Website: www.plsc.org.nz

Commodore William Perry Tel: 021 663 024 Club Captain Ian Wallace Tel: 021-216-5417

Vice Commodore Chantal Grass Tel: 09-625-2644 Secretary Blair Park Tel: 09-528-7384

Newsletter December 2013

Table of Contents

less-competent or slower sailors a bit of competition.

Commodore’s Report ............................................................... 2 Vice Commodore’s Report ...................................................... 3 And see you in the New Year. ................................................. 4 Club Captain’s Report .............................................................. 4 Club Members Stories .............................................................. 5 Weymouth Meltdown Regatta ............................................... 5 Club News .................................................................................. 6 Our Club in the Arts ............................................................... 6 New Members ........................................................................ 7 Panmure Lagoon Bonfire night Sailing party........................ 7 PLSC Christmas Dinner ........................................................ 9 Christmas Parade .................................................................. 9 Your first Sailing Steps .......................................................... 10 PLSC Laser Learn to Sail Courses ....................................... 10 Club Results 2013/14 .............................................................. 11 Upcoming Laser Events 2013/14 .......................................... 11 Blast into the Past ................................................................... 11 Feedback .................................................................................. 12 Our generous Sponsors......................................................... 12

One of the committees that I attend as a representative of the Sailing Club is the Panmure Basin Advisory Committee (PBAC). This body includes representatives of various local stakeholder groups and it advises Auckland Council on issues affecting Panmure Basin and its environs. The last meeting of PBAC on November was quite lively. One of the committee members brought with him a dossier containing photographs of examples of deterioration of the surrounding areas of the Panmure Basin that he attributed to lack of maintenance by Auckland Council. The Council representative present at the meeting did his best to defend his employers but he also received the report and undertook to pass on the complaints to the appropriate people. We also learned at this meeting that Auckland Council has decided to demolish and replace the Jubilee Bridge (the one that takes the footpath over the “neck” of the lagoon) sometime in the next 2 years. It has apparently become too difficult to maintain the bridge and so it has to be replaced. PLSC is affiliated to the Auckland Yacht and Boating Association and to Yachting New Zealand (YNZ). My last report (October 2013) covered the issue of the fees that Yachting New Zealand requires from member clubs based on the number of Notional Senior Members. YNZ is now in the process of investigating its system of levies and we at PLSC have been asked to provide them with some information on our membership. YNZ has also introduced a supplier discount scheme for its member clubs. PLSC has signed up to this scheme and we are in the early stages of determining whether it will be possible for us to gain any benefit from it in terms of discount on items that we purchase as a club.

Commodore’s Report

It is my happy responsibility to extend special thanks to the active members of our committee who facilitate the success of our club. To Ian Wallace (Club Captain and Senior Trainer and Mr Fix-it), Chantal Grass (Vice Commodore and Junior Trainer and Newsletter Editor and many other things), Merlin Caskie (Treasurer and nearly always Officer of the Day), Blair Park (Secretary and sailor who is sometimes polite enough to finish behind me), Jeff Coffin (Committee member, who helps with just about everything), Andrew Coffin (Junior Rep who is now no longer a junior), David Barker, Pete Linford, Andrew Irving – thank you all for your various individual contributions to the running of PLSC – you are an awesome team.

For many of us, the working year has now ended and we are bracing ourselves for the rigours of the festive season, racking our brains for ideas for Christmas presents, trying to remember whether we sent a card to the people who just sent us a card, dealing with the effects of excessive consumption, planning our break away from the city or looking forward to quiet time with the family.

Thanks also to all members of the club who have been active at Panmure Lagoon through the year – you are crucial to the success of the club.

For us at Panmure Lagoon Sailing Club it is nearly the end of our 50th year to thrive. We are fortunate to have qualified sailing instructors in our midst so that we may offer instruction to young (and not-so-young) novice sailors in our fleets of Optimists and Lasers. The first courses of the summer have now concluded with a frisky breeze that proved quite a challenge for the new sailors, who have had plenty of practice in how to recover from a capsize. There were 6 Optimists and 14 Lasers on the water for this last training session and it proved to be a busy time for our three patrol boats. Our Club Captain, Ian Wallace and Pete Linford will be offering another course for budding Laser sailors later in the summer and details are available on our website. On a personal note, I have not been doing much sailing of late and so I expect to retain my position at the back of the fleet where I am able to offer the

Enjoy your Christmas and New Year. Whether you are working or on holiday, at home or away, with family and friends or alone, stay safe and look after yourselves and we shall see you in 2014 for another year of recreation at Panmure Lagoon Sailing Club. See you on the water.

William Perry, Commodore

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Vice Commodore’s Report Wow what a memorable year 2013 has been for our Club; it certainly created some timeless memories: there were the Jubilee celebrations, Taipa Classic Boat Regatta, Napier Laser Nationals, Auckland Anniversary Regatta, OKI 24 hours, French Bay Regatta, RSA Regatta, Northland Regatta, Freshwaters, our Club racing days, social events and training days…and so many others.

I am now a committee member for the NZ Laser Association so I can assist with the promotion of NZ Woman Laser Sailing. As a Woman Laser Sailor I have been saddened over the years to see the very few participants of women in dinghy sailing at Clubs and at Regattas. I am very pleased to see the number of Woman sailors at our Club growing and would like to build, upskill women fleets at Club level so that we can see them participating at regattas a bit more.

The great camaderie at the Club has made our Lagoon a special place to sail. It was great to catch up with some old friends at the jubilee and it was sad to farewell some along the way. The Club buildings got a makeover in 2013 for its 50th with a new crisp white coat of paint and grey window surrounds. The sheds have been modernized thanks to the ingenious pulley system jointly designed by Cannon Wallace and Bones, not only allowing a single person to retrieve a boat but as well providing the ability for the Club to store more boats. Thanks to all for your work on the Club buildings and sheds. I enjoyed another year training the Optimists, this year I had 6 junior boys, all of whom have the promise of becoming great little sailors. I hope to see them soon back on the water practicing and racing and who knows they could be the next NZ Sailing talent of the future. They were certainly inspired after viewing NZ’s 470 sailors Olivia Powrie and Jo Aleh's London Olympic Gold Medal, which was kindly brought over by their sponsor Apollo Projects for show. Thanks Paul Lloyd for bringing the medal to the Club, all the trainees marveled at its significance.

A few of our PLSC Women Sailors: Shaaron, Claire, Anna, Olga, Akemi and Amy

I am very keen in promoting an Annual Woman Laser Regatta, which would be hosted in turns at Clubs supporting the scheme. I believe an exclusive Woman regatta would create a safe environment for woman to participate in their first regatta and give them the confidence to attend regattas such as the NZ Laser Nationals, which will be in Auckland next year.

First Training session – Swimming test - Photo from Graeme & Nicky Delaveau.

The NZ Laser Association has indicated that they would fund a special woman coaching session at a single venue if we get sufficient interest. I have been in touch with other Auckland Clubs and the Point Chevalier and French Bay Sailing Clubs have indicated they are interested.

Click here for more photos of the training sessions

I will keep you posted of new developments in the New Year. Ladies please approach me if you are interested in the Regatta and the coaching. Now what about 2014, it promises to be another exciting year. There are many external events in January and February, so do check the upcoming laser event section in this Newsletter Page 3 of 13

and if you are interested in attending an event, please contact your Club Captain.

Club Captain’s Report

There is one key date that you will need to enter in your brand new crispy 2014 diary, the RSA Regatta, which is to be held this year on the 23rd March. With your help it will be another successful event, so talk to your friends at other Clubs and let them know of the event. For more information on the regatta, click here to access the Notice of Race. There will be once more some fantastic prizes thanks to the generosity of our sponsors: the RSA, the Waipuna Hotel and Conference Centre, the Water Shed, Auckland Marine Centre, PredictWind.com, Survitec Group, Boating NZ, Joy Adams Sails, Yeehah Fishing Tackl, Coromandel Cacti and Sugarcraft.

Firstly may I wish you all a very Merry Xmas & all the best for a fantastic New Year. Talking about the year nearing its destination; the Club has grown in leaps & bounds setting the club up for a very bright future so pat yourselves on the back.

Training We have just completed another training session which has seen more enthusiastic sailors complete basic sail training. Thanks must go out to Chantal Grass, for a great job with the juniors, Andrew (Bones), David Barker, Pete Linford, Jeff & Andrew Coffin Alberto Usseglio plus we had Nicky & Graeme Delaveau, who also gave a hand on the shore. Some will continue sailing on the Lagoon so as usual make them feel welcome & where needed give them help or advice on sailing the Laser. Yes, there are another two training sessions being organized in the New Year. The first session of 6 days in a row will be from the 20th to the 25th January 2014, which will be run by Pete Linford & Andrew Coffin and the next session starts on the 15th February 2014. Both are filling up quite fast so if you are interested, please go to our website, fill in the training registration form, pay & send back to us. We will cap numbers to 10 per session.

Racing The year finished off with some great racing, the last race was definitely entertaining to the passerbyers, it was gusting up to 30 knots and there were some amazing boat acrobatics with everybody capsizing even Dario! There were some very muddy top sections and sails, Shaaron had to get a mop out to clean her sail!. Poor Graham broke his traveller’s fairlead and had to come in after the first race A thanks to David Barker and John Castle for helping out and rescuing the sailors (me included), they had a very, very busy day.

We have now trialed the two fleet system with the A & B fleets & due to the success of the new system, it has now become a permanent fixture. This has enabled our newer sailors to concentrate on sailing with a smaller fleet which means they do not get swamped by the very tight starts in the A fleet, which can be quite intimidating to new sailors.

So wishing you all a

And see you in the New Year.

Now who is that in the water, Dmitri seems very pleased, Summer Series 1st December – Photo from Amanda Brett

Chantal Grass, Vice Commodore Page 4 of 13

from as putting them on the shore will very quickly wreck their hulls. Final note here; remember that this is your club & your input is very important to us so if you have any ideas on how you think we could improve the club on any aspect please let us know for all successful clubs must keep on evolving & if you can contribute to the running of the club do not be shy in coming foreword.

Fleets have been growing to levels I have not seen during my time at the Club & we are now definitely the largest Laser fleet regularly sailing in Auckland. The success of a club can be directly credited to its members, so congratulations to you all in making this a fun place to sail & for keeping a friendly family atmosphere. Bigger fleets have made life a bit more difficult for Merlin so can I ask you to try & remember the boat that crossed the line in front of you & the one behind you for at times it is a real nightmare for one person to be able to get all the numbers if a whole gaggle of boats go through the finish line at the same time. I would like to thank Merlin for his super human effort in being Officer of the day week after week. We are really indebted to you Merlin. Thanks a million.

Merry Xmas, Sail Hard & Sail Fast

Your Club Captain, Ian Wallace,

Club Members Stories

With the bigger fleets we are finding that the rules by which we sail & race to are becoming more important so it is becoming imperative that you make yourself familiar of the rules that govern Yacht racing. We do have videos on the race rules & if the demand is there we can have someone come & chat about rules one evening. Let us know if you are interested.

Weymouth Meltdown Regatta Four of our PLSC members: Andrew Irving, David Barker, Blair Park and Andrew Wilson participated at the Weymouth Meltdown Regatta and thoroughly enjoyed themselves sailing on the Manukau waters. Andrew Irving won the day.

Boat care I have begun to number boats & their trailers, so can you make sure these boats stay on the trailer that has been designated to them. Those same numbers can be used to sign in with.

Here is a great account of the day by Aaron Lowe, the Weymouth Sailing Club Commodore As the day dawned, rain poured over South Auckland, and a few hardy sailors decided to make the trek to Weymouth for the second annual Meltdown Regatta, perhaps wondering if it should be renamed the "downpour regatta" in light of the abundant liquid sunshine.

I will over the next few weeks endeavor to get the rest of the boats done. In some cases I have also marked the locker with the number of the boat so check for that before storing them after sailing. I would like to thank Phil Brockliss for providing the material and for some other goodies, thanks heaps. 1. 2. 3. 4.

By the time the briefing was held, the rain had stopped, and the sun was just starting to break through the clouds. The wind had all but disappeared, so the decision was made to have one long race, so visitors could see a little more of the harbour, followed by a series of short sprint races.

Will Wash Boat Keep equipment together with boat Report equipment damage Never drag a boat on the beach, put it on a trolley

Visitors again outnumbered the locals, and the quality of the sailors that showed, promised some good racing action. All but one of the competitors were sailing full rig Lasers. The first race was a lap of the papakura inlet, covering both sides of the channel, followed by a windward-leeward lap, starting and finishing directly in front of the clubhouse. At the start, the breeze had built slightly, and all the boats heading across to Shark Island, where David Barker (PLSC) just lead Andrew Irving (PLSC), who was in-turn being hotly pursued by local sailor Murray Boucher in the Jollyboat, with the rest of the fleet close behind.

While on the subject of boats: can you make sure that all the equipment you used for the day is put back into the cockpit of the boat when you have washed the boat down & all the sections are left with the boat which means the full rig bottom section must always be put with the boat when stored & if any other bottom section has been used return it back to the storage racks where they came from. Always think of the next person who is going to use the boat as it could be you; for it is a real nuisance to find a boat’s missing equipment or find broken parts. The other thing to note is please let me know if equipment is broken or missing. To sum up take care of these very expensive boats as though they were yours. One last thing, do not put the boats, which have a trailer on the shore at any time. They must always be put on the trailer that they come

Next came a long reach down the Karaka shoreline, followed by another reach across to Wattle Downs. Positions were unchanged at this point, as the boats turned upwind for a long beat back to Shark, which meant not only battling the wind and each other, but working the incoming tide to best effect. While most of the fleet stayed close to the eastern shore, Murray decided to head West, crossing the tidal stream first, hoping for some slack water on the western edge. This strategy Page 5 of 13

Now is that Blair and David Capsized? - – Photo from Aaron Lowe

looked to be working well, and he was in a very strong position approaching the end of the leg, however a slight shift in the breeze meant he could not lay through to the top mark cleanly, which cost him a lot of time, as the wind pushed him back into the tidal flow.

In full chase mode, he put the hammer down and pushed his boat to the limit, slowly gaining on Rob. At the last mark, with maybe 2 minutes of racing left, Andrew just got the inside overlap, and managed to scrape around ahead of Rob. Attacking vigorously, Rob was unable to get back in front, and Andrew got his first win of the day. David finished this one in third, followed by Murray, Andrew W, Blair, and Pete.

After another three legs the leading boats had sailed well clear of the rest of the fleet, and David finished just ahead of Andrew, with a four minute gap back to Blair. Rob Kent was the top performing local, finishing in fourth place. Murray was next, followed by Andrew Wilson, with Pete Hagglund finding some bad winds and finishing at the tail end.

Going into the last race, David and Andrew I were tied on 5 points each, with Rob in third, one point ahead of Blair. Murray decided to head for the shore, as conditions were getting too much of a handful for the Jollyboat.

The next three races were short windward-leeward sprint races, of around 15 minute’s duration.

There were several minor collisions on the start line this time around, either from intense desire to win, or just plain old fatigue, but the race was started, and this time Andrew wasn't going to let victory escape. Blair led for the first lap or so, but Andrew eventually got by for the win. Blair sailed an awesome race, finishing just seconds behind Andrew, and almost piping him on the line, as Andrew slightly misjudged the tide. David finished this one in third place, while Andrew W, Rob, and Pete took turns swimming, as conditions got the better of them.

The breeze had now built up to around 15 knots, with occasional gust close to 20, which was proving to be very challenging, especially on the very short courses. The second race was a pretty straightforward affair, with Andrew Irving leading from start to finish, however a slight error of judgment (Forgetting the course) allowed David to steal the win. Blair was third, followed by Murray, Rob, Andrew W, and Pete.

Club News Our Club in the Arts Our Club and our Laser sailors have provided inspiration to Amanda Brett, a contemporary watercolour Artist based in Auckland, who came down to the Club on 1st December during our Summer Series. She captured the essence of the day with this wonderful, colourful watercolour. I recognize Kevin Welsh’s boat 17770, Andrew Coffin walking into the Club room with his life jacket.

Andrew Irving rounding the Buoy. – Photo from Aaron Lowe

Race three proved to be anything but straightforward, as both Andrew and David overstood the first mark, and had to turn back, not an easy thing to do in the conditions. Rob took the opportunity, and snuck through the inside to take the lead, while Andrew sailed in a giant circle, and David took an involuntary dip. Which seemed to start the ball rolling, as one by one almost every boat capsized. Andrew I proved to be the exception, however, and got away from the chaos still remarkably in second place.

Painting by Amanda Brett, Contemporary Watercolour Artist The painting is available for sale for $950. If you are interested in Amanda Brett’s other work. You can view her website. www.amandabrett.net/

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PLSC Social Calendar

New Members

We would like to welcome the following new families, members to our Club:          

Panmure Lagoon Bonfire night Sailing party.

David Scott Masahiro Sugawara Lisa Alexandra Mackay Paul Bancroft Sam Smorenburg Tracy Hickman Paul Qualtrough Stefano Nava Loïc Eiseuring Paul Page

Shaaron and Allan McKee hosted the Bonfire night at their lovely property in Glenbrook on the 16th November. This resurected the old PLSC Bonfire tradition, the very first one was held on the Lagoon reserve on 5th November 1963, bonfires at the Basin eventually had to cease due to Safety concerns. The bonfire event was a fantastic night full of entertainement, Ian (Cannon) Wallace fired off his cannon, some concerned neighbours thought Shaaron’s house had blown up. Would that be why a somewhat Ian effigy was hosted onto the bombfire?? I particulary enjoyed lighting the effigy up... I wonder why?? This was followed with a lovely spread of yummy food and the evening cumulated with a fantastic show of fireworks.

Paul Page has an old association with PLSC winning the coveted PLSC RSA Regatta trophy 5 times in 1980, 1991, 1994, 1999 and 2009. Dario you have a challenger!

Thanks so much Shaaron and Allan for a great night!

Paul Page winning the RSA Regatta trophy in 1994 receiving trophy from Bill Christian, Patron and Doug Berry, Boat Captain.

Ian firing off his cannon

Paul Page winning the RSA Regatta trophy in 2009 receiving trophy from Bill Christian, Patron.

From left to right: David and Celina Barker, Shaaron McKee, Craig, Anna Wallace, Blair Park and Jen.

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Anna and Craig enthusiastically creating the “Ian” effigy for the bonfire under the amusing eye of David and Blair. The effigy burning

Craig leading the procession to the bonfire with the “Ian” effigy followed by Ian, Anna and Merrin. A nice warm bonfire

Some great firework!

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Christmas Parade

The Panmure Lagoon Sailing Club took part this year in the Panmure Christmas Parade & Festival; this was a successful event despite the rain.

PLSC Christmas Dinner

We need to thank Merlin Caskie for organising the PLSC float for the Xmas Parade. The float, a well decorated Optimist was pulled by Brett’s stunning red classic Triumph Stag and was escorted by some friendly pirates (Andrew, Merlin and Brett) and a lovely mermaid (Becky). Thanks guys for taking part in this popular Community event.

On Saturday 23rd November a few PLSC members enjoyed a yummy Xmas dinner at the Imperial Palace Restaurant in Panmure. It was a great start to the Xmas festivities, with Christmas crackers, horrible riddles and funny hats.

We would like to thank the Panmure Business Association for their $200 donation, this will be a great help with maintaining our boats.

Thanks Blair for organising the event, we all had a great time and came out with a full belly.

From left to right: Andrew Coffin, Merlin Caskie, Becky and Brett Webster.

From left to right: Moritz Wagner, Ian Wallace, Chantal Grass, Anna and Lucio Ferri, Andrew Wilson, Richard, Will and Holly Perry, Blair Park and Jen, Anna Wallace, Celina and David Barker

Merlin and Andrew sword fighting

The photographer of the group photo and one of our Women Sailors: Judith Erren with David Barker and Moritz Wagner

Brett’s stunning red classic Triumph Stag

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Photo 3

Your first Sailing Steps The first person who can guess who of our 4 current members are in the below pictures will win a Wind Indicator. The responses to be sent to Chantal at [email protected]. One response per person

The last newsletter’s winner of a Wind Indicator was Andrew Irving. The responses were Photo 1: Pete Linford, Photo 2: Paul Martin, Photo 3: Amy Linford.

Photo 4

If you have photos of your first sailing steps we will include it in the next newsletter.

Guess Who? Photo 1

Picture from Seaspray Magazine

PLSC Laser Learn to Sail Courses Please contact Pete Linford by e-mailing him at mailto:[email protected] if interested in attending any of these courses or checkout the website to register.

Photo 2

Course 1 Instructors: Pete Linford and Andrew Coffin. Date 20th Jan 21st Jan 22nd Jan 23rd Jan 24th Jan TBC

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Series Training Day 1 Training Day 2 Training Day 3 Training Day 4 Training Day 5 Training Day 6 & BBQ

Time 08:00 am 09:00 am 10:00 am 11:00 am 11:30 am

Blast into the Past

Course 2 Instructor: Pete Linford Date 15th Feb 22nd Feb 1st March 8th March 22nd March th 5 April

Series Training Day 1 Training Day 2 Training Day 3 Training Day 4 Training Day 5 Training Day 6 & BBQ

We had 2 old Club Members from the 1970s visiting us on our first Club Champ Series on 22nd December. Finn Hansen and Bruce McBeath (known as Mouse) they came down to the Club by chance after seeing boats rigging on a very windy day, they had not seen each other in 40 years, it was a great reunion.

Time 07:30 am 11:00 am 07:00 am 11:30 am 10:00 am 10:30 am

Bruce McBeath won the PLSC Secretary Senior Trophy in 1974, he fondly remembers sailing with Grant Spanhake in Stirrer at the Auckland Anniversary regatta and making the NZ Herald. He sailed P Classes, Cherubs and R Class. Finn Hansen won in 1973 the Barbecue trophy and the Secretary Senior Trophy with Mike Champness and in 1975 the Basin Trophy in R Class. He remembers sailing with Graham Allen, Kevin Davidson, Paul Scoffin, Mike Carroll and Mike Champness and David Worsnop doing the Learn to Sail training.

Club Results 2013/14 For a detail of all Club results and all placings, please consult our website: http://www.plsc.org.nz/raceresults.htm. Results of our Club series, will be published after each race.

They both helped with the building of what are today the Green Sheds. In those days the P Classes were stored in the Club rooms.

Series are still running so new final Series results since the last Newsletter.

Upcoming Laser Events 2013/14 Just let our Club Captain know if you are interested in attending one of these regattas. The below dates are entered in the PLSC Calendar on the website for your reference as well. 2013/14 Laser Events 15th to 19th Laser National Championships Nelson Yacht Club January 2014 25th January 2014 Taipa Classic Taipa Sailing Club 27th January 2014 Auckland Anniversary Regatta Tamaki Yacht Club 31st January to 4th February 2014 8th to 9th February 2014 22nd to 23rd February 2014 2nd March 2014

Oceanbridge Sail Auckland

8th to 9th March 2014 23rd March 2014

Wakatere Senior Classes Regatta RSA Regatta

29th to 30th March 2014 26th April 2014

Northland Yachting Association (NYA) Laser Champs Auckland Laser Masters

18th May 2014

Northshore Freshwaters

OKI 24-hour Sailing Race Auckland Laser Champs French Bay Regatta

Royal Akarana Yacht Club Murrays Bay Yacht Cub Tamaki Yacht Club French Bay Sailing Club Wakatere Boating Club Panmure Lagoon Sailing Club Onerahi Yacht Club

Mouse with R Class 252.

Tamaki Yacht Club Pupuke Boating Club

30th

20th to Laser Masters World Champs Hyeres, France September 2014

Mouse (Bruce McBeath) and Finn Hansen

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Feedback We welcome your feedback; do share your comments with us. If you would like to contribute to the next Newsletter, please send your ideas, comments or articles to Chantal Grass.at [email protected]

Our generous Sponsors Panmure Lagoon Club would like to thank our generous Club sponsors.

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