Happy New Year to All
We hope you all had a great break over the Christmas – New Year period and that you managed to get away on your boat. It was fantastic weather, especially in Auckland compared to the shocking conditions last year.
There are a few things currently going on with the Class, and the New Year is a good time to send an update.
The most important thing is that there are some the events coming up, including this weekend at Mahurangi for the Auckland anniversary regatta. A summary of all the events is at the bottom of the newsletter - and keep an eye on the Facebook page.
It is not too late to get to Mahurangi if you are still undecided. It is looking to be a great weekend for it. Good luck and have fun to all those attending.
Also coming up in 2 weeks is the annual class picnic, which is to be held on 11 February. We have planned to hold the picnic at one of the Islands close to Auckland - likely Motuhie or Motutapu. We are aiming for a late morning meeting up and the details of where and the exact time will be published the week prior.
There is an event for this set up on the Facebook page and we would appreciate you indicating there if you intend to come along. This will help with the planning and catering. As usual, we are planning a barbecue, games and prizes from sponsors, including Mount Gay rum.
The New Zealand Nationals are being held on the 15th and 16th of June, hosted by the Buckland Beach Yacht Club. The notice of race is coming out soon so keep an eye out for that. There will opportunities to moor your boat at the club and we are also planning a meal along with prizegiving on the Sunday evening.
There is also an Australian Championship planned – this is awesome to see and is being held on 2-3 March in Sydney. We look forward to reports coming back as to how that event shaped up. Good luck to all those competing.
The annual Panmure Yacht Club 2 handed, 3 legged race is on again on the weekend of 8-10 March.
The Weiti regatta is being held again this year and is a one day event on 6 April. It will be held on the waters south of Whangaparaoa Peninsula and promises to be a good day of racing.
Before Christmas we undertook a survey of members and those interested in Farr 1020’s. We had 42 responses, and the main themes were:
- There is strong interest in the maintenance aspects of the boats.
- There is a desire for more events including events for boats that are not set up for racing.
- More frequent and wider range of communication is also valued, including communication between owners on what they are doing with their boats, their racing and cruising adventures and details on maintenance activities.
In a little more detail, the responses were as follows:
About the respondents:
We asked what events would be of interest. There was the option to check more than one option here:
Of the activities the Association should be involved in, here is the summary of those responses:
This gives the committee and members a good insight into what we are looking for and how to support each other.
Stories or insights into your maintenance activities are welcome – please post to Facebook or send to the Association email and we can make sure they get shared.
We also look forward to receiving your cruising stories or race reports.
Here is the summary of the upcoming events:
- The Annual Farr 1020 Picnic - 11 February.
- The Bay of Islands Race Week is always popular – 23-26 January.
- Mahurangi Regatta – Auckland anniversary weekend. 27-29 January. Race from Auckland Friday night and events all weekend finishing with the anniversary day regatta race back to Auckland on Monday.
- Australian Championships – 2-3 March. Sydney.
- 2 handed, 3 legged race – 8, 9, 10 March. Panmure Yacht Club.
- The Weiti Regatta – 6 April.
- Class National Championships – 15, 16 June 2024 Buckland's Beach Yacht Club.
The summer still has plenty of sailing left in it. Go and enjoy your boat and the cruising - and tell us about it.