www.crew.org.nz The Home of NZ Sailing

Whangamata Race

This years Whangamata race was to be from Whangamata to Tauranga on Saturday the 21st, but first the Mount and Tauranga boats had to get there. The original plan was to get away on the morning of Friday the 20th but with a Tropical low passing over the North Island creating 4 metre plus swells at A beacon accompanied by 50 knot winds everyone sensibly stayed in port. Windarra eventually left at 10:30 p.m. followed by Happy Hour at 3:30 Saturday morning. The race was eventually underway with division 2 starting at 8:45 followed by division 1 at 9:30 (no multi division unfortunately, due to retirements). Then the game started with almost everyone at one time going from Hero to Zero and back again as the breeze came and went from twenty knots back to five and swinging from north by northwest to west. Eventually Sunchero managed to break away from the Keel boats by running huge angles to take Line honours followed by Happy Hour then Windarra to complete the top three in Division1. Division 2 was a comfortable win to Half Pint who  also came third overall on corrected time. Thanks to all crews who participated and also Wendy, Stef and Neil for organising the Race finish, BBQ, Prizes and Drinks afterwards. More photos click here Results here

Happy Hour heading for her handicap win.

2008/09 Summer Sailing Instructions and NOR available Here

The Legends as experienced from Sea Esta here

Legends Regatta

The Legends turned out to be a great weekend once again, the weather was it's typical self, being that if you weren't happy with it just wait 20 minutes. The trip up there was a casual beat in 8-12 Knots of breeze for most of the  way with a lot opting to motorsail  to get there with daylight to spare. The Saturday was a blow out but there was fun and games to be had ashore. Sundays race turned out to be a wild ride down the back of the Island with even old Windarra getting a 12 knot surf whilst gradually creating an enormous hole in the Ocean. It was great watching Bushido, Crystal Harmony and Transformer Slipping by at Speed. Mondays trip home was fantastic if you were headed back to Tauranga with most boats enjoying a 25 knot Reach for 90 percent of the trip. The weekends major winners were Finesse (Steve Livingstone)  a Wintsunday Yacht Charter and Marbles (Euan Armstrong) the Overall Race Winner. A big thank you to everyone who made the trip down.

Lay Day Antics

Winter Series Finished

Bit of a late update but a great prize-giving was had at the MOSC last Sunday congratulations and well done to our Winners, in what has been a very competitive Winter Series full points Table Available on the Results Page.

A Division Winner Not Negotiable

B Division Winner Silas Marner

2 Handed Division Winner Hanse Free

Peoples Choice Award Winner Windarra

 Final Open Race

Some of the best Sailing this winter was to be had in the last race open race of the season, with steady 15 knots breezes to be had across most of the course. Union Jack again showed her speed in moderate to heavy conditions to end up with a win, followed by Force 10 and Windarra. Doug on Wizard kindly pulled out (despite finishing well ahead) to let the boats who had been competing in the series take the laurels. Unfortunately thanks to the favourable winds the course was completed very rapidly, which stopped some of the faster boats finishing in the top places. Division two also looked to be having a great time of it with Déjà Vu  scorching around the course to be second boat home overall and take the division two win followed by Antares and Silas Marner. Was great to see Tuisitala out on the course looking good, she must be the oldest Sailing Boat in Tauranga. Pictures in the Gallery (thanks to John and Lyn again). A huge thankyou to all boats for a great season! Prize giving on the 14th of September at the Mount Ocean Sports Club.

Union Jack running to the Top Mark 

2 Handed Race 4

Race four of the 2 handed series was a lovely warm Sunny Day with light but reasonably steady 7-10 breezes, the course took the boats down the harbour to 19 then up the Otumoetai channel around 10 back past the yacht club, up to 21 and then to the finish. The boats started to bunch up near the West Otumoetai marker and Not Negotiable quickly took the lead by 10 with the rest close behind. Happy Hour and Hanse Free stayed close together with Happy Hour managing to pass for second just before the finish followed by Windarra and Force 10.

Not Negotiable Heads for the Finish 

 Open Race 7

Race 7 was a race to see who could drift in the tide the fastest with very light to non existent winds, you could say it was a lottery but somehow the usual top performers in light airs managed to coax their boats across the line in reasonable time. Well done to Not Negotiable, Jet Stream and Rigmarole.

Open Race 6

Very strong winds were the order of the day for race 6, hovering around the low 20's for the start they soon got to the high 30's as the fleet headed for 12 west. This forced two retirements as Windarra tore the clew from her headsail and Wizard decided to test the sacrificial tips on her centerboards. Union Jack showed her speed in these conditions managing to hold out Not Negotiable followed by Hanse Free. Photos in the Gallery thanks again John and Lyn

Maybe time for a Reef? Hanse Free in Foreground 

2 Handed Race 3

Good Sailing conditions and even the odd bit of Sunshine greeted competitors in the 2 handed series on the weekend. Winds were very fickle with 27 knots down one end of the course and less than 7 near the Mount. Not Negotiable again showed her class with an easy win and Force 10 snuck through at the Last minute to claim 2nd. 3rd went to Happy Hour. Photos in the Gallery.

Not Negotiable and Happy Hour off the Start Line 

 Open Race 5

Race 5 was held in moderating conditions after a night of wind and rain we were fortunate to avoid the rain for the entire race and have reasonably steady winds in the 13 to 18 knot range. There was still 1.5-2 meter swell running outside the harbour so course 23 was another excellent choice by the race committee, sending the smaller boats up the harbour and the larger boats outside around Karewa. Most boats enjoyed an excellent Kite ride home after a bit of a bash out. Some fantastic photos in the Gallery thanks again to Lyn from Sea Esta and Sea Dragon

Santana catches a Wave 

2 Handed Race 2

Once again we faced strong winds and rain for our 2 handed race, most boats were heavily reefed with 32 knots being recorded heading up to the start line. Hanse Free got off to an early lead over Invincible followed by Rapport then Windarra, with Happy Hour starting 5minutes later. The Race committee set another fantastic course reading the conditions well to send the fleet up the harbour to Willow point and back. Happy Hour started to grind everyone in and quickly past Rapport and Invincible near the Willow Point mark then, passing Windarra before 10 West, she looked to have Hanse Free in her sights on the Run up from 7 to 19. But as the Happy Hour crew put her through a gybe the Boom snagged on the backstay and she reached off towards a sand bank then towards the Ship Port at 9 plus knots. This gave Rapport and Windarra a chance to close in on the final upwind leg from 19 to the finish and with Happy Hour having to do a penalty due to starting the engine she was relegated to 4th. Photos in the Gallery (thanks John and Lyn).

At the start L to R Happy Hour, Invincible , Windarra, Hanse Free and Rapport

Winter Open Race 4

With snow and Gales raging around the country we had some very exciting sailing conditions. Finesse got off to a good start and established a lead on the way to 12W with Sea Dragon in pursuit soon to be followed by Windarra, who was constantly looking over her shoulder at Union Jack. By the time the leaders were at 21the order was still the same with Windarra almost taking Sea Dragon but losing the plot trying to avoid the mark. Not Negotiable was now starting to close in, after rounding 7 Windarra was able to Pass Sea Dragon after she kindly took a rest on a nearby Sand bar, Not Negotiable then Passed Windarra after putting up her kite for about 2 minutes then deciding the better of it, then stomped off to finish 2nd behind Finesse. Shalako had a popular win in division 2 with the old girl loving the conditions, but Deja'Vu is back so will be some good racing still to come. Photos in the Gallery.

Not Negotiable digs her shoulder in 

Winter Open Race 3

Race 3 was started in relatively light conditions which was surprising after the morning gale we all experienced. The 9-12 knot winds were to be short lived as 5 minutes after our start at 12:25 the squall swept down the harbour with 35 plus knot winds and torrential rain, this caused all sorts of bother on Windarra as we attempted to reef the main and reduce the headsail, after several threats of mutiny we got sorted and despite having to go back and round a mark we missed, it was most enjoyable in the end. Hanse Free thought the better of starting and decided to head for cover and a hot drink. Rapport was looking strong but was forced to retire (hope there is no damage guys). Sea Dragon finally got some conditions she enjoyed and flew around the course for a comfortable win. Rigamarole and Not Negotiable filled the minor places both looking every bit the class act (I couldn't help but feel sorry for the crew of Not Negotiable sitting on the Rail in the Rain). No race photos this time sorry, apparently the Camera wasn't waterproof after all. So how about this one from the Super Yacht Cup in Sardinia, we can only dream (Photo Credit Rick Tomlinson).

Lulworth and Senso One

2 Handed Race 1

This race was another light wind affair despite the forecast, it was great to see an increased turnout . Well done to Rapport, Force10 and Hanse Free.

Winter Open Race Two

Race two commenced on Sunday in near perfect conditions, unfortunately for some quite a few wind holes soon developed around the harbour. Jetstream once again showed most of us the way around and looked to have the race sown up only to err soon after the finish and get protested out. The handicap committee will again be sharpening the pencils early next week with a few more adjustments to come. More photos are up in the gallery thanks once again to Lyn from Sea-Esta

Jetstream Powers Upwind

Winter Race One

Race One was started in some beautiful Autumn Sunshine with a light but steady SW Wind. Unfortunately the wind died towards the end of the race and only 9 of the 15 or so boats that started, finished. It was also unfortunate for some that Jetstream was so damn fast in these conditions, that by this time she had already rounded 7 mark for the last time and the Race couldn't be shortened. Despite this there were a lot worse places to be than sitting on the harbour in the sunshine.

It was great to se a few more boats joining in, with Not Negotiable looking very fast despite the handbrake turn they managed by dumping the Gennaker in the tide. Also special mention must go to Silas Marner (Raven 26) who was so far ahead of the rest of B division I'm sure many of us didn't realise she was competing. The next open series race will be held on the 8th of June. More photos in the Gallery.

Finesse

Our Winter Opening Day

11-05-08 Our Winter Season kicked of to a fantastic start, after a slightly delayed BBQ breakfast we had a short prize giving, for the winners of the Legends Regatta, who are off to Sunny Queensland shortly to escape the Winter Blues all thanks to MMYC and Charter Yachts Australia. Following that there was a quick briefing thanks to Kevin our commodore. The place then quickly cleared out as everyone headed to the Marinas for a fantastic days sailing. Thanks to all who attended especially all the Moms who gave up breakfast in bed. I have a few photographs on the Gallery Page thanks to John and Lyn from Siesta who were onboard Sea Dragon for the Race.

And They're off

  It’s time again, the Westerly wind has returned,  it’s time to don the Wet weather gear and head out,

it’s time to sail in conditions that would have the Summer Sailors in us calling for Mum, reaching for the Rum bottle and the TV remote,

it’s time for the MMYC winter series.

It starts this Sunday 9:00 am at Pilot Bay with a BBQ breakfast, BYO plates and Refreshments.

 Notice of Race and Safety Declarations available here.

Last Seasons News Here