BREEZE Magazine December - January 2022

BREEZE Issue No. 238 • December – January 2022

Official Publication of the Royal New Zealand Yacht Squadron

2 Breeze Magazine

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CONTENTS

Cover: Summer days, cooling swims, beach picnics, fun cruising – Photo courtesy 36° Brokers EDITORIAL Please address all editorial correspondence to the Editor, Ivor Wilkins ivorw@xtra.co.nz Phone 09 425 7791 ADVERTISING 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 Feb – March Issue Editorial - 11 February Advertising booking - 11 February Advertising material due - 18 February Magazine posted - 25 February Layout and Typesetting by Ocean Press Ltd Printed by Soar Printing Registered as a magazine at the GPO, Wellington. ISSN 0113-7360

A

From the Commodore .........................................................................................................................................................5 From the CEO ...........................................................................................................................................................................6 Cannon roars for delayed Opening Day ...................................................................................................................8 Sailing Office Report ........................................................................................................................................................... 12 Race Officer Jan Airey’s trigger finger is itching to get back on the starting gun ............................ 14 Celebrating a new RNZYS summer menu ...........................................................................................................16 RNZYS Events ........................................................................................................................................................................18 Lockdown debuts for new RNZYS staff...................................................................................................................20 Versatile ‘shapeshifter’ from Beneteau .......................................................................................................................22 A fabulous record of our 150-year history ...........................................................................................................28 Staying afloat in a season of Covid ............................................................................................................................. 32 ‘Cyclors’ on the comeback trail for AC37? ............................................................................................................36 Clearing space to record more Cup results on the Auld Mug ................................................................. 40 Big improvements on Kawau Island in time for summer ..............................................................................42 A legend returns to Kawau to add to his family’s abiding legacy to the island ................................ 45 Defiance has served the RNZYS with honour and distinction ................................................................. 46 A unique Kiwi sailing achievement celebrates is 50th anniversary .......................................................... 50 A champion eSailor who enjoys getting wet on real boats ........................................................................ 54 Take a bow: Laurie Davidson’s design legacy from ferro cement to Cup winners ....................... 56 Learn to Sail Report ............................................................................................................................................................58 Performance Programme Report ............................................................................................................................... 62 Youth Programme Report ............................................................................................................................................... 63 Classic Yacht Association Journal ..................................................................................................................................64 Marine Scene ...........................................................................................................................................................................66 Directory Ads ..........................................................................................................................................................................68 FLAG OFFICERS Commodore Aaron Young 021 747 470 Vice Commodore Andrew Aitken 027 579 4194 Rear Commodore Gillian Williams 021 540 896 BREEZE MAGAZINE Editor Ivor Wilkins 09 425 7791

ivorw@xtra.co.nz Assistant Editor Debra Douglas 0211 856 846

chaucer@xtra.co.nz Advertising Debbie Whiting 09 378 1222

inklink@xtra.co.nz

MANAGEMENT TEAM Chief Executive Officer Hayden Porter 09 360 6805 Membership Director Kim Bond 09 360 6804 Youth Coaching Reuben Corbett 09 360 6811 Sailing Director Laurie Jury 09 360 6809 Events Manager Catriona Stanton 09 360 6834 Quarterdeck Restaurant Reservations

09 360 6820 RNZYS Office Box 46-182, Herne Bay, Auckland 1147

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6 Breeze Magazine

GRATEFULLY ACKNOWLEDGES THE SUPPORT OF MAJOR PARTNERS

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Breeze Magazine 7

FROM THE COMMODORE As I write this, the club has just opened the facility for the first time in nearly four months.

What a relief it was to see the club buzzing again, racing on again and happy people in the Members’ Bar (albeit with masks!). Financially, we have suffered with no trading income, yet many fixed costs remained. However, through this we have seen the club’s adaptability and agility with online e-sailing, online auctions, online coaching, seminars and quiz nights. The staff, ably led by Hayden Porter, have remained engaged and committed; the Flag Officers have continued to meet weekly; the General Committee has met at least monthly.

We have all become used to the new normal of online meetings and not knowing what was coming next, but perhaps the most frustrating thing was being unable to do what we are here for – club sailing and member events.

However, we should not forget what we have achieved this year as a club – and it has been significant. Our business as usual saw over 1200 keelboat races run, Squadron Weekend, Club Picnic, Easter Rally, Learn to Sail and training camps set to start.

Unique to this year were the Mastercard Superyacht Regatta; two attempts at the inaugural Bridge to Bean Dinghy Race (third time lucky on December 19), the RNZYS course marshalling programme and, of course, ETNZ again winning the America’s Cup representing our club.

We have seen a steady membership retained, despite increasing financial pressure on many.

Ultimately the club exists for members, so please be sure to support your club by using the facilities and benefits that are there for you.

Our 150th publication Salt in our Blood by Ivor Wilkins has been released and is an absolutely fantastic book for your summer holidays. We have just completed this first stage of a multiyear project of the Kawau tree planting and reforestation project – a huge thanks to the staff and volunteers, who helped do the hard manual work of digging and planting. The support here, both financially and in kind has been humbling.

Speaking with Sir Michael Fay earlier in the year at the America’s Cup Hall of Fame dinner, he said “The America’s Cup is not a normal regatta; it’s the America’s Cup.” Despite being involved since 2017 in Bermuda (then as Rear Commodore), it took me a while to really understand this.

A few key things stand out though: the club has a team, ETNZ, which has represented us (pretty successfully too) for over 25 years and given us the opportunity to be the home of the America’s Cup. It is not, however, our responsibility, or right as trustee or custodian to dictate, or make decisions that are in the team’s domain.

The RNZYS has many teams that represent us proudly at sailing events and regattas worldwide where likewise we are not involved in every detail.

Now more than ever, the America’s Cup is totally commercial and professional and well beyond any yacht club’s everyday activities.

That is where agreements and relationships between club and team are key, and I can say that the America’s Cup Committee has worked very hard to nurture this delicate balance, along with our relationship with the Royal Yacht Squadron as our Challenger of Record for AC37.

With the thousands of hours spent on this, we have had some pretty robust discussions and healthy debates, but one thing remains – the club wholeheartedly supports our team, which has won the oldest trophy in international sport sailing under our burgee.

We only have to look at the unfortunate circumstances at New York Yacht Club to see how the America’s Cup can divide. Let’s support our team to give our club the best chance to keep the trophy upstairs in our collection.

We are about to have our 2021 AGM and your new Committee has been elected. Be assured they have the best interests of this club

at heart. We share our thanks to Jonty Cullinane and Peter Boardman, who leave the committee this year after both giving a lot back. Jonty, with a law and finance background, has always offered an alternative and challenging perspective. Peter, who has seen his Kawau project come to fruition after 12 years, can leave satisfied with what he has helped achieve.

The General Committee is elected by members and I am very thankful for the effort and time they put back into our club, supporting our objective of Corinthian yachting to achieve our vision of being the leading yacht club in the world.

Finally, the AGM also gives us a chance to recognise two members who have gone beyond for the club. Richard Wingfield has always been a huge support for me in the last few years in all things America’s Cup, but far more than that has been heavily involved in club race management, the AC course marshalling program, the Volvo Ocean races, and even caretaker GM a few years back. Richard, I thank you and congratulate you on a well-deserved Service Award.

Colin Carran, most recently chair of our 150th Committee, is a Young 88 Association life member and also spent 12 years on the General Committee supporting so many Past Commodores through their respective tenures.

As Major Projects chair for many years, Colin has always been a big thinker and, in fact, the Kawau projects started with him many years ago.

There are very few like Colin, who is happy to come up with an idea, yet somehow bring it to reality without seeking undue attention. Colin’s contribution is recognised with a thoroughly deserved and perhaps overdue RNZYS Life Membership. Sincere congratulations to an unsung hero of the club.

Thank you to each and every one of you who has supported me, the General Committee and the club through such tricky times. It’s been a very memorable year and I am proud of what has been achieved in such unique circumstances. Merry Christmas, I wish you all a safe and happy summer holiday. See you all in 2022.

Aaron Young Commodore

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8 Breeze Magazine

FROM THE CEO

After more than three months of the club being physically shut and operating in virtual mode, we are finally there! We re-opened the doors to members again on Friday the December 3 and we can also go racing again.

The annual cannon fire for the start of the summer season was only a couple of months late on the 3rd and it was great to see this finally happen. Following a full house for the first day of the re-open, we had our iconic Friday afternoon Havana Club Rum Race followed by more than a few rums in the dinghy locker by many. It was great to see.

I can’t say it has been easy. Like many clubs and businesses around the country (more so in Auckland), we have felt the huge impact of Covid 19 in many ways. We are lucky to have such great staff and a Committee that kept things going throughout, with plenty of enthusiasm for new ideas, online events and planning various projects for when we re-opened – without knowing when that might have been.

We have cut costs and raised funds to minimise the financial impact as much as possible.

I now hate the word “pivot”, but we did plenty of it, and will keep doing this throughout the changes operationally in the various traffic light stages the government has introduced. Please be patient and understanding while we work through these, as they are certainly not the way we would want to operate normally in order to deliver good service to our members, but we will make it work.

Under the RED traffic light system there are some essential things for you to be aware of: • All members and their guests must be vaccinated to enter the facility or use the RNZYS vessels.

• All staff (paid or unpaid) must be (and are) vaccinated and wear facemasks if in a close contact role.

• You will need to use your COVID tracer on arrival.

• You will (at least initially) have your vaccine pass sighted, or scanned at reception, or entering any of the bars or restaurants.

• When entering the premises, you will need to wear a face mask.

• You do not need to wear a face mask in the food & beverage areas, but it is encouraged.

• Our maximum capacity for each separate venue is 100 people with tables spaced 1m apart, and people must be seated and separated for service.

• There is no limit to a table / group size.

• It is up to individual boat owners to decide if crew need to be vaccinated or not, but they do still need to provide details of those on-board for tracing and can do this via Top Yacht.

As a result of these requirements, we chose to the run the postponed August AGM and following that an SGM (around the AC venue) as a hybrid model of in-person (across two rooms of 100 members) and also on Zoom.

This, in theory, actually gives us the ability to present to more members than we normally could. By the time this goes to print, the AGM and SGM would have taken place, so I don’t know the outcome as I write this.

The Flag Officers, the whole AC Committee and I have put a huge amount of work into trying to resolve and explain the situation around making a decision on the venue, and the consequences of forcing ETNZ to potentially be completely underfunded for a defence, so we hope that common sense prevails and we can get on with being the best yacht club in the world for you.

The cost of the SGM has also been a huge financial burden to the club, with a variety of professional advice required, which is disappointing when we are focused on financial recovery from Covid 19 at present.

A huge positive from the AGM was that we inducted a Life Membership to Colin Carran who has given so much to the club over so many years, including many years on the General Committee, most recently chaired the 150th Committee.

A Service Award went to Richard Wingfield, who again has given so much time and energy in the various roles he has performed (and still does) for us. Over the last few years he has been very

involved in the America’s Cup Committee and acts as our Cup Custodian. Another club hero who works tirelessly as a volunteer for all of us.

Entries opened for the 37th America’s Cup and immediately there were a number of confirmed entries, which is brilliant to see. More to come in this story and I really must thank the AC Committee and in particular the Flag Officers, who have put a huge amount of time and energy into getting things this far. I cannot stress enough how difficult this has been for the club to deal with this time around, with various agendas at play throughout. I guess it wouldn’t be the America’s Cup without a drama or two!

Our Corporate Regatta had to be postponed until March 2022, but we still ran the fundraising auction and as a result contributed $40k to our Kawau tree planting project and $10k to our International Sailing Fund. We now look forward to raising a similar amount in March with the proportion of proceeds changed around for that one.

Thank you to the many people who bid, and also to the sponsors and members who provided some amazing items to auction off. We still encourage you to get involved in our Kawau project, which is now completed for this year at least and will resume next winter for more planting. The amazing new deck at Lidgard House is also now complete amongst other projects on Kawau Island.

We have a lot to fit in before Christmas Day and the summer is now full to the brim with various on and off water events for you to be involved in, as we have also moved postponed items into the few free dates we had open, or combined them into other events already planned.

So support your club, get involved, bring some friends and enjoy what we have on offer.

This year we will close down only for a short period from December 26 (after an amazing Christmas Day lunch) and re-open on January 5.

Best wishes for the Festive Season, enjoy the sunshine, and we hope to see many of you over the summer break period on the water, or at the club.

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Wayne (09) 376 6331 • 0274 502 654 • www.lauriecollins.co.nz

Hayden Porter CEO

Breeze Magazine 9

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10 Breeze Magazine Cannon master Gerald Flynn (left) stands by while Commodore Aaron Young lights the fuse to officially open the delayed summer Sailing Season

Cannon roars for Covid-delayed Opening Day After the restrictions of a protracted Covid lockdown, an air of relief and release hovered over the much-delayed Opening Day celebrationson Friday, December 3.

A group of RNZYS members gathered at the flagstaff, while cannon master, Gerald Flynn, made the required preparations and precautions to ensure the health and safety of all concerned and Commodore Aaron Young did the honours.

Immediately following the annual pyrotechnics, Gerald turned his immediate attention to cleaning the cannon and returning it to its customary place in the RNZYS foyer, while members scattered to their boats to

head out on the water.

As the RNZYS Race Committee manned the Westhaven starting tower, the Havana Club Rum Race fleet jockeyed for position in the shadow of the Harbour Bridge for the first

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official race since lockdown was imposed on August 17.

“It is just wonderful to see all the boats bringing the Waitemata Harbour back to life after all this time,” commented a passer-by who stopped to watch the start.

A fleet of nearly 40 yachts enjoyed sunny conditions and a 10-12 knot north easterly as it

paraded down the harbour. Auckland resumed its mantle as the City of Sails once more.

At the head of the fleet, the big guns battled hard for line honours, with Wired taking the honour, followed by Steinlager 2 and Emotional Rescue. The trimaran Romanza, competing in its own division, crossed just behind Wired and ahead of Steinlager 2.

As the yachts returned to their marina berths and tidied up, the RNZYS prepared to welcome the crews back into the Dinghy Locker Bar for the customary after-match thirst-quenching, which somehow went down better than ever.

Photos by Billy Woodworth

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Breeze Magazine 13

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14 Breeze Magazine

From the Sailing Office

The big guns ... trimaran Romanza and Steinlager 2 vie for supremacy in the first Havana Club Rum Race post-lockdown. – Debbie Whiting Photo It has been a tough few months in lockdown, but now we are finally seeing the light at the end of the tunnel.

In the Sailing Office, we have been pretty busy while working reduced hours, rescheduling events and getting ready for what is shaping up to be a busy summer ahead. We also got into a few online virtual events, running webinars covering rules and tactics, cruising guides, learn to sail courses, learn to eSail courses, Etchells tuning courses and lots of eSailing regattas.

I personally have really enjoyed the eSailing.

It has taken me a while to get used to the game (Virtual Regatta Inshore) and it can be very frustrating at times, (lots of penalties!). But there is definitely a big crossover to real world sailing and can be a great training tool when you can’t get out on the water.

With all the webinars we ran over the

lockdown period, one of the highlights were the two cruising discussions with Jon and Barbara Tucker.The first was focused on the Bay of Islands and the second on the Marlborough Sounds. Some great content sharing a wealth of knowledge. We are now planning an RNZYS flotilla to the Bay of Island over the Xmas and New Year period. All the webinars are saved online on the RNZYS YouTube channel, which can be accessed via the RNZYS website.

I must make a special mention also to Peter Linford our Learn to Sail manager at the RNZYS. He really took on the ‘virtual’ content, running dual cameras and building props for his Learn to Sail course (which had over 150 attendees!). He also ran the cruising and learn to esail courses. His adapting to going ‘virtual’ was used as an example in a University of Auckland lecture.

The last part of the 2021 year is going to rush by with racing every day up to December 19, including the Barfoot & Thompson Bridge to Bean Rock dinghy race on the 19th which will be the third attempt after Covid and then bad weather cancelled the first two events.

It is disappointing that the Bay of Islands Sailing Week had to be cancelled this season.

I know we always had a good showing of RNZYS boats at this event, which is the highlight of the season for many sailors. We will be running an event over this time with Royal Akarana Yacht Club to fill the gap this year and will do all we can to help the BOI race week to be back again in 2023.

Hope to see you all out on the water soon Laurie Jury Sailing Director

Breeze Magazine 15

Merry Christmas

& A Happy New Year! from the

Dental family for your Family DECEMBER

Friday 24th (7:30am – 12:30pm) Closed from 25th December until 5th Jan

JANUARY

5th Jan - 7th Jan (9:00am – 5:00pm)

WE REOPEN NORMAL HOURS FROM 10TH JAN

16 Breeze Magazine

Race Officer Jan Airey’s trigger finger is itching to get back on the starting gun Story & picture by Debra Douglas If you are thinking of joining the Squadron’s volunteer race management team, “just go for it,” urges Jan Airey, the club’s Race Officer of the Year for the 20-21 season.

“We are a good bunch of people and very supportive.”

Jan, a sailmaker at Lidgard Sails, has missed her teammates during lockdown. Jan: “It has been dreadful not being out on the water these lockdown months – we could only message each other, ‘See you soon, see you soon’.”

She normally spends much time at the Squadron, officiating at the Etchell Sprint Series, Eliott 7 Sprint Series, Ladies’ Series and match race championships.

RNZYS Race Officer Jan Airey working in her ‘day job’ at Lidgard Sails.

She will also be overseeing December’s Barfoot & Thompson Bridge to Bean Race, the Women’s Keelboat Nationals and Etchell Nationals in April and is fully involved with the Youth Programme.

Jan didn’t take up sailing until her midtwenties when she joined her local club, the Waikawa Boating Club, in the Marlborough

Sounds. Although never a dinghy sailor, she has spent a lot of time on the water, including competing in the Sydney-Hobart, sailing around the Pacific and to Japan and back. Up until a few years ago she owned a Young 88.

“I am passionate about wind and wind direction and setting good courses. I enjoy the camaraderie of the volunteer team and after all the years of sailing it is nice to give something back. At the Squadron I have been very privileged to have an amazing mentor in International Race Officer, Megan Kensington, as well as a good team around me. I also like talking to the competitors afterwards and getting their feedback. There is nothing wrong with getting feedback.

“Everyone has to start somewhere, so come on, join us and have some fun. You don’t have to be a sailor to do the job. One of my assistants has never been a sailor and she is really good. It does help, but it is not essential.”

Sailing Director Laurie Jury says it is critical that the Squadron has more volunteers like Jan at the club. “Otherwise, we wouldn’t be able to run any of the racing and it is going to be a very busy (half) summer next year, because of all the events that have had to be re-scheduled.

• For information about being part of the team, contact ljury@rnzys.org.nz, or Race Manager Megan Thomson mthomson@rnzys.org.nz.

Breeze Magazine 17

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18 Breeze Magazine

Celebrating a new RNZYS summer menu Summertime, and the eating is easy in the Squadron’s Quarterdeck. Executive Chef Jean Brito’s new menu is full of seasonal tempters. T he two-course set menu is $52, plus add-ons.

Jean looks forward to seeing you all back enjoying his dishes. His favourites from the menu …

Entrees Loaded Guacamole Halloumi & hibiscus flower fried tacos, Chef Jean’s guacamole & charcoal oil.

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Grilled Coastal Lamb Chops Roasted baby kumara, chimichurri, smoky eggplant purée.

Pictured top right: F&B staff member Caleb Loi watches as Jean Brito adds the finishing touches to the Moroccan chicken brochettes.

Pictures by Debra Douglas

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Breeze Magazine 19

Big interest in the Bridge to Bean Race

After a long year with plenty of cancellations and postponements of sailing events, including the cancellation of most dinghy racing until 2022, the 2021 Barfoot & Thompson Bridge to Bean Race on December 19 was attracting huge interest, and with only 150 vessels able to take part, the available spaces were snapped up quickly!

The race’s popularity was due to its accessibility to most skill levels, providing an opportunity for young sailors to test themselves against world-class competition. One of the most renowned sailors planning to race was Volvo Ocean Race winning skipper, 2006 ISAF World Sailor of the Year and current Doyle Sails CEO, Mike Sanderson.

He was excited by the diversity of the fleet for the event. “If you are in your Opti and 18 foot skiff World Champions, Honda Marine, come past at 20 knots, that’s pretty cool.”

As most professional sailors have a dinghy sailing background, Mike saw the opportunity to take part in more fun races as enabling him and other experienced sailors, to hone their basic dinghy sailing skills. “It’s a lot of fun, and there’s nothing better than getting out there and taking part with one of your kids.

“I used to do more than 100 days a year away pro sailing, so these past couple of years have been quite different with the ability to travel so limited. However, the time at home has had some advantages.The biggest one for me personally has been the time I have been able to spend sailing with my 12-year-old son, Merrick.”

Mike and Merrick were set to do the Barfoot & Thompson Bridge to Bean aboard their Cherub. Mike has been instrumental in a renewed interest in the class. “The choice of a Cherub was 100% driven on what would be a cool little high performance boat for Merrick and I to just go sailing in. I wanted it to be fast, single trapeze, light, not expensive and for it to look cool!

“There is nothing better than doing 20 knots down the harbour in a Cherub with your child wiring off the back corner, absolutely loving it.”

Mike and Merrick scoping out the start area at the Harbour Bridge.

Mike also takes his turn strapped into the trapeze, with Merrick helming as they enjoy summer evenings and weekends ripping around the Waitemata Harbour and Hauraki Gulf.

After getting his hands on a first-generation Cherub through TradeMe, Mike realised this class could work for many more families. Even though it had been extinct in NZ for more than 20 years, the Cherub still had a huge following and was dear to many people’s hearts.

Since purchasing their Cherub in April 2020 the Cherub revival has seen the fleet grow to nearly 30 boats in New Zealand.

Mike cannot recommend them highly enough. “Cherubs are really nicely mannered, super-fast, fun, light and with enough ability to tinker around for those of us that do enjoy that side of sailing, and as long as Mum or Dad are a proficient enough dinghy sailor then you can get amongst it.”

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11 March 2022 110 | CHAPTER SE VEN |

a crowning achievement

rnzys: 150 years

New Zealand, No. 85.

Downing Street, 22nd August, 1902;

My Lord,

I have the honour to acknowledge the receipt

of your despatch No. 57, of the 25th June last, and

to inform you that His Majesty has been graciously

pleased to permit the New Zealand Yacht Squadron (formerly the Auckland Yacht Club) to assume the title “Royal.”

2. With regard to the Club’s request that its

vessels should be allowed to fly the Blue

Ensign of his Majesty’s Fleet, I transmit to you, for

your information and for communication to the Club, a copy of a letter from the Admiralty covering a

Warrant to enable the Yacht Squadron to fly the Ensign in question on board its vessels.

I have the honour to be, My Lord,

Your Lordship’s most obedient humble servant,

J. CHAMBERLAIN Secretary for the Colonies

C O R P O R AT E R E G AT TA 24 March 2022

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AUCKL AND TO THREE K I N G S R ACE | RIGHT |

The RNZYS ensign gained an

emblem of the crown to symbolise Royal status.

ivor wilkins photo

7 April

2 April

MORE INFO ON OUR WEBSITE W W W. R N Z YS . O R G . N Z

RNZYS 150TH GAL A 9 April 2022

|

1871–2021

| 111

Breeze Magazine 21

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22 Breeze Magazine

Lockdown debuts for new RNZYS staff Story and pictures by Debra Douglas Billy (or William, he answers to both) Woodworth, the Squadron’s new Communications Co-ordinator, is the first to admit the advent of level 4 lockdown in August was hardly an auspicious start to a dream job.

Twenty-three-year-old Billy joined the Squadron when level 4 was only a few days old and says his transition into the marketing and communications role involved giving his old laptop back to his former employer and receiving a new one to work from home, marketing Squadron on-line events and producing news posts, media releases and Mainsheet.

“But I am working in the sporting world and couldn’t be happier at the opportunity,” said Billy. ” I’m now looking forward to seeing what the role is like in its entirety and meeting members in person.”

Billy lives and breathes sport, having played rugby, league, football, squash, tennis, golf and hockey.

“I grew up in a small town south of Whangarei. It was always hard to get enough numbers to make up a team, so everyone had to be involved in every code.”

He has never sailed, however, so taking part in the Squadron’s Learn-to-Sail programme is top of his to-do list.

From Year 9 Billy boarded at Auckland Grammar and went on to tutor part time and coach rugby at the school. He spent a year in England as a PE teacher at Reading School and graduated from Auckland University with a BA in Political Science, Media, Film and Television in 2020.

Following graduation came a stint as an intern at Sky TV, working on visual and audio editing of sports, live television production and on-screen content. Then early this year he became a customer service ambassador for Inspire Growth Partners, a data-driven agency that works closely with some of the leading automotive brands in New Zealand.

Billy describes the job as having a lot of different moving parts to it, very much like his

Billy Woodworth. current role. As a corporate ‘fix it’ person, he would assist customers whose vehicle had failed in some way, even organising roadside assistance. He was also involved with introduction events for potential buyers when new models were launched.

Billy: “The attraction of the Squadron was definitely the sport side of things. There is also a massive amount of prestige and expectation involved in my role. I would not have left my previous position for anything less than this. It’s an awesome opportunity.”

New RNZYS Finance Manager Donna Dicker also had to get to grips with settling into a new job whilst coping with lockdown land. “It has been challenging,“ said Donna. “When I was interviewed for the role at the beginning of September, we were ever hopeful we would be back in Level 2 on my start date.“ But that, of course, didn’t happen and Donna and her predecessor Sarah Weenink had to deal with the complexities of a remote handover.

The transition was successful, however, and

now Donna has her feet firmly under the desk.

“It was also difficult dealing with the club’s ‘non trading’ situation. I haven’t seen the club in full operation. In some ways it was a good thing, allowing me to focus on other elements, but I am so looking forward to seeing people here, the bars buzzing, the members happy.”

Donna has worked in a diverse range of business operations at a senior management level. Industries ranging from national and regional sports organisations, to multinationals, service and hospitality. This includes four years at Hockey New Zealand Inc. as Finance Manager and 10 years as the Finance and Commercial Manager at the Auckland Cricket Association.

Donna says she is versatile, with demonstrated strengths in finance, business and change management, revenue generation, events management and enjoys building relationships with people from all walks of life. “I have a reputation for challenging the status quo and seeking out opportunities for improvement, including streamlining and integrating systems, optimising efficiencies and

Breeze Magazine 23 Donna Dicker.

implementation of financial best practice to support the initiatives of the RNZYS and its stakeholders.”

Donna chose finance as a career when she was young, as it became apparent that numbers tell a story. “To me, financial management is not only about reporting results, it’s about being future focused. The numbers tell a story and my ability to interpret and communicate these provides insights upon which the business can make proactive decisions to run a slick operation. A key role in any business is to always be looking forward and accurate information makes all the difference in any organisation.”

Out of the office, Donna is busy renovating an old villa in Sandringham and training her miniature poodle. Although she is a sports fan, she has never sailed, but is keen to learn and is joining Squadron’s Learn-to-Sail Programme.

“I’m very excited about getting out on the water. It is a whole new adventure. I am keen to absorb the atmosphere of the club and meet everyone.”

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24 Breeze Magazine

The cockpit aft settee slides back to create ample space for alfresco dining. Note the galley located immediately inside the large sliding doors to provide convenient access for meals inside the saloon, or in the cockpit. When it is time to play, the cockpit settee slides forward to enlarge the boarding platform.

Versatile ‘Shapeshifter’ from Beneteau Targeted at comfortable passagemaking, with plenty of space for family and friends, the new Beneteau Swift Trawler 41 Fly has an arsenal of tricks up its sleeve to fulfil multiple functions and demands.

Like one of the creations in a Transformer movie, this boat features a number of moving parts that take on various shapes and configurations to shift space and purpose as required. Want more space in the aft cockpit, for example, and the rear settee slides back to accommodate alfresco dining and entertaining.

Similarly, the stainless stairs leading up to the flybridge, slide forward to tuck out of the way.

When the fish are biting, or the kids are jumping in and out of the water, the cockpit settee can be shifted forward to enlarge the boarding platform.

Up on the expansive foredeck, sunseekers can spread out and lounge on the large

sunbeds, which can quickly be transformed into a forward-facing settee, providing a great vantage point for sightseeing on passage, or taking time out with a book.

Inside the saloon, with the anchor down and appetites up, the helm seat swivels through 270° and lowers to the cabin sole to complete the fourth side of seating around the dining table. At bedtime, if the three cabins are already occupied, the dining table slides down to provide an additional queen size bed, complete with privacy curtains.

All this shape-shifting works to maximise space in what is already a big-volume boat.

With its three-deck configuration and 4.2m (13.7ft) beam that is carried virtually the entire 13.43m (44ft) of its length, this boat does not lack for real estate.

Wide expanses of glass accentuate the sense of space and light, particularly on the

The large foredeck sunbed, converts to a forward-facing settee.

Breeze Magazine 25

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26 Breeze Magazine main deck, which accommodates the internal helm station, saloon and well-equipped galley and continues directly out to the cockpit.

Large stackable sliding doors open to create a seamless flow between cockpit and saloon, with the galley sensibly placed between the two and accessible to indoor and outdoor dining options.

On the lower deck, accommodations include a master suite with aft-facing centreline bed, generous hanging and drawer space, a stand-up shower on the starboard side and separate head on the port side.

Straddling the centreline companionway aft of the master suite are a day head and singleberth cabin on the starboard side and a double cabin on the port side with two single berths that can be converted to a queensize double.

Up on the flybridge is a forward helm station and a lounging/dining area covered by a bimini, with an expansive sundeck aft, equipped with a BBQ, fridge, sink and trash compactor.

The flybridge helm station is equipped with aft-facing cameras to facilitate docking, but the internal helm position is also well placed for that purpose.

A starboard sliding door enables the helmperson to step out to the side deck and, with good visibility fore and aft, still be in easy reach of the twin throttle controls and the bow and stern thruster. A gate in the starboard

Above right: The saloon is spacious and bright, with contemporary fabrics and joinery.

The helm seat can swivel 270° to provide additional seating around the dining table.

Right: The owners’ stateroom features a large aft-facing centreline bed with separate ensuite head and stand-up shower.

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In ‘swift” mode, the Swift Trawler 41 Fly sprints to 25 knots, maintaining a level attitude at all times. The hard chine and flared bow deflects spray down and away from the hull. hip-high bulwark allows the helmsman to step onto the dock once alongside and assist with line-handling in a short-handed situation.

Powered by twin Volvo Penta D4 300hp shaft drive engines, the Swift Trawler 41 lives up to the dual-personality implied in its name.

In swift mode, it planes comfortably at 12-16 knots and with the throttles wide open sprints to 25 knots.

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28 Breeze Magazine

36° Brokers offers a wide range of Beneteau models for private ownership, or a shared ownership model with full concierge service through The Yacht Collective.

Delves, who previously worked as Communications Manager at the RNZYS, now heads up The Yacht Collective division of 36 Degrees Brokers, which offers syndicated ownership plans.

This particular Swift Trawler is the latest addition to that fleet and is owned by a syndicate of six shareholders. “The demand for this boat was so high, I could have sold it twice over,” he says.

“The interest in this ownership model is very strong and offers a great way to own a boat of this type. The ownership contract is for four years, with an option to extend it to five.

“After that, the boat is sold and the proceeds divided equally between the six shareholders and a new boat becomes available to them if they wish to continue the arrangement.”

During the contract, the owners pay a management fee which provides a full maintenance and valet service. “It is entirely hassle-free walk-on, walk-off ownership,” says Delves. “The boat is fully equipped with all cutlery, tableware and basic galley supplies, linen and towels. The owner just arrives with personal effects and provisions, steps on board with the tanks full and everything meticulously groomed, ready to go.

“At the conclusion of each outing, the

PRINCIPAL SPECIFICATIONS LOA Hull Length Beam Draft Displ. (light) Fuel Water Engines Naval Architest Designer NZ Agent

owner tops up the fuel tanks and returns to the marina berth, removes personal belongings and leaves the concierge team to replace all the linen and towels, complete a full clean and groom, and have everything ship-shape for the next owner’s use.”

To meet growing demand, the Yacht Collective fleet is expanding and by the end of next year will have eight models in Auckland, including Swift Trawlers, sporty Grand Turismo express cruisers and two yachts, an Oceanis

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In addition 36 Degrees Brokers has already delivered one Swift Trawler 41 to a private owner, with another on order for next year.

“They are proving very popular and we find that they have a particular appeal to yachties making the switch to powerboats,” says Delves.

The Swift Trawler range includes a 41 Sedan version, a new Swift Trawler 62 model, and also a smaller 11m Swift Trawler 35.

By Ivor Wilkins

Breeze Magazine 29

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30 Breeze Magazine

Member of the RNZYS ‘packaging and postage’ team, Nikki Harkin wraps the 3kg book for despatch to local and international buyers.

A fabulous record of our 150-year history

By Debra Douglas Commodore Aaron Young and Chairman of the Squadron’s 150th Anniversary Committee, Colin Carran, have your Christmas giftbuying sorted. The top candidate being the book, Salt in our Blood, written by Squadron member and Breeze editor Ivor Wilkins. It’s a richly-illustrated, 464 page coffee table publication capturing the club’s proud history, dating back to 1871.

A huge undertaking, the concept for the book was initiated in

February 2017 when the 150th Committee convened to consider the parameters for the club’s 150th celebration.

“The publication of our history was the most important of our legacy projects, the other being the Kawau Island conservation work,” said Colin.

“The book had to be readable and of high quality. We wanted it to be timeless and still relevant in another 150 years. Ivor’s knowledge of the club and his natural affinity with the classics made him exceedingly well qualified for the assignment.

Wishing you a very Merry Christmas as you sail into the New Year!

Matt Thompson

020 414 38419 mthompson@barfoot.co.nz

Breeze Magazine 31

“The result is a stunning tribute to our special year. It is a publication of national significance and worthy of recognition.”

Considerable research and time over many years was also put in by Squadron members. “This added to the flavour and history if the book,“ said Aaron Young. “Three years in the making and encompassing 150 years of the RNZYS, including the milestone of our sesquicentennial.

“More than that, though, it’s almost a maritime history of Auckland, with some amazing images and brilliant memories.”

Ivor shared the book in draft form, chapter by chapter with Colin, who says he is probably the only person (apart from Ivor) who so far has read it cover to cover.

Colin: “There were others, of course, who shared in the drafts and passed comment back as a way of offering constructive balance on the subject.

“The early history of the club was particularly interesting to me, how the club was formed, how we got our Royal Warrant and our association

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32 Breeze Magazine

Author Ivor Wilkins spent three years researching, writing and publishing the RNZYS 150-year history.

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Breeze Magazine 33 with the Navy. But it is not just about the Squadron, it is more than that. It is a history of NZ yachting, our boat building industry and the personalities involved.”

Aaron agrees, Salt in our Blood is to be prized. “And actually read every word, as there is genuinely a story or something in there for every member (including your own name listed). Oh and by the way, it would make a great Christmas gift…”

Every story has a beginning and the beginning for Ivor was to research the records and material that club historians, primarily the late John Watson, Life Member Bill Donovan and most recently Chris Collins had safeguarded for years.

Their efforts received a major boost when Colin Carran saved a trove of documents from a watery fate in the Youth Training Building.

Twice before, in the early period of the club, vital historical documents were lost in fires.

This time, boxes and boxes of documents were moved from the Crows Nest to the Youth Training Building, which Colin described as a “mouldy, damp hole”.

The history of the club was at the mercy of this leaky building, he said. But his rescue mission safeguarded the documents, which he also arranged to have digitised as a further protection.

“That was my starting point,” said Ivor.

“I copied these files onto my computer and began to read more than 14,000 individual items. It was like an archaeological dig – moving through layers of recording-keeping technology, from digital files on the surface back through typewritten papers and further back to pen and ink, much of it in tiny spidery script, much faded by time.

“Newspaper files, album cuttings, multiple interviews, Papers Past, my own records from more than 30 years of writing about New Zealand sailing and the marine industry and many, many books provided further primary and secondary sources. For close on three years, the floor of my study resembled a city of books piled high like mini skyscrapers. Every morning, I was like King Kong picking my way through the canyons to reach my desk.

“The philosophical approach was that, just as no man is an island, no institution exists in isolation from the tides and climates of wider society. A club such as ours reflects and is affected by the socio-political and economic forces of the times and I felt it was important

to place the narrative within those wider contexts.

“At its essence, though, this is a story of a yacht club and its impact on and involvement in the extraordinary rise of New Zealand yachting on the world stage. Not every major New Zealand international sailing triumph was achieved under a Squadron burgee, but most of them were – and there would be very few that did not have at least some Squadron involvement.”

As the project approached its climax – culminating with the successful defence of the America’s Cup in the summer of our 150th year – thoughts began to turn towards a suitable title. The eureka moment came when Ivor came across a speech US President John F Kennedy made at a dinner on the eve of the 1962 America’s Cup at Newport, Rhode Island.

Kennedy, a keen yachtsman himself, pondered the question of why we have this powerful connection with the sea. As part of the answer he said, “It is an interesting biological fact that all of us have in our veins the exact same percentage of salt in our blood that exists in the ocean and, therefore, we have salt in our blood, in our sweat, in our tears.”

Ivor: “In summing up the passions and endeavours of members down the past century and half who have written this story with their achievements, their blood, sweat and tears, it seemed to say it all: we indeed have salt in our blood.”

• Salt in our Blood can be purchased from the Squadron store between 10am and 4pm Monday – Friday, or ordered through the Mainsheet link.

For more info.

Ph 09 360-6800 or email reception@rnzys.org.nz.

34 Breeze Magazine

Staying afloat in a season of Covid ‘Out of adversity comes opportunity’ – Benjamin Franklin, oceanographer and one of the founding fathers of the USA. Story by Debra Douglas The saying proved to be very appropriate at the Squadron from the day Level 4 lockdown was announced in August. With so many events postponed or cancelled, it was necessary to improvise, to keep members feeling connected and involved, albeit virtually.

“We learned a lot in the 2020 lockdown,” said CEO Hayden Porter.

“And I suppose with our goal as a leading international and local yacht, we were ahead of the game with what we had to play with. We actually ended up helping some sailing clubs to get their head around doing things virtually.”

Hayden envisaged the worst-case scenario would be a six-week lockdown, so a six-week plan was activated to continually engage with members, making sure they were regularly communicated with, while still continuing to show benefits to the club’s sponsors and supporters.

“To do that, we had to look at all the events we had planned and what could we do online.That became an evolving thing. While it was not perfect, members were still involved and felt the club was providing some

value. Of course we missed revenue from the food and beverage area, which ultimately goes back to the sailing side of operation; the online events were purely membership engagement projects.”

Initiatives included quiz nights, an on-line auction, wine and whisky ‘tasting’ sessions, Melbourne Cup experiences, kid’s colouring competitions, contactless bottle store sales, sailing webinars and eSailing races.

Another important way of coping with lockdown was to occupy Squadron staff with work that had been set aside for the volunteer programme, but could not be done because of restrictions. For example, members of the Food & Beverage team went up to Kawau to paint, plant trees and repair the sea wall. Images of their work were shared, to keep members up to date with what the club was doing.

Hayden: “Our communications always said, ‘We are ready to go’. I lost count how many times we had to change dates, but we went into the weeks with the thought we will plan for it until we are told we can’t do it. As the goalposts moved, we moved with them, but we got to a point where we ran out of weeks in the year to squeeze everything in. We have pushed out many events until next year, but some will not happen.

“Financially, it has been a big blow to the Club, but on the positive side we picked up new members during the period, the club is in good shape still and I guess it has just been a short-term blip in our 150-year history.”

Breeze Magazine 35 Lockdown was a bumpy ride for Commercial Manager Sarah Dance, with planned sponsored events put on hold or canned.

“My role was to communicate to members what we received from the Government, working out how we could put into Squadron terms what we could or couldn’t do,” said Sarah. “But even in the hardest of times, we still managed to connect with our members, our partners and Corporate Members and keep momentum going.

“We were also always thinking of ways we could do things on-line with our sponsors. We encouraged them to reach out to us. For example, in partnership with our cruising sponsors, PIC Insurance Brokers, we presented two evenings of cruising advice for the summer.

This was also an opportunity for PIC to talk via Zoom to members about different marine insurance they can provide.”

Some events have been pushed out until 2022. The Corporate Regatta, for example, will now be held on March 24th. But, with partners Barfoot & Thompson facilitating, the on-line silent and live auction to raise funds for our Kawau Tree Planting & Reforestation Project and International Sailing Fund went ahead and raised over $50,000.

Sarah: “Part of our Corporate Members’ agreements and assets is that their benefits include utilising the venue. Of course they couldn’t do that, so we had to look at ways of giving them other benefits or extending their agreements. It was quite challenging, but it has been encouraging that partners have said they will be back next year.”

Despite the lockdown restrictions, there was still plenty going on in the Sailing Office, with two key components in its programme to keep members engaged on-line, being webinars and eSailing events.

“With the webinars we started with rules and tactics nights, three

over three weeks,” said Sailing Director Laurie Jury. “This attracted about 80 participants and we received good feedback. This led onto a ladies’ virtual tactics night, on-line splicing tutorials, plus quiz and online theory sessions with the Youth Programme and Performance Programme members. “ In October, the Sailing Office ran a very successful cruising seminar via Zoom, timed for the summer preparations. with contributions from Daniel Garner of PIC Insurance Brokers, Viki Moore from Island Cruising NZ and well-travelled cruisers Jon and Barb Tucker.

Learn to Sail Manager Peter Linford outlined practical aspects of navigating, chart reading, weather and radio procedures, while Laurie discussed various anchor types and, most important, anchoring etiquette and neighbourly behaviour in crowded summer bays.

Jon and Barb Tucker outlined breaking up the passage to the Bay of Islands into manageable daily runs and gave tips on some of the best anchorages, walks and places to provision in the Bay of Islands.

This was followed up in November with another evening of cruising advice, this time focusing on cruising Great Barrier and the Marlborough Sounds.

Laurie says one their most successful webinars was the Learn-to-Sail course for complete beginners. With 100 signing up, the event had a positive flow-on effect. To receive their finishing certificate, participants have to complete the practical side after lockdown.

“More than 30% paid the fee to finish the course, so it was a good marketing tool for us, pushing sales for the programme.”

The other important tool for the Sailing Office was the increasingly popular eSailing. Although it was realised early on a webinar was needed

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36 Breeze Magazine to teach the less-than-tech-savvy participants how to play the game, so they could take part in the Havana Club Rum Race and the Doyle Sails eSailing competitions, plus the RNZYS eSailing Open Regatta and Club Championship.

Laurie: “We used Virtual Regatta, the online web browser sailing race simulator. Although gaming isn’t for everyone, we have a hard-core group who eSail regularly. We did, however, encourage those who are usually mid-fleet to step up to the top, with an evening of ‘Tips from the Top’ from top eSailor Aiden Gordon.

“We are planning to make eSailing a permanent fixture, alongside our regular normal racing on the Sailing Office calendar and are thinking about running an annual club championship and open regatta, probably during the winter season.”

The best-dressed annual event at the Squadron is always the Melbourne Cup, but this year it was a fashionable online affair. Members

were offered a GH Mumm Picnic Box to enjoy while they watched the race at home, a virtual sweepstake kept members trackside, while partners Pernod Ricard provided prizes for the fashion-in-the-livingroom competitions, with brand ambassador Rémy Jaboulet as judge.

“Taking the Melbourne Cup online for member participation was something we hadn’t expected to do, however, we are well versed in quickly taking various events online now,“ said Membership Director Kim Bond. “A reason to dress up for this annual race, enjoy canapes and champagne in our own homes was quite different to the party atmosphere we usually enjoy at the club. But it was great to see so many members embrace this with us.”

Rémy Jaboulet, who judged the four competition categories – best dressed female, best dressed gentleman, best dressed couple and best fascinator – said he had not seen such a high level of fashion since Paris Fashion Week.

1

2

3

4

Breeze Magazine 37

5

1/ 2/ 3/ 4/

Best Best Best Best

6

fascinator: Jodie Kirkwood dressed female: Aliza Glanville dressed male: Mike Foster dressed couple: Andrew Bowring and son Archer (9).

5/ Dressed for the occasion and enjoying the finest fizz, Membership Director Kim Bond.

6/ Strong Cup fashionista couple contenders, Commercial Manager Sarah Dance with son Harley Baird (18 months).

38 Breeze Magazine For the Bermuda America’s Cup in 2017, Olympic bronze medal track cyclist Simon Van Velthooven (left) was at the head of a ‘peleton’ of cyclors providing power aboard the ETNZ AC50 catamaran.

‘Cyclors’ on the comeback trail for America’s Cup 37?

By Ivor Wilkins About mid-2021, when rumours began to circulate that cyclorpower might be readmitted in the Protocol for the 37th America’s Cup, Simon van Velthooven took to his bike for his daily commute to work.

“It is an hour’s ride each way,” he says, “and I make sure it is the hardest hour I can possibly make it every time. It is now just part of my normal routine. Rain, hail or shine, I do it every day.”

Van Velthooven is a former Olympic bronze medal track cyclist who was recruited to Emirates Team New Zealand when they were first exploring the cycling idea for the power-hungry AC50 catamarans

being developed for the 2017 Cup cycle in Bermuda. Initially, his role was as a consultant, but he became hooked on the America’s Cup as a new challenge and ended up on board the winning campaign, frantically pedalling at the head of a peleton of cyclors pumping oil around the multi-functional hydraulic system.

“Bermuda was a bit of a whirlwind,” he recalls. “It all happened very quickly and the cycle arrangement was pretty raw and not really fully developed. I can’t imagine how much further we could have taken it if we had a good couple of years refining it all, but it obviously worked for the Cup.” With the introduction of the AC75 class for the 2021 Defence in

Breeze Magazine 39

Auckland, the Protocol outlawed cyclors. That might have been a cue for Van Velthooven to exit stage right. Instead, he took up the challenge to reshape his body for conventional arm-powered grinding duties.

“I bought an arm grinding machine and went to the gym a lot. Luckily, there is no real skillset for producing power either way – you just have to turn handles.”

To an elite athlete those qualities can be found by setting goals and pursuing them with sheer grit and repetitive training. “It is just a question of time. The more effort you put in and the more you train, the better your results will be when you step up for a trial. Luckily, I had a good trial and beat a few people I did not expect to beat.”

The team took him on and Van Velthooven was head down in the pit, furiously spinning the handles to muscle the AC75 round the track, adding a successful Cup defence to a successful challenge for a rare two from two result on his rookie sailing CV. “It was nice being part of a full campaign from woe to go. I enjoyed the change to arm grinding and found it really rewarding. I also had a few other jobs on the boat, but mainly it was just about producing max output.”

Now, with cyclors back in the mix, Van Velthooven is revelling being back on his bike, reshaping his body once again to prepare for the Cup defence.

40 Breeze Magazine This radical re-shaping of bodies for different athletic functions is not uncommon at the elite level. When rowing gold medallist Rob Waddell came into the America’s Cup as a grinder for the 2003 Kiwi defence, his physical transformation from lower body to upper body strength was astonishing. Then he switched it all back again to return to rowing.

“I feel like a bit of a triathlete at the moment,” Van Velthooven laughs, “trying to figure out what sport you like the most. Arm grinding was fun, but I am excited to be going back to legs. It has reinvigorated my passion for biking.

“It is nice to get out for training rides on the road compared with huge hours in the gym on an arm grinding machine.

“That is one of the big advantages of the bike, being out in the fresh air. There were a lot of hours arm grinding in the gym, watching movies.”

Although Van Velthooven is fully investing in this physical transformation, he is open to the possibility that cycling might not be the ultimate choice, even though ETNZ design chief, Dan Bernasconi, has all but publicly committed to the concept.

Given that the crew numbers under the new protocol reduce from 11 to eight and the success of the cyclor system in Bermuda, it would seem a foregone conclusion that cyclors are the way to go. During the Bermuda regatta, it was touted that legs cranked out about 30% more power than arms.

“That is a pretty high number,” Van Velthooven comments. “After arm grinding and seeing the numbers some of the guys put out, it was pretty impressive. We would need to do a solid analysis from the Auckland campaign.

“We will see if legs are the correct choice. It could be we do something radical that requires looking at going down a different path.

From a technical point of view, there is room for improvement over what we did in Bermuda, but the bike itself has been developed for over 100 years. The body position, the seating, chain, sprocket and crank development have all been going on for a long time, but no doubt marginal gains can be made everywhere.

“We could go to recumbent bikes, or there may be other variations that enable you to put out more power. Every Kiwi loves dreaming up ideas of what you can do. There are experts that know more than me, but you add what you think you can contribute.

“Obviously, I had input in Bermuda. You always think out loud within the closed doors of the team and everybody makes a contribution.”

Power, however, was not the only benefit of the cycling system. Using

A lifetime of high action sailing in M-Class and 18ft skiffs

legs also freed up arms and hands to perform other functions. Blair Tuke, for example, controlled the foiling height while pedalling through manoeuvres, while Josh Junior and Andy Maloney kept their eyes out of the boat adding valuable tactical input.

However, the team was always clear that cyclor power alone was not the winning factor in Bermuda, nor will it be in the next Cup regatta.

Apart from the readmission of cyclors, the Protocol stipulates broadly welcomed changes that will improve performance and also create costreduction opportunities.

The crew reduction and elimination of the bowsprit, running backstays and code zero sails reduces weight by close to 1000kg, which, with the addition of wider wingspan on the foils, will improve light air lift-off and performance.

Teams will be limited to building one new AC75, but will compete in preliminary regattas with new AC40 yachts, which can be modified for testing and development programmes, but must return to onedesign configuration for racing. The AC40s will also be used for a Youth America’s Cup and a Women’s America’s Cup regatta.

Other innovations in the protocol include more transparency, with shared reconnaissance programmes and a commitment to allow fly-onthe-wall documentary filming throughout the campaigns. This is with a view to emulating the highly successful Drive to Survive series, which has been shown to raise the Formula One fanbase by as much as 30%.

Following the release of the protocol, the next milestone was the December 1 opening date for challengers to lodge their entries. RNZYS Commodore Aaron Young declined to identify the teams, but confirmed that three teams plus the Challenger of Record, INEOS Team UK, had entered.

“Needless to say the email and phones were busy! We see this as a very positive outcome given the hard work the RNZYS and ETNZ have put in since March 2021. It certainly shows that the America’s Cup is, after more than 170 years, still the ‘one’ you want to win in our sport.

“There will always be controversy with any protocol and what things might look like, but that is what is unique about the America’s Cup: to make the rules, first you must win!

“We should also remember that we haven’t had more than five challengers since 2007, after which the class of boat changed, so this is an encouraging start to entries for the 37th America’s Cup.” The next deadline is March 31 for the venue announcement.

Four venues are in contention: Auckland, Ireland, Spain and

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027 475 9025 ı b.gordon@barfoot.co.nz ı www.barfoot.co.nz Bob Gordon has been a fixture in the Auckland sailing scene for many decades. He raced M-Class, represented New Zealand in 18ft skiffs and has been an RNZYS Member for 50 years.

Breeze Magazine 41

Simon Van Velthooven (left) spent thousands of hours in the gym reshaping his body for arm-grinding in the 36th America’s Cup.

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Saudi Arabia, but ETNZ CEO Grant Dalton hinted at a possible “bolter” yet to be identified.

The venue will determine the dates of the next Cup regatta, but it will take place in 2024, which is also an Olympic Year. This presents a dilemma for Peter Burling and Blair Tuke, who in 2021 became the first sailors to win an Olympic medal and the America’s Cup in the same year.

Dalton made it clear that doing both in 2024 would not be an option.

At the time of writing Burling and Tuke had not committed to a return to ETNZ.

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In October, ETNZ signed Australian Nathan Outteridge onto the team as a helmsman. Outteridge is a catch for any team. With his two Artemis America’s Cup campaigns and high-on-the-leaderboard performances at SailGP, he brings plenty of the requisite skills to the table.

The appointment is seen as both a defensive and aggressive move

by Dalton in light of Burling and Tuke continuing to resist signing up to the New Zealand defence campaign. At the time of the announcement, Burling and Tuke issued a joint statement welcoming the appointment as a “positive” step for the team.

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42 Breeze Magazine Right: A close-up of the new format recording the date and venue, the challenging and defending teams and yachts clubs and the result.

Far right: The team responsible for looking after the Cup, Cooper Hopman, Richard Wingfield and security man Norm Newton are reunited with the amended trophy.

Clearing space to record more Cup results on the Auld Mug

By Ivor Wilkins Over its 170-year history, the America’s Cup trophy has accumulated its own share of stories and dramas, quite separate from the long-running and ongoing saga of the fierce competitions waged in its quest.

New Zealand’s stewardship of the famous icon has introduced a number of changes in its architecture, the most recent of which came after this year’s successful defence in Auckland.

Since the Cup was first contested in 1851 tradition has seen successive match results recorded on the outer contours and valleys of the trophy. As the years and contests mounted up, additional tiers had to be added to the base to accommodate the growing ledger of wins and losses.

The most recent of these new tiers was introduced after the 2003 Match in Auckland, won by the Swiss Challenger, Alinghi. However, a combination of a larger typeface and much longer contests, meant the new base quickly ran out of real estate.

Following Emirates Team New Zealand’s victory in Bermuda, the Royal New Zealand Yacht Squadron initiated some major changes.

Working with Garrards, the London jewellers who originally crafted the trophy in 1848, the RNZYS had a new base built to replace the 2003 version.

All the engravings recording the 2003, 2007,

2010, 2013 results were redone in a smaller, standardised typeface and the 2017 scores were added. The thinking was that this would create enough space to accommodate two or three more Cup cycles.

However, following the 2021 regatta, it was clear a new format would be required. Instead of following the tradition of recording all the races of the Match, it would be more spaceefficient to simply record the overall result.

Over the years, Cup regattas have become longer and longer. Following the initial 1851 fleet race at Cowes in the south of England, the format changed to match racing. Early contests were best-of-three, rising to best-offive, then best-of-seven and steadily growing to the marathon best-of-17 contest of 2013 in San Francisco. In Bermuda and Auckland, the format changed again, reducing to best-of-13 (first to win 7).

“If we had added the results of all 10 races in the 7-3 ETNZ victory earlier this year, we would have been out of space once again,” explains RNZYS Committee member Richard Wingfield.

“We had to come up with a way of futureproofing the Cup without adding more and more base layers. We decided we no longer needed to reflect every race. We could just record the names of the yacht clubs and yachts competing in the final Match and the outcome.”

Instead of building yet another new base, this time Auckland jeweller Dave Worrall polished out the records of the previous five regattas back to 2003 and re-engraved them in the new reduced format, along with the 2021 result.

“In this way, if successive Cup holders follow the same template, we will have space for 15 more regattas,” says Wingfield. “That should be good for the next 60 years.”

Simply adding more and more bases poses practical and aesthetic problems. The proportions, which currently neatly balance the base tiers and the original 1848 ewer, would begin to lose their symmetry.

From a more practical standpoint, the transportation of the Cup would become unwieldy. In its present form, the Cup in its case, fits neatly into the first class lockers of most international airlines. A larger case would start to present serious logistical and security problems in moving the priceless trophy around the world.

As the refashioned trophy returned from the jewellers under the watchful attention of security guard Norm Newton, Wingfield and Facilities Manager Cooper Hopman prepared to re-install it to its pre-eminent position at the RNZYS trophy collection.

“We are pretty pleased with the outcome,” said Wingfield.

Breeze Magazine 43

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44 Breeze Magazine

Big improvements at Kawau Island in time for summer

With the possibility of cruising restrictions this summer, boaties are likely to head to the Hauraki Gulf islands and, in particular, Kawau, where Squadron members will find their loyalties and hopes divided.

On the one hand, they will be hoping for settled weather and long days of sunshine. On the other, they will be like anxious farmers scanning the skies for signs of rain to keep the 4,500 newly-planted trees at Kawau alive.

Covid restrictions interrupted the early spring planting programme, which means some of the treelings which were delayed might be vulnerable. “Unfortunately, we have no capacity to water the trees if it turns out to be a very hot, dry summer,” says Facilities Manager Cooper Hopman, who has overseen the planting programme and the upgrading of facilities at Lidgard House since May. The work at Kawau has been a legacy project as part of the RNZYS 150th Anniversary Programme.

It originally began with groups of members volunteering to spend weekend days out at the island planting native trees on the slopes behind

Lidgard House, which were first cleared and stripped back. Although a good start was made, regrettably, the August Covid lockdown meant calling a halt to proceedings for five weeks, until the move to Level 3 allowed for limited access.

However, with help from Corporate Member Ecology NZ, RNZYS CEO Hayden Porter and from RNZYS Food & Beverage staff, the target of completing the planting of all 4,500 trees was achieved.

For three of the Ecology NZ experts, this involved an exhausting day abseiling down the very steep slope between Lidgard House and the Kawau Boating Club. “They began at 8am and worked non-stop until 5pm, roping up and down the slope to get 250 trees planted on that very challenging terrain,” says Hopman. “By the time they left, they were pretty much wiped out.

“The Food & Beverage people came over for a day at a time and helped with planting and painting around the house,” he adds. “They all enjoyed a break from the boredom of lockdown and had a good experience, especially as most of them had not been to Kawau before.”

Since lockdown eased, Hayden Porter has also made at least one

Breeze Magazine 45

SEASON’S GREETINGS & SAFE BOATING

trip a week to the island. He says the members of the Food & Beverage staff, who have been unable to do their normal work, had been put to good use and adds, “it has been a great team bonding experience at the same time.”

Funding remains an issue, according to Porter. Support from members, who are invited to make contributions, has been encouraging, but further financial assistance will be vital to fulfil the ambitious goals set for the island. Porter says, subject to approval, about 75% of the income from this year’s RNZYS Charity Auction will go towards the Kawau Legacy Project.

For long periods over the winter and spring, Hopman and Will Clough, with occasional assistance from Johnny Montgomery, camped at Lidgard House as they worked on the project. T he house has now been thoroughly cleaned, ready to accept guests for the summer once Covid restrictions allow.

More recent work has involved re-levelling and re-seeding the lawn areas to the side of Lidgard House, which were ripped up by the diggers

46 Breeze Magazine operating through the wet winter season.

The Lidgard House deck has been expanded and totally rebuilt by Andrew Harris Construction. “They have been putting in two days a week ever since the lockdown was eased,” says Hopman. “It is now complete and looking really smart.

“Guests staying at Lidgard House will find they now have much more privacy from the passing parade, while still being able to enjoy the fantastic views of Bon Accord Harbour.”

The fences around the house have also been rebuilt, while the KBC seawall, which was being undermined by erosion, has been repaired. It took about five cubic metres of concrete to complete that project and hopefully future-proof the wall and path.

Further KBC work involved maintenance and repairs to the sewage system, replacing the sceptic pump and re-setting the float switches, which will hopefully result in less fragrant conditions over the summer.

Now, it is up to mother nature to provide enough summer rain to keep the young trees alive – but not too much rain to spoil longawaited and much-anticipated post-lockdown cruising plans.

By Ivor Wilkins Photos by Cooper Hopman & Harri Wren

Above: Rebecca Bywater, Kat Eley and Caleb Lor from Food & Bev painting at Lidgard House.

Below: Drone shot reveals the restored lawns, new deck and hints of green on the newly-planted slopes

Breeze Magazine 47

A legend returns to Kawau to add to his family’s abiding legacy on the island

By Billy Woodworth Having grown up on Kawau Island and been integral to the creation of the current Kawau sailing community, John Lidgard always treasures opportunities to visit there.

The Lidgard family name is intertwined with the RNZYS and the New Zealand sailing community. John and his wife Heather have carried the RNZYS burgee close to 100,000 miles around the Pacific. John has also been a renowned boat builder, and an accomplished competitive sailor at international level.

The love of sailing goes hand in hand with the Lidgard last name, with generations of the family found across the world’s sailing industry.

John was part of the founding Kawau Boating Club AGM as a teenager and was even responsible for putting down the original floor of the Kawau Boating Club building that stands just around from Lidgard House today. In fact, John had a hand in building much of the original infrastructure in the harbour.

Being able to accompany John over to Kawau was an honour, learning and experiencing a crash course in how much he loves Kawau Island and how much his roots on Kawau shaped the life he has lived.

Listening to his tales about days spent in the small bays in Bon Accord Harbour and recalling his childhood friends and families – where they lived, and even their family pets – was a fascinating tour by someone who clearly knows this slice of paradise like the back of his own hand.

At the age of 91, John wanted to leave yet another memory of his family’s legacy on the shores of Bon Accord Harbour by planting a manuka sapling with a plaque as part of the RNZYS’s Kawau Tree Planting and Reforestation Programme.

This sapling will have pride of place for years to come, marking the start of the track to climb the hill above Lidgard House and Smelting House Bay. The Kawau Tree Planting and Reforestation Programme is part of our 150th Legacy Project on Kawau Island. This includes pest control, land clearing, installation of walking tracks and replanting of native trees. This is an effort to contribute to the longevity of the environments and native bird life in which RNZYS members use and enjoy.

You can join John and purchase a native sapling and a plaque, to ensure your support of the RNZYS is recognised for generations to come.

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48 Breeze Magazine

Above: Defiance is an ocean-capable, economic cruiser. Opposite: The elegant saloon as entertained a Who’s Who of celebrities and VIPs.

Defiance has served the RNZYS with honour and distinction Flicking through the guest book aboard Defiance, Colin Carran recalls some of the memorable occasions and people associated with his 21-year ownership of the 17.2m motoryacht.

Defiance has been a great servant of the RNZYS, as Committee Boat for several major events including the America’s Cup and the Volvo Ocean Race, countless Squadron championships, Fiji races, Young 88 nationals and the like.

During the lead-up to the 2003 Cup

On station as America’s Cup Committee Boat.

defence in Auckland, Defiance was on station for 56 days running practice starts and races for Team New Zealand. “We saw some pretty dramatic close-up action during those sessions,” he recalls.

Defiance also bore witness as Committee Boat to scenes better forgotten as the defence subsequently unravelled in heavy breeze while the Swiss Alinghi crew swept to America’s Cup victory.

Among the guests Defiance has entertained on different occasions were New Zealand

Supermodel Cindy Crawford.

Governor General Sir Jerry Mateparae, foreign ambassadors and diplomats, supermodel Cindy Crawford, Bruno Trouble and Christine Belanger from Louis Vuitton, various Auckland City and New Zealand Government politicians and officials, China Cup delegates and other VIPs. During the Louis Vuitton Pacific Series, which filled the hiatus between America’s Cups while Alinghi and Oracle waged their court battles and the 2010 Deed of Gift Match, Defiance served as Committee Boat for the two Auckland regattas.

At one stage, the fleet was at Rangitoto during a long postponement waiting for the wind. To fill the idle hour, Carran, decked out in his formal Squadron whites, picked up a fishing rod, tossed a line overboard and immediately hooked into a decent-sized kingfish.

This drew the attention of bored international media in various RIBs, who drew close to record the contest. Their astonishment only grew when Carran deftly landed the fish,

Breeze Magazine 49

held it aloft for the photographers – and then casually removed the hook and returned it to the sea, underlining the notion of New Zealand as a bountiful paradise.

“On another occasion, we had the Lex

Pistols, not to be confused with the Sex Pistols on board,” Carran recalls with a laugh. “For some reason, they described themselves as the only legal jazz band in New Zealand.

“We went down to Motuihe for the

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Breeze Magazine 51 Defiance was designed in 1987 by Canadian William Garden, who was well known for a prolific design portfolio, but particularly for his trawlerstyle motoryachts.

She was built in 1987 at McMullen & Wing for the yard’s co-owner Terry Porter. The hull was built in aluminium at Alloy Yachts and Past Commodore Steve Burrett recalls towing the hull from Henderson to McMullen & Wing on the Tamaki River, where it was completed.

“Terry Porter had it as a family boat for several years, then it was bought by a property developer, who kept it for about two years. I bought it in 1999,” says Carran.

“When I first purchased the boat, I wanted to talk to William Garden about some minor changes I wanted to make. He told me he had only a single picture of a boat on his office wall and it was Defiance, which I thought was pretty cool.

“Over the years, I have added a lot of equipment and electronics and installed systems to make it as safe as possible. She was entirely repainted with Alexseal about six years ago and Salthouse Boatbuilders also did a major interior refit, which included upgrading and modernising the galley.

More recently, Yachting Developments reupholstered most of the saloon furnishings.”

Designed to be capable of crossing the Tasman, or for extended cruising in the islands, Defiance carries 4,500 litres of water and 6,000 litres of fuel. Powered by an eight litre 175hp Gardner engine, she cruises comfortably at 9.5 knots burning just 14 litres an hour, for economical passage making.

“When I bought her, she was in survey for 23 guests and we have had that many on board at times, but about 15 is more comfortable for day outings. With three staterooms and two heads, she is an extremely comfortable family cruiser, with a lot of ambience for entertaining friends and guests,” says Carran.

The saloon, galley and wheelhouse are situated on the main deck, with accommodations and standing-headroom engine room below. On the top deck is a second helm station and lounging area protected by a bimini with space behind for two rigid bottom tenders and an eight man liferaft. When the tenders are in the water, this area turns into a huge sun deck, or alfresco dining area.

Under Carran’s ownership, Defiance has cruised extensively in local waters, including a circumnavigation of the North Island with a summer in the Marlborough Sounds. “It blew hard for days and anchoring in the deep water down there was a bit of a challenge. We did non-stop passages from Whangaroa to Pelorus Sound down the west coast and from Picton back to Auckland up the east coast and caught a lot of fish on the way.”

Now, after 21 years of ownership and at the conclusion of a busy couple of years directing the RNZYS 150th Anniversary programme, Carran feels it is time for change. “We need to downsize and my plan is to replace her with a vessel under 15m,” he says.

“Defiance has served our own family needs very well and also the Squadron requirements for a Committee Boat and VIP vessel. Having done my share, it is now time to hand over those duties to younger members.”

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52 Breeze Magazine

Brin Wilson’s Pathfinder in the winner’s circle at Hobart after victory in the 1971 Sydney-Hobart Classic.

A unique Kiwi sailing achievement marks its 50th anniversary On Boxing Day, when Sydney comes to a standstill for the traditional start of the Sydney-Hobart Race, a group of Kiwi sailing pioneers will cast their minds back 50 years to a remarkable and unique achievement in the famous race.

In 1971, three New Zealand yachts competing in the Southern Cross Cup against a formidable international fleet, set out on the gruelling 630 mile race little knowing at the start that they would carve their names into yachting history.

One Tonners Pathfinder, Runaway and WaiAniwa made up the New Zealand team, which, following the inshore series, was trailing the much-favoured British team on points. The high-scoring Sydney-Hobart represented the climax of the series and an outstanding result by the Kiwis would be required if they were to claim the Southern Cross Cup. As always, the big boats attracted the most media attention in their battle for line honours.

The American maxi yachts, Kialoa II, skippered

by Jim Kilroy, and Huey Long’s Ondine along with the converted 12-Metre Cup campaigner American Eagle, skippered by media mogul Ted

Turner, were much fancied. RNZYS member Tom Clark, however, returning with his Spencerdesigned Buccaneer, was also in the running.

As the first yachts drifted up the Derwent River in very light winds, it was Kialoa II, which took the gun, followed by Buccaneer, five minutes ahead of Ondine.

With the line-honours podium settled, attention turned to the battle for handicap honours. The way the race played out, with heavy running and reaching conditions through the final night followed by light winds to the finish line, the handicap honours kept sliding further back down the fleet. One by one the boats crossed the line in Hobart to claim the win, only to lose it to the next yacht in.

Then, up the river came Brin Wilson’s Pathfinder, tacking in the light breeze, to cross the line with an unassailable 1st place on handicap. Just under an hour later, John Lidgard’s Runaway claimed 2nd on handicap, with Chris Bouzaid’s Wai-Aniwa just five minutes back in 3rd. The result propelled New Zealand into a come-from-behind overall victory in the prestigious Southern Cross Cup. It was the only time in the history of the

Southern Cross Cup, that a team took the top three places in the Sydney-Hobart Classic and it remains an achievement never repeated.

The finish of the Sydney-Hobart is celebrated by the QLD, which is a famous misnomer (Quiet Little Drink) for the rowdy parties that proceed long into the night. In his extensive archives, PJ Montgomery still has tape recordings of telephone interviews he conducted with members of the Kiwi crews, following the dramatic result.

In an early attempt, Montgomery tried to talk to Brin Wilson and John Lidgard, but Heather Lidgard, who was navigator and light air helm on Runaway, had to speak on their behalf. “I am afraid there is a monumental party going on at the dock and Mr Wilson and Mr Lidgard are unavailable,” she said.

Montgomery persevered with follow-up calls and managed to record Brin Wilson talking of blasting under spinnaker in 25-knot northwesterlies on the final night. “Apart from 18ft skiffs, I have never run so hard before,” he declared before recalling a couple of misfortunes Pathfinder had encountered earlier in the series.

Breeze Magazine 53

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Passionate about Sailing

54 Breeze Magazine Brin Wilson (left) takes the microphone at the Sydney Hobart prizegiving. With him from left are: Brin Wilson, Richard Wilson, Peter Shaw, Ian Telford, Murray Aldridge, Don Pollock. Ray Haslar is missing from the image..

Photos courtesy of Richard Wilson

One was when rigger Terry Gillespie was injured falling off the mast. The other was when Pathfinder incurred some damage running aground in Sydney Harbour. “There are only three rocks in the whole harbour and we had to hit one of them,” he grumbled.

Later, a very slurred John Lidgard managed to explain that all three yachts blew out spinnakers during the final night. “Our pre-race plan was to win,” he declared stoutly.

In his autobiography, It’s in our Blood, Lidgard describes the wild spinnaker run down the Tasmanian coast – “with the apparent wind registering 40 knots at times and the boat and rig vibrating wildly with the pressure”.

Describing the post-match celebrations as “unrestrained”, Lidgard adds: “I am ashamed to admit to only a vague memory of it.”

Fifty years on, however, memories are only of the pride in a team which helped lay the foundations of New Zealand’s subsequent and ongoing success in international yacht racing.

A recent tradition of the Sydney-Hobart is to invite the winning skipper of 50 years earlier to fire the starting cannon, which, watched by thousands of spectators on headlands and boats, sets the fleet on its way.

This year, that honour was to have gone to Richard Wilson, son of Brin Wilson and bowman in the 1971 series. Sadly, because of Covid restrictions, Wilson had to decline the honour. “It is a great shame I could not take up the invitation,” he said. “It is something that only comes up once in a lifetime, so I was very disappointed to have to decline.”

Wilson said he would follow the start of the

2021 race on TV as he has done over the years.

“Earlier this year, there was a nice function at the Royal Akarana Yacht Club, where all the crews got together for the first time since 1971.

I spoke on behalf of my late father and it was fantastic for all the crew members to catch up again after all that time.

“I do still reflect on the 1971 regatta. It was an amazing result and I think it demonstrated that the crews were more skilled than anybody probably realised. It was a culmination of the amount of offshore sailing we did at that time.

“From the time I was 17, I started racing offshore and I was never home at weekends.

We thought nothing of doing 150-200 mile races over a weekend, round the back of Great Barrier and Channel islands.

“By the time we crossed the Tasman in 1971 for that Southern Cross Cup series, I was still only 20 years old and had already done two previous double Tasman crossings with John Lidgard, who is my uncle.”

1971 NEW ZEALAND CREWLISTS Pathfinder: Brin Wilson, Richard Wilson, Murray Aldridge, Don Pollock, Peter Shaw, Ray Haslar, Terry Gillespie, Ian Telford.

Runaway: John Lidgard, Heather Lidgard, Kevin Lidgard, Warren Smitth, Mike McCormick, Doug Galbraith, Paul Schultz.

Wai-Aniwa: Chris Bouzaid, Gill Littler, Bevan Woolley, Joe Macky, Bob Farrell, Ray Walker, John Woolley.

During the series in Sydney, the Kiwis were rivals on the water and team mates ashore.

“We all sailed hard, but we were all close friends. We swapped ideas all the time. I wasn’t party to all the discussions. It was often just between the skippers and navigators, but all the information was shared between the boats and after every race we would get together for a debrief.

“The Hobart was one of those rare races where everything fell into place. We all followed the same route, but I guess we were all about the same size. So that was not really a plan, it just worked out that way.

“On that last night, the northwesterly was pretty fresh. We carried the kite most of the time, except during the squalls when there was a lot of hail and rain and big gusts. We had the spinnaker up and down all night. The British and Australian yachts did not carry their spinnakers as long as we did. That was the big difference.

“In the morning, the wind started coming ahead. At the Iron Pot, early in the morning, we knew that things were looking pretty hopeful for us. We had the (bigger) British Admiral’s Cup boat, Cervantes, alongside us and we knew Runaway and Wai-Aniwa were pushing hard just behind us.”

As Wai-Aniwa crossed the line in 3rd place on handicap, sealing the incredible result, an Australian TV commentator summed up the result. “The 1971 Sydney-Hobart was one of the most closely-contested in the history of the event. The New Zealanders well deserve their victory,” he said. As, indeed, they surely did.

By Ivor Wilkins

Breeze Magazine 55

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56 Breeze Magazine eSailor extraordinaire Chris Salmon

A champion eSailor who enjoys getting wet on real boats Story by Debra Douglas Squadron eSailing champion for the 2021 season, Chris Salmon, is downsizing what he laughingly calls his “addiction” to the sport. “‘For the first couple of my three years playing the game I was out of control. I was playing up to 14 hours a week, but for the last year I have realised I have to concentrate on ‘real-world’ life and I am down to five hours,” said Chris.

What led to this fixation with eSailing?

Chris, a business and development manager for a telecommunication company, wanted to get into on-the-water sailing. He started

by Googling the rules of the sport and came across Virtual Regatta eSailing website. He downloaded the app and before he knew it, he was involved in fleet racing.

“It really grabbed me. The races are short, you can play on your desktop, phone or tablet and there are races for different classes of boats. It’s a great leveller; age, gender, fitness, all go out the window in eSailing. Another attraction being you can take more risks, there’s no expensive on-shore repairs, but if you do crash you receive a time penalty.”

Entering the game, competitors are given a boat number, or the option to name their boat.

Chris named his boat Cool Runner after the

movie Cool Runnings, which was based on the true story of the Jamaican national bobsleigh team’s debut at the 1988 Winter Olympics.

“They had no idea how to compete on a bobsleigh. I was the same. I had no idea what I was doing either.”

Chris soon became very skilful and at one stage was ranked 11th in the world, but with fewer hours at the screen this slipped last year to 210th out of about 50,000 competitors.

European skippers dominate the rankings, with many professional and Olympic sailors keeping their skills up during their winter seasons, finding it beneficial to their on-thewater sailing from a tactics point of view.

Unfortunately, there is no official NZ ranking for eSailing, but Chris says he would probably be 3rd in the country, with 10 others “chipping at my heels”.

2021 and lockdown saw Chris concentrate on international community regattas and the Squadron eSailing events using the simulator Virtual Regatta Inshore. On his tablet he took part in the Doyle Sails Wednesday Series and Havana Club Friday Rum Races. After eight weeks of serious competition, the top boats were selected to compete in the Club Championship, which Chris won.

Chris: “I was very impressed with the quality of the club’s finalists and how the new

ones improved over the series.” A spin-off of the Squadron 2020-21 competitions was that Chris met members online who invited him out on the water.

He joined the Squadron last year, took part in the club’s Learn-to-Sail Programme and now Friday Rum Races will see him sailing on Charmonet, owned by Ross Chapman.

“I get an adrenaline fix from both forms of sailing. But I am still learning out on the water.

All I am good for at the moment is ballast. eSailing helps you understand the sport from navigation and tactics points of view, but what it doesn’t help with is how to physically sail, i.e. raise a sail, trim a sail etc.

“From a gaming perspective, I hit my peak a couple of years ago. I’m getting older and my reactions are slowing. Where the game was once dominated by 30-40-year-olds, it is now the younger ones coming through.”

“I see my role as educating and encouraging others to give it a go. I would like more yacht clubs to bring eSailing on board as an official class within their clubs and I would certainly like to be involved with the Squadron’s plan to introduce the sport into its 2022 programme.”

In the meantime, Chris thinks he will be struggling to reach the final of any eSailing event, but to compensate he is now ‘hooked’ on real sailing.

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58 Breeze Magazine Laurie Davidson had a fascination for the America’s Cup and, long before he became involved, studied the 12-Metre Rule. Here he poses with a half model he built of Herreshoff’s 1905 defender, Reliance.

– Ivor Wilkins photo.

Take a Bow: Laurie Davidson’s design journey from ferro-cement to carbon-fibre Cup winners

By Ivor Wilkins Work as an accountant with a sideline in ferro-cement boats would seem an unlikely platform for yacht design stardom, yet that was how Laurie Davidson began an extraordinary international professional design career that included crushing victories in back-to-back America’s Cup regattas, first as a challenger and then as defender.

Davidson, who died in early October aged 94, played lead roles in the design teams behind NZL32, which won the 1995 America’s Cup match by 5-0, and in NZL60, which did the same in the 2000 Cup defence against Luna Rossa.

He was always amused by his more lowly design origins. Of course, Davidson did not make the leap from ferro-cement utility to carbon fibre star wars in a single bound. In between, he demonstrated his versatility and skill in a wide range of projects, from dinghies to Ton Cup yachts, round-the-world racers, handsome cruisers and grand prix campaigners.

Before entering the ranks of professional yacht design, Davidson demonstrated a keen talent for unpicking a rule and coming up with a new and faster interpretation. In 1948, he caused an uproar in Auckland’s highly competitive M-Class fleet with a new design called Myth.

With its straight stem, acutely angled forefoot and lightweight construction, Myth proved very quick. Under grave threat from this precocious newcomer, the class hit back. Some of the more vehement opponents even suggested purchasing Myth and burning it – like a witch at the stake.

Instead, Myth survived and, following a rebuild to remedy a breach of class rules, a rush of new Davidson boats followed. It took more than 30 years before a non-Davidson boat won the M-Class championship again.

The Myth story not only underlined Davidson’s design talent, but also

his considerable sailing prowess. The Myth legend was so strong, some thought it would flourish in anybody’s hands, but when Davidson finally sold the boat, its star never shone as brightly again.

He also competed at a high level in the Flying Dutchman class and was going well in the Olympic trials for the 1964 Tokyo Games when a north easterly squall capsized most of the fleet. Davidson’s boat was damaged and could not complete the trials, which were won by Helmer Pedersen and Earle Wells, who went on to win gold. By strange coincidence, Wells died within a week of Davidson’s death.

For most of the 1960s, Davidson worked as an accountant for Certified Concrete Ltd. When the company wanted to capitalise on the trend towards ferro-concrete boats, they looked to Davidson for the design.

During a research visit to the US, Davidson visited Olin Stephens.

An early devotee of computers, Stephens was using an Olivetti system with Fortran punch cards for his calculations. By coincidence, Certified Concrete used the same system, so Davidson purchased Stephens’ design package.

Later, when he left Certified Concrete to set up his own professional yacht design studio, Davidson purchased one of the Olivetti machines for his own use.This early adoption of computer technology belies a popular image of Davidson as a Luddite – an image he did nothing to discourage.

During his time at Team New Zealand (1995 to 2000), he took pride in a cartoon which portrayed him sitting on top of a desktop computer while he pencilled lines by hand on a traditional drawing board. The caption read ‘Computer Aided Design’.

But, both Brett Bakewell-White and Kevin Dibley, who worked closely with Davidson for nine and 30 years respectively, testified he fully understood the value of computer assistance, but preferred getting

others to run the software and generate construction drawings.

“I never met somebody as passionate about boats as Laurie,” said Bakewell-White, who first worked with Davidson during the 1987 New Zealand Challenge America’s Cup campaign.

“Completely self-taught, his bible was a 1938 edition of Skene’s Elements of Yacht Design. The key to his designs was Skene’s curve of areas and the wave form theory as proposed by Colin Archer in 1877, which is basically about the distribution of volume in a hull and the flow of water past it. He never wavered from it.

“Aesthetics were also important to him. He was a classicist in many ways, following established ideas of sheerlines and proportion. He studied the work of people like Herreshoff and Watson. Laurie’s boats had a subtlety and delicacy about them that set them apart.”

Kevin Dibley formed a working partnership with Davidson in 1992 which remained in place for the remainder of his working life and will continue with the handling of Davidson’s portfolio moving forward. He described Davidson as highly intuitive. “He could see the boat in three dimensions in his mind’s eye long before it went down on paper. He could visualise how water would flow across the hull.”

Following his ferro-cement period, Davidson’s first commission as a professional yacht designer was a Half-Tonner, Blitzkrieg, for Tony Bouzaid, brother of Chris Bouzaid. Blitzkrieg won the 1971 New Zealand Half Ton championship with Davidson on board.

Seven years later, when New Zealand was captivated by very lightlybuilt centreboard IOR boats much to the horror of northern hemisphere measurers, Bouzaid returned to Davidson for a second Half-Tonner.

This was Waverider, which won the Half Ton Cup in Poole in 1978. Then, following modifications to comply with changes in the rule, Waverider defended its title the following year in Germany, an unprecedented achievement at the time.

During the IOR heyday, Californian John MacLaurin became an important client, building five Davidson-designed boats, all called Pendragon. The first was designed as a Three Quarter-Tonner, which won the 1978 Three-Quarter Ton Cup in Canada.

When subsequent changes to the rule rendered the purple yacht out of contention as a Three-Quarter Tonner, Davidson drew up significant modification to allow Pendragon to rate as a small One Tonner. Sure enough, Pendragon duly won the 1979 One Ton Cup in light air at Newport Rhode Island, the only yacht ever to win two different Ton Cup classes.

The fourth Pendragon, a 52-footer launched in 1998, inspired the TP52 class. As Californian designer Bill Lee recalled, during broad-ranging discussions about the ideal characteristics for a new grand prix class, the breakthrough came when someone said: “Hey you guys, this is already done. Look at Pendragon IV and just draw a box around it!”

Arguably, however, Davidson’s proudest legacy lay with the America’s Cup. When New Zealand made its Cup debut in 1987 with a bold leap into the world’s first fibre-glass 12-Metres, the design team comprised Davidson, Bruce Farr and Ron Holland.

“Laurie had a fascination for the America’s Cup,” recalled BakewellWhite. “He was a student of its history and, purely as an intellectual exercise, he had been drawing 12-Metre yachts for years. When the New Zealand Challenge got off the ground, he was probably the only one of the three designers who had studied the rule and drawn designs.”

New Zealand’s big breakthrough came in 1995, when Davidson and

Doug Peterson were the principal designers in a talented group led by Tom Schnackenberg.

Working to the International America’s Cup Class (IACC) rule which replaced 12-Metres in 1992, the Team New Zealand consensus was to go long and narrow. Of its two new yachts, NZL32 was slightly narrower and longer than NZL38. Both were great performers: NZL38 won the Louis Vuitton Cup with only a single loss in the entire series; then NZL32 stepped up to beat Dennis Conner’s Stars & Stripes by 5-0 to bring the elusive trophy to New Zealand shores.

For the 2000 Defence, Schnackenberg was again design co-ordinator in a large group with Davidson and Clay Oliver billed as the principal designers. Quite early in the design process, the designers chopped the bow off NZL38 about 600mm behind the forward girth station and created a pram bow, like an Optimist dinghy.

“We went out on the water and it seemed to go just the same as before,” recalled Schnackenberg. “We thought, ‘Here we go!’ This boat, under the rules, was now 2ft shorter. We could take the entire boat and stretch it 2ft and it would be back to the same rating as before.”

Sniffing worthwhile prey, the design hounds were off and running.

There were promising results with an almost plumb IOR type bow, while other investigations pursued a more classic Metre bow shape.

“Clay Oliver did some work on it and Andy Claughton was involved, but Laurie went off on his own and came up with a couple of drawings.”

Davidson’s concept featured a quite pronounced waterline chin at the forward girth station, but instead of rising steeply into an IOR bow, it took a shallower incline, more like a Metre bow. It was essentially a hybrid of the two styles.

Russell Coutts recalled being surprised by how full the bow sections were, while Clay Oliver admired Davidson’s much-vaunted design eye, which spied the “goldilocks zone” between the IOR and Metre shapes.

“It really didn’t look like much until we took it to the towing tank,” said Schnackenberg. “Suddenly at the same fixed speed, the drag was a lot less. I was actually a little surprised and excited at how well it worked.

“By stretching the bow and stern waves further apart, that little chin tricked the water that the hull was longer than it actually was. When we tested it further, we found it was effective in light air and heavier air and also in waves. It had no weaknesses. It is a tribute to Laurie that he came up with it.”

What became known as the Davidson Bow featured on both NZL57 and NZL60. As the Match drew near, there was a feeling in the defence group that they may have pushed length slightly too hard, so they pared NZL60 back in exchange for more sail area.

“We just lifted the bow slope slightly, shortening the rule length by about 2-3 inches,” said Schnackenberg. “It demonstrated that the bow was really quite adaptable. You could tune it to the expected conditions.

If we were expecting heavier air, we could probably have gone the other way as well.”

In the hands of a formidable sailing team, NZL60’s subsequent 5-0 victory delivered the first successful defence of the America’s Cup outside of the USA and was testimony to a highly refined all-round design package.

There was considerable praise for the millennium rig, for example, and the attention paid to aerodynamics. But the Davidson Bow will forever enjoy star billing in the NZL60 story. “I would say the bow was the key difference between the two boats,” Schnackenberg declared.

60 Breeze Magazine

Learn-to-Sail Report

Learn to Sail partners with Whiting Sailing

By Billy Woodworth One of New Zealand’s oldest sailing schools has partnered with RNZYS’s Learn to Sail Training to share resources and coaching expertise.

Whiting Sailing, owned by Carl ‘Tiny’ Whiting, an America’s Cup winner, Star Class World Champion, Olympian and Youth Training Programme graduate will bring his years of high-profile sailing and coaching experience to join forces with the current RNZYS ‘Learn To Sail’ coaching team, led by Training Manager, Peter Linford.

This partnership benefits both training schools and their sailing students, allowing access to a larger range of shared resources

including the RNZYS’s existing fleet of Elliott 7’s, Sonar’s Etchell and Farr MRX’s alongside Carl’s yacht Emotional Rescue, a Davidson 55 yacht. Emotional Rescue was the first monohull to win the PIC Coastal Classic in 1989.

This 55 footer allows the RNZYS to expand its ability to run Level 2 and Level 3 cruising courses to Kawau Island and Great Barrier Island respectively, while continuing Whiting Sailing’s Keelboat Racing Development programme.

Both organisations will actively create a sailing pathway and coaching opportunities for all level sailors – from competitive racing to cruising and the beginner sailors that continue to be the foundation that New Zealand’s rich sailing history builds upon.

Peter Linford learned to sail on his arrival in New Zealand in 2007 with Mt Pleasant Yacht Club in Christchurch, and reckons that he has been on the water every weekend since. He has 10 years of sailing coaching experience, with four of those as the Learn To Sail Manager with the RNZYS. Peter fell in love with sailing at night, “so my favourite sailing memory is when I came across dolphins playing in bioluminescent bacteria – that was absolutely magical.”

“The success of the RNZYS training school over the last four years has meant we needed to bring in more coaches and more resources as we grow, and by partnering with Whiting Sailing allows us to expand into race coaching to hone the skills of those already racing, and

Breeze Magazine 61 as a pathway for those interested in starting.”

Alongside the additional resources made available to the RNZYS training school, Peter is also looking forward to working with Whiting Sailing so he can sail for his first time on the Emotional Rescue.

Carl Whiting shares these sentiments, saying the partnership between the RNZYS and Whiting Sailing means that “new prospective sailors have the ultimate opportunity to get into the sport of yachting being part of one of the greatest clubs in the world, to learning from some of the best sailors in the world, not to mention the opportunity to learn and sail aboard an incredible and legendary boat like Emotional Rescue.” Carl’s favourite sailing memories are trips away sailing with his family at Christmas in the Bay of Islands. “My family have been teaching sailing for over 50 years and l have been taking part my whole life -I actively started coaching myself 20 years ago.”

For Whiting, the most rewarding part of coaching is “simply experiencing the joy that comes from the students once they have established the confidence to sail a boat.” Even with the years of expertise that

Carl, Peter and the other Learn to Sail Coaches, sailing isn’t something that can be instantly picked up. Carl believes that helping any student establish the confidence that they need, in order to learn a new skill is the most crucial aspect in teaching someone to sail.

Peter shares the same sentiment that, the key to being a yachting coach is to have empathy with the beginner sailors. By“being patient and simplifying down the many tasks it takes to sail a yacht, the Learn to Sail course builds a platform that allows us to expand on our student’s knowledge and target what to work on.”

Peter has seen the benefits that sailing can bring someone first-hand, recalling the time he was coaching a group that had a child with learning difficulties taking part, and he really struggled at the start and couldn’t seem to work out the tiller steering. However, Peter pulled them aside and gave some tips with the steering and where to be positioned while racing, and at their next session they were out in front of the other boats with a beaming smile – “I’ll never forget that.”

Both men see sailing as much more than just being on the water, and have gained far

more understanding about what sailing teaches people within off the water from a coaching point of view. Once a student becomes more confident with sailing, they gain self-belief in everyday life. “Fixing an issue on a yacht is just like any other issue – once you have the tools and someone has taught you methods to fix the issue, following through and fixing the issue feeds your self-reliance and self-belief,” says Peter. Carl sees the same benefits in sailing, with the key lessons being “learning fundamental skills, building confidence and enjoying yourself; not only will learning to sail give you something new to learn and enjoy it will also improve all the other aspects of your life”.

However as society and technology changes, more opportunities present themselves for people to create a career from sailing. Peter mentions that “three of my students are currently running sailing YouTube channels; it’s a unique and new pathway for sailors to use the skills we teach them to create a career from their sailing passion.”

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62 Breeze Magazine

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Breeze Magazine 63

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64 Breeze Magazine

FOILING FAMILY ANDREW AITKEN ANDY ANDERSON BEACON MARINE COLIN & PATRICA CARRAN COLOURWORX ROY DICKSON DODSON JAPANESE PARTSWORLD DOYLE SAILS GRAEME EDWARDS GERALD FLYNN MATTHEW FLYNN GALBRAITH FAMILY DON GRAYSON HARKEN NZ PHILLIP HART HOPMAN FAMILY ICEFIRE LTD KZ RACE FURLERS LIGHTHOUSE MARINE EQUIPMENT LUCAS FAMILY MIKE MAHONEY STEVE MAIR MCKEOGH FAMILY MULCAHY ENGINEERING DAVID NATHAN NEW WORLD BIRKENHEAD PAGANI PORK CHOP RACING ANDREW REID SAVINGS WORKS JOHN & KATHRYN SINCLAIR SOUTHERN SPARS/ RIGPRO WASHTECH WESTHAVEN ROTARY WINDOWMAKERS HUGH L WRIGHT YACHTING DEVELOPMENTS ZHIK

SUPPORTERS

Performance Programme team in training for Youth Foiling World Cup The new RNZYS 69f Racing Team made up of Niall Malone, Serena Woodall, Oliver Lloyd, and Ollie Gilmour along with the Team Manager Sam Hume has been busy preparing for next year’s Youth Foiling Gold Cup. Covid has hindered the team’s ability to train here in New Zealand. Lockdown restrictions made sailing inaccessible for a long time.

However, recently while following guidelines around mask-wearing and not mixing bubbles, the team has been able to train in the Flying Phantoms and Moths.

“We are all working hard to develop our foiling skills.” The team has made modifications to one of the Flying Phantoms to allow them to sail the boat three up.

Sailing the foiling boat with more than just two people is important in their training to sail in the 69f class.

The new traffic light system will allow the team to train more and with ease. Skipper Niall Malone quotes: “It’s been so great to be back on the water training. The team is working well

together and I can’t wait to start racing at the beginning of February.”

Along with the sailing side, they have all started ramping up their fitness programmes.

A lot of early lockdown purchases for basic gym equipment were made in preparation.

The team says that maximising the time on the rowing machine and weight training has been a critical part of their prepation.

The team members are all working full time now to help fund the campaign as much as possible, but are still seeking support in form of sponsorship or financial aid. If you would like to take your brand or company to an international stage, you can get in touch with them through the website at rnzys69fracing.com, or directly to niallmalone@xtra.co.nz.

The team will be representing the club on an international stage for most of next year and it would be great to have a wide range of local support. The 69f class is quickly attracting the attention of some of the biggest names in sailing and publicity behind the class is huge.

Breeze Magazine 65

MAJOR SPONSOR

MASTERCARD YOUTH TRAINING PROGRAMME SUPPORTERS

By Oliver Lloyd Early into the most recent lockdown, an opportunity was presented to Ollie Gilmour and myself to compete in the Youth Foiling Gold Cup. Ollie and I are meant to be finishing our second year of Mastercard Youth Training Programme. Unfortunately, we have been locked down from sailing for a lot of the time in the programme with the majority of events being cancelled.

This will be the first time in two years YTP sailors have been able to go overseas. We will be competing with the new Performance Programme team RNZYS 69F Racing helmed

by Performance Programme sailor Niall Malone.

The YFGC requires all teams to be mixed.

Accordingly, Serena Woodall another current Performance Programme sailor will be joining the team. Sam Hume will also join us. Although he is too old to sail, he will be helping us while competing in a coaching type role.

Ollie Gilmour (right) and Oliver Lloyd (below left).

The YFGC is a fairly new circuit that has its competitors competing in the new 69f class.

The foiling monohulls incorporate all the latest technology in sailing and were the model boat for the AC9f that would have been used in the Youth America’s Cup. The event is run throughout the Northern Hemisphere. Some locations are yet to be confirmed, but so far we are confirmed to travel to Miami, Lake Garda, and Rhode Island, USA. With events every couple of months, the complications of managed isolation along with unnecessary travel expenses mean we will base ourselves in Palma Mallorca for the year.

Here we will live as a team and hopefully pick up work to help fund the campaign.

Mallorca is the sailing hub of the Mediterranean and will also provide more opportunities for us to sail in between events.

Covid has also hindered our ability to train here in New Zealand. Lockdown restrictions made sailing inaccessible for a long time.

However, recently, while following guidelines around mask-wearing and not mixing bubbles, we have been able to train in the Flying Phantoms and Moths, while working hard to develop our foiling skills.

Along with the sailing side, we have all started taking our fitness a lot more seriously.

A lot of early lockdown purchases for basic gym equipment were made in preparation.

Maximising the time on the rowing machine and weight training have been a critical part of our training as well.

BOAT SPONSORS

www.classicyacht.org.nz

ISSN 1175-804X

Issue 137 – January 2022

A classic reborn: Pastime on the water again A ‘new’ gaffer has joined the CYA fleet. After many years off the water, the 45ft Pastime, built by Malcolm Miller in his Lyttleton Shipyard in 1886, was relaunched on November 30 in Tauranga – 135 years after her first launching.

The plan, said skipper Andy Pilcher, was to sail her up to Auckland in time to race in the ADB Group Classic Yacht Regatta after sea trials around Tauranga.

The Classic Yacht Charitable Trust’s Waitangi will be one of the competitors. Pastime last raced against Waitangi in 1905.

Back in 1886 Malcolm Miller, who was out to compete against his business rival’s yacht, Little Wonder, skippered Pastime in her first regatta, run by the Canterbury Yacht Club. Miller went on to successfully race her over the next 11 years – although

beating Little Wonder continued to elude him. Pastime was then raced by Malcolm’s son Malcolm ‘Jimmy’ Miller and then Jimmy’s nephew, Alex Miller, until 1955.

In 1963, she passed out of the Miller family’s hands – and after 25 more years of racing and cruising, was bought in 1989 by Christchurch hotelier Arthur McKee. Her sailing days appeared to be over. McKee floated her in a specially-built pool next to his Pegasus Arms tavern, so patrons could dine on board.

Then, when McKee sold the tavern in 1995, Pastime was secured by a trust dedicated to her restoration.

However, 22 years later, she was still languishing on the hard in a Lyttleton boatyard. That’s when two of Malcolm Miller’s great-great-grandsons

stepped in and a new trust was formed to restore and relaunch her.

Cousins Chris Kendrick and John Erkkila remember their mothers talking about sailing on Pastime as kids.

“It’s our heritage; our mothers always talked about Pastime,” says Kendrick. A 1908 gold sovereign once belonging to Kendrick’s mother, Betty, now sits on Pastime’s new mast step.

“And we made sure the King’s head (Edward VII) was facing the right way before the mast went in …”

The two cousins have dedicated the past four years to restoring their great-great-grandfather’s yacht, working with boatbuilder Craig Wild and his son Ryan, whose shipwright and boatbuilding lineage reaches back to the 1860s.

Pastime was trucked up from the Lyttleton boatyard to an old corrugated iron shed on Erkkila’s property at Tamahere on the outskirts of Hamilton; and then, her restoration complete, to Tauranga for her relaunch.

The Wilds have worked off a 1997 conservation plan commissioned for the earlier trust, maintaining as much of the structure of the boat as possible, including splicing old timber framing.

“So many of those old yachts have been chopped up, but Pastime had not been touched,” said Wild.

Pastime’s Auckland mooring is at Heritage Landing, the CYA’s ‘home-on-the-water’, which showcases New Zealand’s European/Pakeha maritime history and celebrates the craftsmanship of nearly a century and a half of wooden boat builders.

By Penelope Carroll

For the love of Logans ...

“I love Logans.” That’s the reason Mike Mahoney gives for buying the 55ft Logan-designed Moerangi (built 1899) three years ago with wife Tracy. It was a “bit agricultural” when they first got it, he says. But Tracy’s designer skills have transformed the interior with a “tidied-up” galley, king-sized cabins forward and aft and a “smattering of single berths” in between for grandchildren.

Other work has included new masts, new rigging and a raft of engineering upgrades.

Moerangi is part of the CYA fleet of around 105 classic launches. Mike and Tracy have owned another CYA

Mahoney grandkids are a happy crew.

classic boat – the 1935 Logandesigned yacht Tawera – for

20 years, but Moerangi has become their favourite: “We

love it, and the grandkids love it,” says Mike.

Big changes afoot for the Classic Yacht Charitable Trust

John Street has decided it’s time to pass the helm over and is retiring from his role as chair and primary funder of the Classic Yacht Charitable Trust.

In 2000, John decided he would give back to the yachting and wider community by returning to life some of New Zealand’s early boating history.

His aim was to promote public interest and learning opportunities in all aspects

of New Zealand’s maritime history through acquiring and restoring iconic examples of early yachts, launches and trading vessels built and used in New Zealand’s waterways.

John formed the Classic Yacht Charitable Trust soon after recovering and restoring the Logan Brothers 1892 21/2 rater Gloriana. Since those early days, 12 vessels have joined the trust. Some have since moved on, including the 1920’s harbour board launch Te Hauraki and more recently the coastal schooner, the Daring, which is being preserved for public display and education at Mangawhai Heads, where she was built in 1863.

The trust currently owns seven vessels which are all available to the public: • Gloriana – 1892 34ft Logan brothers gaff rigged cutter • Waitangi – 1894 58ft Robert Logan Snr gaff rigged cutter • Ida – 1895 46ft Bailey Brothers gaff rigged cutter • Ethel – 1896 48ft Logan brothers gaff rigged yawl, farm to market freighter • Thelma – 1897 59ft Logan Brothers gaff rigged cutter • Frances – 1906 38ft gaff rigged cutter, farm to market freighter • Rainbow II – 1966 Sparkman and Stephens Chris Bouzaid’s one ton cup winner.

John has agreed to stay involved with the trust as founder and patron and the trustees aim to continue sharing the vessels with the community of volunteers and crew that have grown around them and also to continue to preserve the heritage of the fleet through broadening and growing the learning opportunities for youth and non-sailors.

Thank you John and Lorraine for your incredible contribution in bringing our boating history to life.

We look forward to your continued association with the trust.

by Larry Paul, Chairman, Classic Yacht Charitable Trust

CLASSIC YACHT ASSOCIATION CONTACTS – GENERAL ENQUIRIES: Joyce Talbot, admin@classicyacht.org.nz CLUB CAPTAIN YACHTS: Richard Cave, yachtcaptain@classicyacht.org.nz CLUB CAPTAIN LAUNCHES: Jason Prew, launchcaptain@classicyacht.org.nz

68 Breeze Magazine

Marine Scene Scen e Latest

information

on

Products

and

Ser vices

L&B becomes authorised Victron Repair Centre

X Yachts’ popular X43 undergoing major upgrade One of X-Yachts’ most popular models throughout history, the X4³, is going through a serious upgrade process.

This boat was the first model in the Pure X range and was introduced to the world in 2016. Since then, more than 100 have been sold globally via X-Yachts’ international dealer network.

It has proven itself as an outstanding yacht

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With good performance part of a package that includes great value for a high level of design and build, it typifes X Yachts’ reputation achieved over its many years of production.

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NZ Marine launches Marine Jobs website As the marine industry enjoys strong growth, a new website launched by NZ Marine aims to bring together employers and those looking for new roles within the sector. More than just a way to fill job vacancies, NZ Marine Jobs’ goal is to act as a central hub for career development across the local marine industry.

NZ Marine Executive Director Peter Busfield says: “We look forward to this new service being of great value to our member companies as we strive in our mission to encourage development of the New Zealand Marine Industry and support our members to build successful businesses.”

“The industry has fared a lot better than we thought it might,” says Caroline Gibson, Manager Membership & Communications at NZ Marine. “People can’t travel, so they have

turned to what they can do in their own back yard, and some sectors of the industry have been booming,” NZ Marine Jobs is a tailored, industryspecific job site where NZ Marine Industry Association’s 500-plus members can advertise positions knowing they will be seen by those with suitable skills and experience, rather than advertising on a general job site. www.nzmarinejobs.com The platform connecting marine industry talent with employers.

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Lusty & Blundell Ltd has become the exclusive Service Partner for Victron Energy in New Zealand. The appointment means Lusty & Blundell will be able to provide product service, repair and support on behalf of the Victron Energy Service Department, located in the Netherlands.

With a team of highly-skilled technicians, Lusty & Blundell will perform both investigation, warranty assessment and the repair of any Victron product within New Zealand, or supplied to our wider dealer network across the Pacific.

Lusty & Blundell has made major strides in the electrical field throughout 2021, having expanded their range to include a number of emerging technologies in both the electrical and electronic product ranges. They have also established a specialist lithium team to deal with the fast-growing demand for lithium batteries in marine, RV and solar installations. www.lusty-blundell.co.nz.

New Service Manager Multihull Solutions and The Yacht Sales Co have announced the appointment of Patrick Reddick as Service and After-Sales Support Manager in New Zealand.

Patrick joins the operations’ NZ general manager Dominic Lowe in delivering excellent client service and brings a wealth of technical experience and knowledge to the role.

Patrick has accrued extensive experience in New Zealand’s marine industry as a commercial skipper, service and commissioning coordinator and marine technician. www.multihullsolutions.nz.

Breeze Magazine 69

Doyle and Live Ocean combine with sustainability objective

Beneteau launch a new generation Oceanis 34.1 Replacing the successful Oceanis 34 model, a newly released Oceanis 34.1 follows a formula of maximum living space with unmatched sailing and performance ability. This reliable new cruiser handles beautifully with more volume and greater sail area than her predecessors.

A wide beam hull carried far forward, full-length hull chine, double rudders and two wheels create maximum space above and

below deck, while being stable and fast while heeled. She is setup for simple sailing, with a redesigned cockpit which eliminates a backstay, instead favouring a clutter-free and safe layout.

The 34.1 comes in a range of packages and options to suite a wide mix of needs including a First Line package for the more performance minded. www.36degrees.nz

Doyle Sails and Live Ocean, the conservation charity led by Peter Burling and Blair Tuke, have joined forces in releasing a new range of luggage utilising repurposed high-performance Doyle sails and other recycled sailmaking materials.

“While continuing our journey towards a more sustainable future, creating a circular story for our sails at the end of their life is essential and the Doyle Sails / Live Ocean collaboration is just that.” Expertly handcrafted with long summer days and beach adventures in mind, no two bags are the same. Each one sports a unique colour combination making them entirely one of a kind, with a story.

Doylesails.com / liveocean.com

Great summer beer in a good cause Sasga Menorquin motorboats come to NZ A full line-up of Menorquin semidisplacement vessels is arriving in NZ, with a 34ft Sedan this December, and 42ft, 54ft and 68ft models in 2022.

All these launches have the highest EU Recreational Craft Directive CATEGORY A OCEAN classification: self-sufficient boats capable of extended voyages with winds over 40 knots that meet rigorous standards of stability, buoyancy and good handling.

Sasga Yachts, a modern shipyard on the Spanish island of Menorca, produces resininfused strong, lightweight hulls with maximum efficiency. Twin Volvo inboards on shafts run at 20 knots.

A trio of NZers are behind this venture.

Canterbury yachtsman Ernest Henshaw chose to bring Sasga Yachts here after witnessing a Menorquin 39 performing in a gale in the Mediterranean. “This boat is for someone who appreciates good boat design and construction.”

Well known industry veteran Bruce McGill: “These Menorquins glide through the water efficiently with half the horsepower of similar production monohulls.”

Yacht broker and Squadron member Christine Bird knows the Menorquins: “They are incredibly seaworthy and well built … can’t wait to show them to New Zealand.” www.sasgayachts.nz

Sawmill Brewery has worked with BLAKE (formerly the Sir Peter Blake Trust) for the last couple of years and have great admiration for their programmes to encourage environmental leadership, especially in protecting the ocean.

In December they launched BLAKE beer – a fundraiser with the goal of raising $30,000 for BLAKE. It’s a great hazy pale ale with citrus character, perfect for summer, and Sawmill hopes it will bring not just funds but also more awareness to BLAKE’s work. Sawmill is New Zealand’s first B-Corp-certified brewery, recognising its commitment to social and environmental responsibility and transparency. www.sawmillbrewery.co.nz

70 Breeze Magazine

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Breeze Magazine 71

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72 Breeze Magazine

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Breeze Magazine 73

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74 Breeze Magazine

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Breeze Magazine 75

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76 Breeze Magazine

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