 10 nations.

The following year, Littler was living in Sydney and had to decline an invitation to return to Germany with Rainbow II, which famously won the One Ton Cup with a race to spare. However, he was back in Auckland for the 1971 One Ton Cup defence and joined Bouzaid’s Wai Aniwa crew for the event, which was won by Syd Fisher’s Stormy Petrel

The following year, Littler again crewed on board Wai Aniwa when it won the One Ton Cup in Sydney. This was part of an outstanding summer, which saw the Kiwi trio of Runaway (John Lidgard), Pathfinder (Brin Wilson) and Wai Aniwa (Bouzaid) achieve an unprecedented and never-repeated 1st, 2nd and 3rd in the Sydney Hobart Race to claim New Zealand’s first victory in the Southern Cross Cup.

These were no doubt the highlights of Littler’s racing career, which also included the helter-skelter world of 18ft skiffs and, in latter years, club racing in and around Auckland.

Littler’s recounting of his career on and off the water during a seminal period in New Zealand’s yachting history is a very worthy and absorbing addition to the canon of literature on the subject.

• Shipwright, Boat Builder, Yachtsman – 1962-1992, by Gilbert Littler is available at Boatbooks, Westhaven, or contact the author, email gil@littlerfamilyresearch.com

Entertaining & absorbing read of Kiwi yachting’s dramatic rise to world prominence

RNZYS Mid-winter Christmas spreads good cheer

There’s no doubt about it, the mid-winter Squadron Christmas party was a fun way to warm up the season.

Guests were tempted by festive dishes including turkey and ham wellington, roast beef with yorkie and rosemary jus, trifle with chantilly cream and Christmas pudding truffles, accompanied by blood orange Beefeater gin cocktails.

It was the perfect rehearsal for the main event, now just a few months away. At the luncheon were...

1/ Bob and Sue Sahakian.

2/ Elsie and John Faire.

3/ Ray and Gillian Thompson.

4/ From left, Commodore Andrew Aitken with Rochelle Urlich and Simon Judd.

5/ Mike Lanigan and Committee Member Sheryl Lanigan.

6/ Murray Aldridge and Colin Churchouse.

Pictures by Debra Douglas

Picture by Debra Douglas

Squadron burgee flies high in the Netherlands

Royal New Zealand Yacht Squadron member and part-time Race Management volunteer Charles Scoones and his wife Annie have cruised their motor vessel Antiope through much of Europe during the New Zealand winter months over the past two decades.

This year they have been exploring the Friesland province in the northern regions of the Netherlands. Charles was also roped in as crew aboard a century-old, vintage Botter for the annual Urk and Monnickendam regattas.

“The labyrinth of lakes and waterways across the Netherlands is very well managed,” writes Charles. “They range from expansive waterways, where large commercial barges share the same waters as pleasure craft, to small, quiet backwater canals.

“The Dutch people are rightly passionate about their waterway heritage.”

With autumn approaching fast, Antiope will soon be put to bed in a massive boatshed while her owners scuttle back home.

• To see more images of their cruise this season, go to www.antiope.co.nz

It’s what’s under the surface that counts

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Splashdown in Vilanova

By Ivor Wilkins • Photos courtesy of America’s Cup

While American Magic and Emirates Team New Zealand will justly celebrate their 1-2 finish at the first preliminary regatta of the 37th America’s Cup at Vilanova, Spain, the really dominant force at the event was the capricious weather.

A significant storm in the days before the regatta, left a vacuum in its wake, which played havoc with proceedings.

Just when the senses have become calibrated to America’s Cup yachts flying across the water at 40knots+, the competitors and spectators had to endure boats creeping along at snail’s pace – like Superman rendered pathetic by kryptonite.

The three-day regatta saw all racing cancelled on Day One by rain and squalls left over from the departing storm. The next two days saw five of eight fleet races completed, all but one over shortened courses. The climactic match race final between the two top scorers was put out of its misery without either boat managing to reach the first mark.

Under the circumstances, it is difficult to draw much meaningful analysis from the racing, although American Magic and Emirates Team New Zealand were clearly a step ahead of the pack, which fulfilled the prediction of most pundits.

The two surprises were how well newcomers Orient Express from France and Alinghi fared. Alinghi, of course, is not an America’s Cup newcomer, having won the event twice in 2003 and 2007. But the Swiss team sat out the 2013, 2017 and 2021 regattas which changed everything with the introduction of foiling.

The French team had only had 14 sailing days with their one-design AC40, but topped the leaderboard after the first racing day, having raised eyebrows by winning the opening race of the regatta. At the completion of racing, France finished 3rd overall. Alinghi was always in contention, but was undone by hydraulic failure in one race to finish 5th overall.

“Coming into the regatta, I think either of those teams would have been very happy to finish a race ahead of the more established teams,” says commentator Peter Lester. “For France to come 3rd was exceptional and without Alinghi’s breakdown on the final day, they would have been right up there as well.”

The remaining surprise was the last-place finish of the British Ineos Britannia team led by Olympic superstar Sir Ben Ainslie. Bitterly disappointed, he said the team was on the back foot with the AC40, having concentrated much of their early work on their own 12m development boat.

“Our performance was well below where we aspire to be,” he said. “We will not be taking that lightly. We will have a good hard look at ultimately where we were getting it wrong in terms of the performance and handling of the boat.”

One of the features of moving the America’s Cup away from the confined waters of the Hauraki Gulf, is that Barcelona will present more wave action as a challenge to designers and sailors. Vilanova provided a taste of that with short sloppy waves tripping the boats already hampered by lack of power.

This was particularly evident in downwind conditions, where gybing

Emirates Team NZ plunge off the foils – a frequent feature of the light-airs Vilanova regatta.

was perilous. In foiling mode, these yachts cast long windshadows, so in marginal conditions a gybe takes them through their own disturbed air. That vortex, combined with waves, created problems, and splashdowns, not helped on occasion by media helicopters buzzing overhead.

Despite the weather – once again that familiar yachties’ refrain: ‘the weather’s never like this’ – the regatta ticked many boxes. “The AC40s are fantastic little boats,” says Lester. “In a bit more breeze, they are lightning fast. Perhaps some thought needs to be given to raising the lower wind limit for racing.”

Ken Reid, president of North Sails, suggested introducing different rigs to widen the racing range. Good for selling more sails, of course, but whether teams want to up their spending in one-design AC40 programmes when their real priority lies in developing AC75s is an open question.

As a test of regatta management and broadcast systems, Vilanova was useful and, as many skippers noted, every time they get an opportunity to line up in a competitive environment, they learn a great deal.

And, when the wind did enough to allow the yachts to fly, it demonstrated their spectacular performance – a foretaste of things to come when the big boats strut their stuff in Barcelona next year. These preliminary regattas are as much about raising the profile of and anticipation for the America’s Cup as testing the abilities of the teams.

However, as a predictor of the America’s Cup outcome – where design plays such a crucial role and the fastest boat always wins – they provide an inexact form guide.

Shrugging off the weather problems, American Magic skipper Tom Slingsby noted: “Every event we do is important.”

Racing identical one-design AC40s provided a useful baseline performance measure, he suggested.

“If we end up with closely-matched AC75s in the America’s Cup next year, you want to know you can win against these guys in equal boats. The mental game is a very important part of it.”

ETNZ skipper Peter Burling was equally upbeat. “We are happy with how we are going,” he said. “We are running a quite different programme from the other teams, where we have our AC75 from last time involved as well.”

If anything can be taken from the Vilanova results, they probably say more about where the teams have been concentrating their efforts between speed development and design testing as opposed to honing racing skills.

Burling hinted at this when he said, “We made too many mistakes this weekend, but to get through in good shape is really exciting. We are happy with the balance between becoming the best sailing team and developing the fastest boat.”

As if trying to escape a stranding on a mudbank, crew at times had to abandon their cockpits and haul on the windward shrouds to coax any progress.

A killer whale hurtles towards the twin rudders of the Volvo 65, Team Jajo, during the closing stages of this year’s The Ocean Race. – Photo courtesy of Team Jajo/The Ocean Race.

Spate of killer whale ‘attacks’ on yachts: a passing fad or orca uprising?

By Ivor Wilkins

A recent run of encounters – some violent and destructive –between yachts and killer whales in the Strait of Gibraltar has led to much philosophical and scientific headscratching over just what is going on.

According to a report in the Guardian, more than 500 interactions have been recorded in the area since 2020, with three boats sunk and dozens of others damaged. Most of these “attacks” were directed at the yachts’ rudders.

More recently, during the closing stages of The Ocean Race, two VOR65s, Team Jajo and Mirpuri Trifork Racing, reported similar encounters on the afternoon of June 22. Neither boat was damaged, but Team Jajo skipper, Jelmer van Beek, said it was “a scary moment” as the huge creatures nudged and bit the rudders and, in one case, headbutted the boat with some force.

“We took down the sails and slowed down the boat as quickly as possible,” he said. “Luckily, after a few attacks, they went away.”

Widely different theories have been advanced to explain the behaviour, ranging from a fad that will likely soon pass, to revenge for trauma or injury from a collision with a boat.

A 2021 report from the Atlantic Orca Working Group, a partnership of Spanish and Portuguese scientists, did not discount either possibility. “It could be a curious and playful behaviour,” it suggested, or “a behaviour induced by an aversive incident”.

The revenge hypothesis is based on the fact that the incidents appear

to have started with a single matriarch orca, known as White Gladis, and subsequently spread among a much wider population.

Social learning is well documented in orca culture. The Guardian article quotes Barbara J King, professor emerita of anthropology at the US College of William & Mary and author of Animals’ Best Friends: “The networks of individuals in orca societies, which are led by females, are highly attuned to each other’s behaviour, so traditions evolve over time that become, in some cases, cross-generational.”

King does not necessarily endorse the revenge concept, but she says it is not “outside the realm of reasonable expectation”. She has studied examples of animal grief and published a TED talk on an orca known as Tahlequah, which carried her dead calf for 17 days and 1000 miles.

“Both orcas and elephants have the memory capacity and the intelligence to put these things together,” she said.

Some observers have proposed that the behaviour may not be a reaction to a specific trauma rather than a more general response to human impacts on orca habitats: increased pollution, overfishing, warming seas, the noise of ships and boats, diminished food supplies.

Dr Alfredo López Fernandez of the Atlantic Orca Working Group said he believed “human activities, even in an indirect way, are at the origin of this behaviour.”

Closer to home, Dr Rochelle Constantine, professor of Marine Ecology and Conservation Biology at Auckland University, says she has no idea whether the behaviour is a passing trend or an orca uprising. “But killer whales have wide complexity in their behavioural repertoires,

communication and social structure – from the tropics to polar regions,” she says. “They have great flexibility in their behaviour and learn quickly, so both of these ideas are valid.”

While most of the debate has focused on the Iberian orca population, a strikingly similar incident occurred in June as far away as the Shetland Islands off Scotland. This also involved a killer whale repeatedly ramming a yacht around the rudder area.

“What I felt most frightening was the very loud breathing,” said Dutch yachtsman, Dr Wim Rutten, who had been fishing for mackerel. “Maybe he wanted to play. Or look me in the eyes. Or get rid of the fishing line.”

Does this suggest some form of cetacean ‘social media’, spreading the word to an ever expanding orca audience? And, given that orca populations have different dialects, (New Zealand expert Dr Ingrid Visser has observed linguistic differences even between Australian and New Zealand orcas) how do widespread groups communicate?

“It’s clear that this is a learned behaviour with an older animal teaching younger animals,” says Professor Constantine. “Killer whales can travel widely, so it is possible that the animal in Scotland was in contact with the Med animals at some point.”

As to the means of communication, she adds: “Whilst they do have different dialects, they all sound similar. I think ‘understanding’ acoustic communication is still rooted in human constructs about how we communicate vocally.

“The jury is out on how it works for non-human animals, but we are slowly getting there. It’s unlikely this behaviour has been transmitted only via acoustics. Most likely the learning is from observations, although there may be some element of acoustic communication involved. There’s insufficient information to support that idea so far.”

With summer approaching, should we brace ourselves for vengeful, or over-playful killer whales thumping into our rudders? Professor Constantine is not one to dispense false consolation. “Anything is possible with killer whales,” she cautions.

“They are very complex animals. There are stories throughout the world about killer whales interacting with yachts and sinking them, although no idea why this occurs.

“They engage in play a lot as part of their social learning and honing their hunting skills, so perhaps these interactions with yachts are a form of play,” she adds before going on to concede it is behaviour “that is not ideal for the people on the yachts.”

Observing that orcas are the largest members of the dolphin family, she does offer some comfort in that New Zealand killer whales “can be quite curious and very dolphin-like, compared to counterparts in other places.”

Her best advice is to take care, stay safe and be sure to have good communication systems on board – “so that if something happens, you can summon help promptly!”

The ‘attacks’ on Team Jajo’s rudders persisted for some time – Photo courtesy of Team Jajo/The Ocean Race.

Dads get to party on Fathers’ Day

On the first Sunday of September, the RNZYS Member’s Bar and Quarterdeck were abuzz with fathers, grandfathers, great grandfathers and fatherly-figures celebrating Father’s Day during a luncheon of BBQ slow-cooked meat platters with tasty sides.

Pictured with family and friends on that special day were...

1/ Back row, from left, Phill, Emme, Jamie, Rosie and Lauren Douglas, with Colleen, Jessica and Craig Simmiss. Front row, Aaron, Ella and Elliot Douglas.

2/ Back row, from left, Wayne Huang, Fiona Ji, Johnathan Huang and Lisa Huang.

Front row, Amy Wang and George Wang.

3/ From left, Dave Smith, Donna Marsh, Mel Smith, Norm Marsh, Dale Marsh, Carey Marsh and Michelle Marsh.

4/ It was a double celebration for Kathy Neale (seated) who celebrated her birthday on Father’s Day and Kathleen Sando, whose birthday was the day before. The pair are pictured with Murray Neale (standing) and Morgan Powell.

5/ From left, Jono Bakker, Sasha Bakker (1), Brooke Hayward and Kit Bakker (3).

6/ From left, Abbey, Jordon, Alan and Sue Retter.

Pictures by Debra Douglas

Old America’s Cup campaigner washes up on the rocks in bad shape

By Ivor Wilkins

Old soldiers, so the refrain goes, never die; they simply fade away. Old America’s Cup yachts tend to follow the same route to oblivion, but two old-stagers from New Zealand’s 1992 campaign have been hitting the headlines for all the wrong reasons.

Most recently, NZL-20, the Farr-designed IACC yacht that became dubbed ‘the skiff on steroids’, occupied the news pages when it went aground on the Whangaparaoa Peninsula north of Auckland.

The yacht was distinctive and controversial in 1992 because of its unusual ‘tuning fork’ keel, which featured a 9-ton bulb slung beneath two articulating vertical struts. There was no rudder.

Against the trend towards long, narrow hulls, NZL-20 was short, very light, with dramatically flaring topsides and a short bowsprit – hence the skiff reference. The bowsprit became the subject of prolonged protest hearings during the Louis Vuitton Cup final.

It is not a boat remembered with much affection by those who campaigned her. Rod Davis was the principal helmsman and describes it “as an interesting little beast”.

Sailing it, he says, was like trying to control a supermarket trolley where all the wheels go in different directions and you end up crashing into the soup cans.

“It took a hell of a long time to learn how to sail it,” he adds. “It was actually such a challenge to figure it out that it made it fun.”

The boat did not like to pivot like a conventional keel and rudder yacht – a distinct handicap during pre-start duels. However, off the startline, it had an astonishing ability to crab to windward in short applications of what was dubbed “negative leeway” mode. “It wasn’t great in terms of VMG,” says Davis, “but you could survive off the weather hip of the other boat for a long time.

“It was also useful in other ways. The Cup boats had to negotiate a lot of kelp and seaweed in San Diego. We couldn’t steer around it like a conventional boat, so we just made the boat go sideways to avoid it.”

These reminiscences took place over the phone, as Davis strolled along the waterfront in Newport, Rhode Island, where he was coaching the Freedom crew in the July 12-Metre world championships. “This is where the America’s Cup all started for me in 1977,” he recalls of his time with Lowell North’s Enterprise campaign.

While Davis was clearly enjoying the nostalgia of racing 12-Metres again, the 1992 episode rekindled memories of a bad ending. Up against the Italian Il Moro di Venezia team, the Kiwis started well and established a 4-1 lead.

Match point and just one more win would see them through to the America’s Cup. With their backs to the wall, however, the Italians launched a barrage of protests against the use of the bowsprit, which ended with a ruling against the Kiwis, who were docked a point and ordered to change their spinnaker handling technique.

The bowsprit saga sucked momentum out of the Kiwi campaign, which never won another race. When Il Moro di Venezia drew level at 3-3, Davis was relieved of the helm and Russell Coutts was given command.

But, it was to no avail. The Italian comeback continued, securing two more wins in quick succession to advance to the America’s Cup match, where Bill Koch’s America3 swept to a 4-1 victory.

Ironically, NZL-20’s recent grounding took place virtually on the doorstep of Russell Coutts’s waterfront home on the Whangaparaoa Peninsula, sparking Facebook rumours that it belonged to him.

“Nothing to do with me,” Coutts retorted by email, although he did allow that NZL-20 was a “cool looking boat in its day.”

Not so much any more. “Now it is a bit of an eyesore,” he added.

Further along the beach is the Manly Sailing Club, where Coutts has been a generous benefactor contributing considerable energy and resources to youth sailing. He is club president, while Harold Bennett, who served as race officer on multiple America’s Cup regattas, is a former commodore.

Bennett recalls that at one point NZL-20 was offered to the club, but the “gift” was met with a swift, “Thanks, but No Thanks”. The best advice

the club could give the then-owner was to cut it up into pieces.

Davis shares that view. “It could never be converted into anything useful. There is absolutely no reason for anybody to save it,” he says.

Some IACC yachts have been successfully converted into tourist boats – two later models continue plying Auckland’s Waitemata Harbour as part of the Explore NZ fleet. Through its various ownerships, NZL-20 also spent time in San Francisco, where it had an engine fitted and was put to work commercially.

Later, it was returned to New Zealand during the 2000 Cup defence in Auckland, after which it spent many years unused in the Gulf Harbour marina. To recoup unpaid fees, the marina seized the yacht and offered it for sale. According to a news report, an Australian bought the boat, but the sale fell through when Covid closed New Zealand’s borders.

It was again offered for sale with an asking price of $30,000, but marina manager, Mike Keown told the Stuff website “any offer” would be entertained. “Someone could get themselves a really nice project,” he declared hopefully.

Following NZL-20’s recent grounding, it was refloated and was last sighted on a mooring in the Mahurangi River. According to Stuff, the owner, identified as Mike Parker, said the yacht, which has no mast and vestigial stubs where the tandem keel was removed years ago, suffered only a scratch to the hull.

Its future remains uncertain, but Don Cowie, who was also part of the 1992 crew, reckoned someone could slice the hull down the middle and convert it into a decent bar.

Meanwhile, a second yacht from the same campaign was recently stirring controversy in Queenstown. After working for 12 years as a tourist boat on Lake Wakitipu, NZL-14 was purchased in 2017 by a selfproclaimed property multimillionaire, who said he wanted his children to learn about international sailing.

A year later, the yacht broke its mooring on the lake and was eventually declared abandoned. It has subsequently been the centre of a number of court actions and in May this year, the Queenstown Lakes District Council issued a claim of $8,274.28 for unpaid mooring fees dating back to 2018.

The legal battles look set to continue with the owner heading to the Court of Appeal to dispute a High Court decision that accused him of “a complete abdication of responsibility” for NZL-14 in the face of repeated demands by the council.

The ignominious fate of these two yachts perhaps serves as a cautionary tale against ill-considered dreams of repurposing them on the cheap.

They are, after all, often best left to follow the natural order and just fade away. Having begun life as thoroughbred racers at the apex of the breed, quietly fading away is surely a more dignified end than plodding along in a state of desperately compromised dilapidation and public humiliation.

Or worse, being so neglected that they wash ashore to become a public nuisance and environmental threat.

Washed up on the rocks off Whangaparaoa Peninsula, NZL-20 cuts a forlorn figure – Photo by Chris McKeen/Stuff limited.

M&A Activity in NZ: Steady on in a Challenging Environment

Amidst New Zealand’s challenging economic conditions and the elevated uncertainty surrounding the upcoming General Election, our Mergers & Acquisitions (M&A) market has remained surprisingly resilient during the first half of 2023, but with a substantive change in the composition of the buyer group.

PwC reports that the number of M&A transactions in New Zealand in the first half of 2023 averaged approximately 40 per quarter. This is slightly ahead of the quarterly average of 37 observed over the past four years (which did include a significant lull in 2020 followed by a sharp recovery, or catch-up, in late 2021 and 2022).

Whilst a “flat” trend in and of itself is not particularly newsworthy, the resilience against a particularly challenging economic and political backdrop, and the composition of the transaction activity, is interesting and gives reason for optimism for the coming years.

Conversely, Financial buyers appear to have almost completely withdrawn from the market. Financial buyers typically have a finite horizon for owning an asset, before they are required to return capital to their investors.

This horizon is typically three-to-ten years. With a shorter ownership period, the impact on a prospective investment from exogenous macroeconomic factors or policy changes is more acute. A looming event with potentially significant (and somewhat binary) implications for different industries, would give this particular investment group reason to pause.

This year’s General Election, with polling showing a variety of potential outcomes, creates a particularly uncertain outlook. Pleasingly though, this uncertainty will soon lift, and with that, one could expect the re-emergence of Financial buyers, spurring further activity from here.

The cost and availability of debt is also a significant factor in financing transactions. Whilst in absolute terms levels are not as supportive as in previous years, the outlook has certainly stabilised this year as we approach the top of the interest rate cycle. This provides greater certainty to incoming investors and improves conviction when pricing deals.

The first point of note is that Trade buyers are dominating deal activity, accounting for all but one deal announced in Q2 2023. A Trade buyer is when a company acquires another company, usually one in the same industry, to strengthen its existing business and/or augment growth. The alternative is a Financial buyer. This type of buyer is typically an investment fund that is acquiring companies to achieve a desired return on investment.

Trade buyers, being long-term participants in industries, typically take a longer-term view on their investments as they are free to own these assets indefinitely. This means they are less concerned with nearterm macroeconomic or political volatility, as they will likely own the asset through several market cycles.

Transaction activity from these Trade buyers is, therefore, a vote of confidence in the long-term prospects of their respective industries in New Zealand. Moreover, in-line with previous quarters, approximately half of these deals involved international buyers, suggesting that New Zealand is maintaining its favourable reputation as a desirable place to conduct business on the global stage. The relative valuation of New Zealand companies globally is also benefitting from the weaker New Zealand dollar, a trend that may persist through 2023 and into 2024.

In the near-term, persistent inflation and deteriorating economic conditions will continue to challenge businesses. But there remains a healthy level of investment appetite for the right opportunities, and this should be taken as a positive signal for business owners. For those willing to take a longer-term view, capital options are likely to be available to build resilience or consolidate a market, such that the business is best positioned for the next growth cycle.

Source: PwC New Zealand M&A Quarterly Update

RNZYS PERFORMANCE PROGRAMME

The Yosemite Sam Racing team have arrived home from July’s highly anticipated Governor’s Cup feeling somewhat disheartened with their performance on the water.

Though they demonstrated their best skill and tenacity, unfortunately penalty points due to damage led to a 9th place result that fell short of their capabilities and potential.

Team member Zach Fong (trimmer) reflected on the experience, stating, “It was a super fun regatta with light conditions. We raced just off the beach at Newport, which also made for some great spectating.”

Skipper Josh Hyde was equally positive about the hospitality they received, saying, “Our hosts showed us amazing hospitality, catering to basically everything we could have needed. We’re very much hoping to get an invite back

Now, the team is turning its attention toward even loftier ambitions: a podium finish at the upcoming Youth Match Racing World Championships, set to take place at the CYCA in Sydney later this year. To boost their chances, they’ve enlisted the expertise of America’s Cup veteran and TP52 coach, Rod Davis, as their mentor. With Davis’ guidance, the team is optimistic about ascending to the next competitive level. But the road to the top won’t be easy; several other talented teams are vying for the same glory.

Among the other contenders are PP Team

Jack Frewin and his LJ’s Racing team. Their commitment to the sport is visible, practising multiple times a week on the Waitemata, and their consistent hard work has led to noticeable improvement. Also in the mix is former PP athlete Robbie McCutcheon, who recently returned from an impressive Northern Hemisphere tour that included participation in the TP52 Super Series. McCutcheon hopes that this international exposure will give him the edge in the Oceanbridge Youth Match Racing World Trials & Auckland Championships. The winner-takes-all event is September 23/24.

One notable aspect among all the teams is their ability to draw from the wisdom of past PP members, including Olympian Leonard Takahashi-Fry and Match Racing World Champion Nick Egnot-Johnson. Their guidance provides an invaluable layer of experience that teams can use to refine their strategies and techniques. Add to this dynamic a few younger teams eager to make their mark, and the stage is set for some thrilling spectacles that are bound to captivate those watching from the shore.

In summary, the Performance Programme teams and their competitors are gearing up for the upcoming events. Each team brings its unique strengths and strategies to the table, setting the stage for a riveting competition that promises to be as unpredictable as it is exciting.

ENSURE THE ONGOING SUPPORT & SUCCESS OF OUR SAILING PROGRAMMES & SPECIFIC PROJECTS FOR FUTURE GENERATIONS TO ENJOY

Josh Hyde and the Yosemite Sam crew competing at the Governor’s Cup – Photo by Tom Walker.

MASTERCARD YOUTH TRAINING PROGRAMME

SUPPORTERS

The Mastercard Youth Training Programme’s sailing team, made up of Hayden Smith, Alissa Marshall, Luca Smith, Kelly Su and Marin Armstrong-Wills, recently participated in the Aircalin Open Match Racing in Noumea, setting a new benchmark for their budding careers in the sport. From the get-go, the team was thrust into the limelight when Pauline Courtois, the current Women’s Match Racing World Champion, offered to train with them. This not only amped up the excitement but also provided invaluable learning opportunities for the team.

While the competition was stiff – they finished 6th overall – the learning curve was exponential. The experience not only sharpened their skills, but also deepened their passion for the sport.

They were one of three YTP teams in the Oceanbridge Youth Match Racing Worlds Trials and Auckland Champs, on September 23 and 24. The two other YTP teams were led by Rory Sims and Sam Scott. The regatta was won by USA’s Max Brennan and the RNZYS Performance Programme team helmed by Jack Frewin.

Looking ahead, the Mastercard National Youth Training Weeks are fast approaching. Hosted on Kawau Island, the first week will

run from December 4-10, and the second will follow from December 10-16. With spots filling up quickly, prospective participants are encouraged to expedite their registration processes. These weeks not only provide an experience that participants look back on fondly, they also act as a feeder programme for the YTP as sailors from around the country discover the opportunity that is available within our club.

We are thrilled to announce the longawaited YTP Alumni Regatta & Supporters Party – firmly set in the calendar for November 11. Whether you’re a graduate keen to compete in the Elliott 7’s for a few friendly races, or simply wish to catch up with old friends over dinner and drinks, this event offers something for everyone and will play a vital part fundraising to secure more life-changing opportunities for the next generation of sailors.

In summary, the recent activities and upcoming events of the Mastercard Youth Training Programme are teeming with excitement, learning, and community-building. The journey that began at the start of the year continues to chart a course filled with promise and potential, proving that for these young sailors, the horizon is just another starting line.

Zak Merton

BOAT SPONSORS

L to R: Alissa Marshall, Luca Smith, Marin Armstrong-Wills, Kelly Su, and Hayden Smith in Noumea.

Let’s hear it for the launches

By Penelope Carroll

The CYA’s launch fleet of some 100 vessels spans more than 100 years of launch construction in Aotearoa New Zealand. It showcases great examples of design and building techniques –of both pleasure craft and working boats – ranging chronologically from Mike Mahoney‘s 1899 Moerangi from two centuries ago, to Russell Ward’s 1990 Romany and Geoff Palmona’s 1998 Souvenir from just last century.

New CYA launch captain Anatole Perry’s 37ft 5in kauri and teak-built launch Korara was launched in 1960 and is a great example of a modern classic, he says. The John Powell design was built by Snow Waters and Ron Gurr in the Wairau Valley. Ron re-lofted the plans in Devonport for use in the Hauraki Gulf. She is moored at Heritage Landing.

Anatole and his wife Jennifer have had Korara for five years. “I had racing yachts previously. Then when I did a bit of damage to my knee I decided to switch to

a launch – and Jason Prew lured me to the classics.”

He is still involved in yacht racing, but now on the sidelines: skippering Korara when she is the start vessel for CYA races and driving his 5.5m RIB as a support vessel when his son attends regattas representing Kohimarama and Royal Akarana yacht clubs in starling or 29er races.

Previously president of the NZ Optimist Dinghy Association, the new Launch Captain has “done a reset” he says, to support and encourage classic launch owners. “It would be nice to see more launches out on the water, especially for CYA destination events”.

Since 1995, CYA vice chair Russell Brooke and his family have owned another CYA classic, the kauri-planked hard-chined 48ft Linda, built by Col Wilde for a Mr M.

Kelly in 1927 – although it took several years of work before the fire-gutted vessel (“she was just a skeleton”) was restored to her former glory by his father Robert Brooke, Russell and brothers Michael and Stephen.

“She is one of the gems of NZ boating – her lines are perfect,” says Russell. “That’s why dad wanted to take on the challenge.”

These days Linda is moored in Greenhithe through most of the year and

in the Kerikeri Inlet for the summer.

Russell also races the 40ft Kiariki (1959), designed by his father and built at Salthouse Brothers; and the 34ft Gleam (1940), designed and built by his grandfather, Jack Brooke. He’s one of those who has a foot in each camp, he says.

“The CYA isn’t just about yacht racing; it links together all the things that are important about classic boats.”

Korara makes a fine sight serving as Committee Boat for a CYA race.

Linda – ‘a gem of NZ boating’ in immaculate condition.

Ocean greyhound Fidelis – still going strong

by Sandra Gorter

Fidelis , pictured above during the 2014 CYA Mahurangi Regatta is one of the most renowned racing yachts ever launched in Aotearoa New Zealand.

Designed by Knud Reimers and built in Auckland in 1962 for Vic Speight, the 61ft ‘ocean greyhound’ began her impressive racing career in 1964 when she beat Ranger under the helm of Jim Davern.

He bought Fidelis and headed out for the deep blue yonder. She took line-honours in the 1966 Auckland to Suva race, then sailed to Australia to enter that year’s Sydney to Hobart race. Not only did Fidelis get the gun, (the first NZ yacht to do so) but she set a new record of 4 days, 8 hours and 39 minutes, a record that stood for the next nine years.

More Sydney-Hobarts followed, as did races to

Noumea, Vila and Fukuoka, surviving a hurricane and other adventures, before Jim Davern and Fidelis returned to Auckland.

In 1994 she caught the eye of her current owner, Nigel Stoke, who was visiting from Sydney. Under Stoke’s ownership, there were more Sydney-Hobarts, races to the Solomons, Gladstone, Mooloolaba, Wooden Boat Festivals, and a real favourite, the annual “BBQ” cruises to

Lord Howe Island.

In 2016, Nigel Stoke and Fidelis commemorated the 50 years since her historic Sydney-Hobart win by competing again. And even though this time the boom broke, quick repairs in Bass Strait put them only 8 hours behind the winner on line, and just a tantalising 8 minutes behind on handicap.

As the world responded to the news of the outbreak of a pandemic during the 75th Sydney to Hobart race in 2019, Fidelis was caught up in the mayhem of the Covid years. But she is back on form and took line honours in the Vintage and Veterans fleet in this year’s Brisbane to Gladstone race.

Semper Fidelis is her motto, and she has remained part of the CYANZ since its inception, – and has even returned home to compete in CYANZ and Mahurangi regattas. Fidelis is always a beautiful sight on our harbours.

Plea to 40-footers to come out and play

Steve Horton, owner with his wife Kate of 47ft Totolo, is putting out a call to the owners of similar-sized modern classics to join Totolo in CYA races.

Currently crewing on Ariki, Steve will enter Totolo in the CYA summer series, and he’d like some more competition on the water. There are not many modern classics 40ft and above currently racing, he says. “So, I’m reaching out to 40ft-plus boat owners.”

He sees the five-skin cold-

moulded kauri Totolo, built in 1970 for Don Winstone (who wanted a fast offshore-capable cruiser-racer) as a bridge between the old kauri classics and modern yachts. “She is so beautifully balanced, and the workmanship and technology are amazing.”

While Steve sailed growing up, this is the first keeler he has ever owned, he says.

‘’A friend was selling Totolo and asked me to help. That was in May 2020, between the lockdowns. We went out

for a sail, Kate fell in love with it, and so we bought it.”

Probably last raced in the ‘70s and ‘80s (apart from a couple of races with the Waiheke Boating Club), Totolo spent some time as

a charter boat and a liveaboard for a family.

But she’ll soon be out racing regularly again with the rest of the CYA fleet – hopefully with some playmates.

By Penelope Carroll

CLASSIC YACHT ASSOCIATION CONTACTS – GENERAL ENQUIRIES: Joyce Talbot, admin@classicyacht.org.nz

CLUB CAPTAIN YACHTS: Peter Brookes, yachtcaptain@classicyacht.org.nz

CLUB CAPTAIN LAUNCHES: Shirley-Ann McCrystal, launchcaptain@classicyacht.org.nz

Fidelis competing in the 2014 Mahurangi Regatta.

Kate and Steve Horton

Marine Scen e

Versatile new family cruiser from Elan Yachts

Elan has released an all new Impression 43 model. Boasting a modern wide-beam hull, the yacht offers much more space than previous models.

The yacht’s aesthetics were styled in cooperation with the design studio Pininfarina, a relationship that began with the multiple award-winning Elan E6 and is now continuing with the Elan Impression 43.

Designed by Humphreys Yacht Design, the Elan 43 has twin rudders, epoxy rudders constructed in-house and optimised for rigidity, endurance, and control.

The cockpit is built for enjoyment at anchor as well as sailing pleasure, offering seating for up to 10 people and an optional modular cockpit table which converts into two sunbeds.

A small bathing platform in standard specification can be upgraded to a larger

Kiwi company Everkind is reimagining natural lip care

With 200 million plastic lip balm tubes hitting landfill each year, Everkind has found a better way to care for your lips and the planet. Their certified organic lip care is packaged in world-

platform for a closed transom feel.

Owners can choose between three- or four-cabin versions. The three-cabin version includes an ensuite with an island bed and a spacious head with a separate shower, and the four- cabin version adds a cabin with bunk beds, perfect for families, or groups of friends.

Marko Škrbin, Director of the Elan Marine Division, and Matic Škerjanec, head of Product Development and Quality visited New Zealand recently as part of an extensive tour through Asia and Australasia, where they see growth potential for the Elan brand.

They believe New Zealand, in particular, aligns well with the performance, design and build-quality of their model line-up. They announced the first Impression 43 is due in New Zealand, late 2023.

www.pinnaclemarine.co.nz

first home compostable tubes. Touted as the next generation of lip balm, the range is a testament to Everkind’s mission to provide truly natural and zero-waste bodycare – without compromising on a luxurious user experience.

This award-winning brand creates organic bodycare for people who don’t want to choose between their wellbeing and what works.

So, give your lips some love this summer - lip care has never come so naturally!

www.everkindnz.com

Ovlov continues to expand after 45 years in the

marine business

2023 marks 45 years in business for Ovlov Marine Ltd and continuing expansion for New Zealand’s largest Volvo Penta dealer.

From humble beginnings in Barry’s Point Road, Takapuna on the North Shore in 1978, Ovlov moved across the bridge in the early 1990’s to become the Auckland CBD Volvo Penta servicing & sales dealer with Peter Jacobs at the helm. The current owner and Managing Director, Lachlan Trembath, joined the Company in 1999.

This year marks further growth for the Ovlov Marine team with the opening of Ovlov Marine Gulf Harbour Ltd at the current Seaquip Marine Services Ltd site in the marina. Including the Pine Harbour operation, this addition brings the Ovlov presence to three branches, representing a wide geographic spread in the greater Auckland area.

OMGH is incorporated as a brand-new business and looks forward to supporting Volvo Penta and Yanmar clients in the Gulf Harbour Marina and surrounding areas as an authorised Volvo Penta and Yanmar dealer, with plans to add additional marine services and brands in the near future.

All current Seaquip staff will be joining the OMGH team with the addition of Adam Hatfield as the General Manager of the OMGH branch. Adam has a diverse range of skills and a strong history with Volvo Penta. He is a keen sailor with his boat stored at Gulf Harbour Marine.

gulfharbour@ovlov.co.nz

New Tanna 47 is attracting strong interest

Yamaha launches summer ‘ramp-ready’ inspection service

As the busy summer boating season draws closer, Yamaha and Coastguard New Zealand are calling on boaties to be ‘Ramp Ready’.

In partnership with Coastguard New Zealand, Yamaha dealers will offer a FREE Boat Check regardless of your outboard brand.

The check will focus on four key areas –boat hull, engine, trailer, and essential boating equipment.

If issues are found, the dealer will provide a recommended schedule of works for the customers’ consideration.

The new Fountaine Pajot Tanna 47 is drawing very strong interest ahead of its arrival in Australia in early 2024.

Awarded “2022 Boat of the Year”, the stylish new sailing catamaran delivers outstanding comfort and space as well as impressive performance.

Loaded with features, including a large U-shaped galley, seamless transition from the saloon to the expansive cockpit, an abundance

of storage, up to 9m² of space for solar panels and a luxurious lounge deck area, the Tanna 47 is also easily sailed short-handed.

The Owner’s Version features three cabins, including an extraordinary master suite with luxurious ensuite and walk-in shower, while the Quintet Version offers five generous cabins, each with their own private ensuite.

www.multihullsolutions.com.au

Robyn Rowley, Coastguard New Zealand Brand and Marketing Manager says the partnership with Yamaha and the Ramp Ready campaign aims to ensure boaties are as prepared as possible for a safe and enjoyable day on the water.

“Boaties often face constantly changing conditions and unfortunately, every year Kiwis across New Zealand don’t make it home - with 31% of drowning deaths in 2022 involving a powered craft,” says Rowley.

“In the past year, Coastguard volunteers have responded to close to 3,000 incidents, bringing 8,000 people home safely. Most of these incidents could have been prevented by taking simple steps to ensure boats were safe and simple safety gear was on board.”

Pete Dick, National Marketing Manager for Yamaha Motor New Zealand says:

“At Yamaha we know how important it is to have a reliable outboard on your boat, but it takes more than just a reliable outboard to be sensible.”

Introducing the pinnacle of BLUNT design, the Tempus. A celebration of 25 years of meticulous engineering, patented innovation and timeless design from the iconic Kiwi brand. A limited edition masterpiece, with only 1,000 individually numbered umbrellas released, the Tempus is destined to be secured for life by those who appreciate design and engineering excellence.

Made with carbon fibre and brushed aluminium for the ultimate experience, the design also features a unique textile weave to give the canopy soft touch properties that complement the BLUNT radial tensioning

system for the structural and aerodynamic qualities of the umbrella.

The canopy has been embedded with an additional layer of UV protection to allow for year-round use, while the optimally weighted handle combined with the tuned carbon frame and highly tensioned aerodynamic canopy, provides a beautifully balanced user experience. Tempus, Latin for time, is backed by an enduring lifetime warranty.

Tested to extremes, reliable and repairable, this is the last umbrella you will ever need.

www.bluntumbrellas.com

yamaha-motor.co.nz

Tempus by BLUNT – a highly engineered umbrella for life

YOU’LL BE SURPRISED WHAT WE’RE BEHIND