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FROM THE 

QUARTERDECK  

A REPORT FROM REAR 

COMMODORE BLAIR CLIFFE  

I am sitting in front of 

my computer thinking 

of what to write and it 

seems hard to believe 

that the sailing season 

is again over for 

another year.  How is 

it that time seems to go by faster and 

faster?  Only last year I was 25 again 

and now I have a Grandson who was 

born in November but is already 

showing determination to crawl and 

just wont stay still for more than a few 

seconds at a time.  He is a real live wire 

and I am looking forward to teaching 

him to sail and to enjoy boats as soon 

as his parents give me the green light.  

Could actually be an excuse to build 

another boat; an Opti Maximus or 

perhaps a Puddleduck Racer? 

 

The DYC sailing calendar completed 

with the Easter Sunday champagne 

breakfast at Mahurangi and what a 

turn out there was.  The weekend 

started with the Easter Cruise Race to 

Kawau.  Light winds and a strong 

ebbing tide caused a few hiccups on 

the starting line with a number of 

boats being swept down past the line 

but not inside the buoy. There was a 

flurry of activity as engines were 

started and a return up to May Street 

for another go at it.  It does however 

appear that this is in contravention of 

the rules and on this occasion caught 

out more than one of the club's Flag 

Officers!  I think this rule might need a 

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clarifying brief again at the Skippers' 

Meeting prior to next season.  Moral 

of the story though in light winds and 

an outgoing tide stay close to the club 

end of the line. 

Eventually sixteen boats drifted down 

towards Rangitoto light in very gentle 

and frustrating conditions.  With a 

dinner date at Kawau Boating Club to 

look forward to most of us looked at 

the Speed, Time, Distance issue 

somewhere around Tiritiri passage and 

flashed up the donks and motor‐sailed 

the remainder of the way.  Only 4 

boats out of 7 in Division A stayed the 

course and two out of nine in Division 

B finished and a well done should go to 

them for their dedication to the sailing 

cause.  Meanwhile the remainder of us 

had a lovely evening at the boat club 

sitting outside at a couple of adjacent 

tables next to the water.  Robin and 

David Lee and their team have really 

turned the 'Bon Accord Bar and Bistro' 

situated at the Kawau Boating Club 

into a destination and if you have not 

been then I recommend you try it out 

before long, they are open until the 3rd 

June when they close for the season.   

Saturday saw a slightly reduced fleet of 

twelve boats on the start line for 1000 

with Mahurangi being the finish.  

Again it was a day of gentle winds and 

the smaller lighter boats picked up 

their heels and disappeared leaving 

those of us with heavier boats and 

slightly furry bottoms to wish we had 

hauled out for a quick clean before the 

last races of the season.  All of us 

finished and we anchored in Lagoon 

Bay overnight before heading over to 

Sullivans Bay in the morning for Pilates 

prior to the Champagne Breakfast. 

Punters seemed a little shy this year 

with not so many takers for a little bit 

of Pilates on the beach with Emma.  

Some gentle stretching was conducted 

under the trees to limber up for the 

beach events later and to work up an 

appetite. 

The BBQ and Champagne was brought 

up by car which helped with space 

issues for the boats and ensured the 

bubbles and orange juice were nice 

and cool.  Thanks to Jeff and Mike.  As 

well as the racers there were a few 

extra boats at the beach and quite a 

few people came up by car so we had 

a big turnout, eighty or so people 

which caused the cooks to worry about 

rationing and portion control but I 

think everyone received a bacon and 

egg muffin or two and enough bubbles 

to wash it down. 

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Once everyone had breakfasted the 

games began with Paul Walter as 

Maitre D' bullying and chivvying as 

required to get the field full.   

 

Paddleboard and blindfolded dinghy 

races provided an opportunity for 

some competitors to bodily test the 

water temperature.  Running and sack 

races for all ages provided further 

entertainment for those glued to the 

bank before the egg‐throwing 

competition, which is always a 

favourite.   

 

 

The games culminated in the tug of 

war with the ladies (with just a little 

male help) winning once again.  

Another great day, lovely to see so 

many kids of all ages enjoying 

themselves and a well done to Paul for 

keeping things moving ahead of the 

threatening weather. 

The majority of the boats remaining 

out for the night moved up the estuary 

and squeezed into Pukapuka inlet.  

After an impromptu dinner party 

onboard Kenzie (thank you Paul and 

Sarah) we all had a rather eventful 

night with strong winds and current 

causing the boats to lie at different 

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angles and there was quite a bit of 

shortening in or lengthening of anchor 

rodes to keep the boats apart.  

Monday saw the majority heading for 

home whilst Emma and I had taken 

advantage of the holidays to stay out 

all week.  A return to Kawau, a visit to 

Waiheke and home for Friday to 

attend to a rather neglected garden 

rounded off a very enjoyable end to 

the sailing season. 

So now a few social events to look 

forward to.  Prizegiving will be on 

Saturday 25th May and will be the 

same format as last year starting at 

1700 with finger food provided.  The 

Laying Up Supper will be on Saturday 

22nd June and will be a 1960's themed 

karaoke and Dinner, more details to 

follow. 

For those of us not laying up for the 

winter we have cooler but quieter 

weekends on the water. 

 

 

 

Drifting up to Kawau (Geoff Evans) 

    

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FLYING THE FLAG 

 

 …a word or two from your committee‐May 2019  Dear Members,  With the 2018/19 sailing season done and dusted it has created time for the committee to put their heads together and concentrate on non‐sailing related activity and there are certainly plenty of new initiatives on the table for consideration/approval.   New Secretary Sadly, John Turrall has had to resign his position of Club Secretary due to personal commitments, but the great news is that we have very quickly resolved this situation with Stewart Smith stepping up to the post. We thank John for the time he gave us and look forward to having Stewart as part of the committee. Thanks also to Peter Evans for stepping into this role in the interim.  Memberships New memberships applications continue to roll in and it’s been pleasing to see a number of new boats turning out for the last part of the season. The committee is also aware of a few people that regularly attend the club for drinks on a Friday that are neither club members nor being signed in and we plan to tighten up on this moving forward. If you, as a member, are aware of any non‐members that are regularly availing themselves of our magnificent facilities then maybe you could have a word in the ear and get them to sign 

up as Associate members...it’s really very affordable!  From the Treasurer Financial position of the club is very strong with term deposits of approx $80,000 over and above current funds in the cheque account. However, the committee has identified several areas of the club that need work so we will be dipping into these funds shortly to keep the club in tip top condition.  Club Maintenance Schedule   Committee member Tony Bullard has been very busy behind the scenes creating a schedule of all maintenance issues and requirements that the club is facing moving forwards. Of course, not everything can be tackled at once so as part of his work Tony has prioritised the different requirements and the committee have been working through this list and has given approval for the following works to be completed asap (in no particular order)  

1) Paint the ceiling and walls in the hall area (the old part).  

2) Replace North hall area carpet squares 

3) Fix/replace kitchen prep table 4) Enable wireless connectivity to the 

projector 5) Review and upgrade club sound 

system (blue‐tooth connectivity) 6) Touch up painting to clubhouse 

exterior 7) Install ventilation fan in the men’s 

toilet and fix fan in woman’s toilet. Put light and fan timer on lounge toilet. 

8) New fire hose reel and replace missing fire extinguisher (Eastern winch shelter) 

9) Replace east power cabinet and upgrade external power cabinets and fittings where required 

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10) Undertake electrical audit of all club assets (incl clubhouse, site and haulage) for insurance purposes. 

 So as you can see, there’s going to be a bit going on and more to follow.   Kitchen Upgrade Aside from all the regular club maintenance as above, we are also reviewing options for a significant upgrade of the kitchen facilities. Tony tabled a plan to the committee. Club member and local architect Donn Roberts has drawn up the plans and these have since had input from several industry professionals. The committee has agreed to have these 

works quoted and then a subcommittee will be put together to work on the fundraising aspect of the agreed improvements as these are likely to be in excess of $100,000.00   Once again, if any club member would like to comment on any of the committee’s activity or anything in general relating to the DYC your thoughts are welcomed by emailing the writer.  Kind regards Mark Clough Email: mark@platform29.co.nz  (On behalf of the General Committee) 

 

 

New Member Member Type Proposed Seconded Bheesham and Pallavi Sethi

Family Associate Bill Rimmer Gerald Sheehy

 

 

 

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Letters to the editor From Frank Warnock (Offshore) 

Does any member know the owner of the launch in the picture enclosed? If so could you please have a friendly chat and suggest that they be a lot more considerate of other boaties when entering a bay that other boats are anchored in.

Late February this boat came into Islington Bay at one hundred miles an hour with a huge breaking wash astern and roared right up to the head of the bay before slowing down then turned around and finally anchored off the Yankee Wharf, meanwhile the twenty odd boats anchored in the area all rolled their guts out. I feel sure that a few plates and glasses were broken and a lot of people aboard cursed the owner. This sort of behaviour happens every day and usually the offending boat is either a Riviera or a Maritimo design. These Australian companies design boats with a hull shape resembling a bathtub then put thousands of horsepower engines in them to push then through the water at 25 knots. It doesn't have to be this way, remember the Genesis range of launches? They did 25 knots with very little wash astern so it can be done. The Police launch goes like the devil and leaves practically no wash and the latest design Fullers ferries are the same.

When I was young none of the launches on the harbour did much more than 10 knots and all the skippers had been yachtsmen and were experienced boaties. Today the boats all do 20 knots plus and the skippers know very little about rules and regulations so who should we blame for this? Craig Torckler is my choice, Torky sells Rivieras and I bet that he doesn't check whether the purchaser has any experience in handling boats or knows the rules or suggests that they attend a Coastguard course before they use it and I intend to have a word with him the next time we meet. Finally I have a question for all the sailboat owners in our yacht club. It is light weather and you are sailing on the wind doing about three knots when you look to windward and you see one of these monsters heading straight towards you at 25 to 30 knots and you don't know whether someone experienced is at the helm or whether it's on auto pilot, what should you do? Suggested answers are, 1 Panic 2 Jump overboard, 3 Call Torky and ask does he know and 4 dial 111 and declare an emergency. It's a sign of the times I'm afraid and we will just have to put up with it however it does give me some satisfaction to shake my fist at them and shout "you ignorant Bastard" as I am attacked by their wash.

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Easter cruise on board Offshore Hello family and friends, Janet and I have just completed a 10 day cruise and I thought that you may like to hear about it. The cruise was important to me as I had my 85th birthday on the 10th of April and I am unsure how many more I will be able to enjoy. We left the marina on Good Friday aiming to motor to North Head to run the freezer down then sail to Kawau but as it turned out there was no wind so we motored all the way there. We passed the Devonport Yacht Club fleet in the Rangitoto channel and anchored in Smelting house bay for the night. As it turned out few of the race fleet finished the race and most boats motored to get there. The club had reserved three tables at the Kawau Boating Club for dinner and we all had a very pleasant time. Next day we filled the diesel can and headed for Mahurangi Harbour again with the Yacht Club who had another race there. We stopped at Moturekareka island and fished catching three nice sized snapper. Arriving in Mahurangi harbour we anchored in Lagoon Bay on the Starboard side as you go in. On Easter Sunday we had Neil and Sally from OHMS aboard for coffee then motored across to Sullivan’s bay for a champagne brunch put on by the Yacht club. We spent the night back in Lagoon Bay. Easter Monday was not the best weather so we stayed put inviting Neil and Sally aboard for a fish breakfast and left on Tuesday for Owhanaki Bay at the top of Waiheke, We hoisted the mainsail in a very light breeze which eventually died to a flat calm and arrived at Owhanaki mid Afternoon. Wednesday was spent at anchor with South Westerly winds gusting 30 knots and a bit of rain. Thursday we motored to Mullet cove on the outside of Motutapu Island, there was one other boat in the cove but as soon as

it left we moved into the best anchorage in the bay. During this trip I asserted my position as captain and brought happy hour forward by an hour to 1600 hrs as it was dark by 1800 hrs and during drinks in the cockpit I caught breakfast, a nice legal snapper which was soon filleted, skinned and in the top of the freezer which by the way was operating really well after our $4500 re insulation job last year. On Friday we motored around to Islington Bay trailing two lures with no success. There were fifteen boats in the bay which left plenty of room for us to anchor. We spent the day reading, had our daily snooze and before you knew it it was happy hour again so it was Rum and coke for me and Janet finished the bottle of sav. Blanc. Plus cracker biscuits and cheese and would you believe it Janet caught breakfast with a fish almost as big as mine from the day before, note that I

said

ALMOST!!. Saturday arrived clear, calm and sunny with a clear blue sky so after a fish breakfast we decided to go back to our marina as the weather report was not good for Sunday with strong Nor West winds, a period of rain followed by cold Sou westerlies in other words a cold front. We needed a kawhai for Flossie our cat

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and towed two lures all the way home and finally caught one as we turned into the channel leading up to the Marina. We stayed Sat. night on board as we had a house sitter at home and the forecast was correct so we did the right thing. We tidied the boat on Sunday morning and packed all the food and gear into Janet’s car and headed home to a hot shower, hmmm lovely. That’s it until next season, Janet has some varnishing to do on the toe rails after which we will bring the overall cover out and put her to bed for the winter.

No wind or dead ahead, motored everywhere but had a wonderful cruise and wish you were there, maybe next time eh. Cheers Frank and Janet (Offshore)

Waterspouts from Long Bay early morning 23rd April 2019 (Geoff Evans)

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THE 2 HANDED ROUND WAIHEKE RACE

2-hand Round Waiheke Race, 30th March 2019

By Grant Daniel, “Zeppo”

Clockwise or anti-clockwise? That was the question my brother, Brett, and I were pondering as we approached the start line for this year’s 2-hand round Waiheke race. There was a steady easterly breeze which meant, either way, a long beat out to the back end of the island then a spinnaker run home. Going clockwise around the north side would mean we could catch a favourable incoming tide coming back through the Waiheke Channel, however the wind would probably be a bit fresher and the seas quite choppy. Going anti-clockwise we would have to punch the tide through the Waiheke Channel but we could carry full sail down the relatively sheltered Tamaki Strait. Being the smallest boat in the A division fleet and not fancying a bouncy ride on the north side we opted for anti-clockwise.

After a good start and letting the bigger boats get away so that we had clear air, we settled down to sailing our own race out to Motuihe Island. The bigger boats ahead opted for the north side whereas the smaller ones – Calypso V, John Barleycorn and us – went south along the Tamaki Strait. We tacked into the warm, steady breeze, criss-crossing the Strait and picking up the occasional lift along the Waiheke shoreline. Calypso V soon pulled ahead while John Barleycorn and

Zeppo had a good tussle all the way to Passage Rock. We were getting the better of John Barleycorn until I made a tactical mistake tacking too far over towards Ponui Island and letting her through. We overlaid the line up to Pakatoa Island and ended up easing sheets a bit through the Waiheke Channel.

The front runner, Started With a Kiss went past us off Rotoroa Island heading the other way, followed by the rest of the “clockwise” fleet. At this point we were only three miles from Kauri Point, the halfway mark, and so figured we had a good chance of a podium finish on handicap.

Rounding Kauri Point then Thumb Point, we bore away and set the spinnaker for a flat run back to the Motuihe Channel. With a 20 knot breeze and 1m chop we were rolling quite a lot but also catching a few waves that had us surfing at 9 -10 knots.

After a couple of miles we noticed Calypso V, well ahead in the vicinity of the D’Urville Rocks, had dropped her spinnaker. As we got nearer we could see her beam on to the seas with mainsail also down so, suspecting trouble, we altered course a little to pass close by and see what was going on. We also tried radioing her but got no response, presumably because they had their hands full. Then as we drew nearer we saw a man overboard!

I radioed Coastguard to advise them of the situation and that we intended to turn back and offer assistance. Unfortunately, in the heat of the moment, my radio message wasn’t as clear as it should have been – more on that later. We now faced the challenge of dropping the kite,

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short-handed in a fresh breeze. This was always going to be difficult but was now exacerbated by the sense of urgency. Of course, it was a messy drop with the sail ending up in the water which took several minutes to haul aboard before we could start the engine. We then motored about 500m back upwind to Calypso V and by the time we got near her we could see two men back on deck re-hoisting their mainsail. Thank goodness for that! We sorted out our kite, re-hoisted it, and had an uneventful sail back to the finish line.

The post-mortem. Bruce, the co-owner of Calypso V, called the following day to thank me for turning back to assist him. Apparently they had lost control of their spinnaker which ended up wrapped around their keel. He dived overboard to disentangle it, so it was a “voluntary” man overboard. Thankfully nobody was hurt nor damage done. On reflection there were a couple of lessons learned for us.

First lesson: setting spinnakers, short-handed in a fresh breeze isn’t too difficult for an experienced crew. However, gybing and dropping them is much trickier, particularly for the foredeck crew who has to wrestle with the pole and try to catch the sheets while standing on a rolling deck. On Zeppo, we always wear harnesses and tether on when outside the cockpit in such conditions but of course this slows down movement. Despite having a tiller pilot, we didn’t use it in the fresh conditions because it is unable to anticipate and respond quickly to the yawing of the fast-moving boat, therefore the helmsman has limited capacity to assist with sheets and halyards. So, to avoid mishaps, a clear game plan and plenty of time is required. Before the incident in this race occurred, we were considering dropping the kite

then re-hoisting rather than gybe it. However, as it happened the drop didn’t go well largely through lack of recent practice between Brett and me. I am going to replace the snatch blocks on the gunwales that the spinnaker brace/sheet pass through with rope tweekers that should enable better control of the sail.

Second lesson: on reflection my radio communications with Coastguard should have been clearer. I should have provided lat/long coordinates from the GPS, or at least our approximate position when we passed Calypso V (0.5M south of D’Urville Rock). They were confused as to whether we had the MOB rather than another boat. Also I should have made clear that we were travelling fast under spinnaker and could not turn around immediately to offer assistance.

We live and learn to sail another day!

The start of the race last Saturday with Kiss away to a good start followed by Zeppo and tucked in behind Kristen amongst the big boys. The 45 mile course was around Waiheke either clockwise or anti clockwise, this decision to be made as they approach Motuihe Island made more difficult due to the fresh Eastly wind. There was a good turnout on the day with a fleet of 12 yachts between both divisions including a mixed of club and non club boats offering a very competitive race.

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BEHIND THE SCENES

The DYC starting team headed up by Bill Cole and Glenn who transform the bar/ resturant area into race control for the day. Come rain or shine they are there for the start and finish alongside the team who carefully spot the race entries [ sometimes with no sail number ] as well raise and lower the flags for the starting sequence.

 

 

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The Ponsonby cruising Club wrote to us thanking us for allowing Rangi Manu to represent Devonport Yacht Club in the 98th Lipton Cup Sailed on 30 March 2019. Here’s an abridged report of the race: Ten Mullet boats in the line-up for the start, 10-20 knots Easterly straight down the middle of the Waitemata with an incoming tide the whole day. This was going to be a challenging 98th race for the Lipton Cup. The fleet was tight on the start but spread out a little during the initial Windward / Leewards. Every part of the fleet had tacking duels all the way to Resolution buoy resulting in Tamatea and Orion II gaining the lead. The 20 nm course then took the boats over to Rangitoto back to North Head, Northern Leading, Torpedo, Resolution, Bean Rock and then finished on a long kite run home. Some cool stats Oldest boat racing and first boat to ever win the Lipton was Valeria at 107 years old. The young buck of the fleet is Limited Edition, she's only 30 odd years old. The trophy was donated by Sir Thomas Lipton who raced and never won the America's Cup 5

times Trophy was made by the same silversmith as the America's Cup. The youngest crew was Maxum at 13 but had two 14yo's aboard Scullet with him. The oldest was a gentleman of 7...cough cough years old. He was skipper so not far different

than Maxum in the powerhouse stakes, the Mullets are not known to be light on the helm. Three Skippers were hers, seven were hims. The PRO for the day is in her 8th decade. The defending Champion was Orion II.

The results – Line and Club sailed for

1. Orion II - Martin Robertson - Ponsonby Cruising Club

2. Tamatea - Brian Trubovich - Opua Yacht Club

3. Limited Edition - Paige and Bianca Cook - RNZYS

4. Scullet - Mike Thomson - Northcote Birkenhead YC

5. Valeria - Ben Freedman - Victoria Cruising Club

6. Tao Too - Suzie Bosher - Navel Point YC

7. Martanza - Tania Nigh - Wakatere BC

8. Tere Kanae - Garry Murie - Taikata YC

9. Rangi Manu - Kelsey Muir - Devonport YC

10. Komuri - John Grinter - Richmond YC

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=The next DYC working bee is 11 May 2019  

 

There’s lot’s we need to do so, if you can, please lend a hand. Any queries please 

contact Ken Smith kennlee@orcon.net.nz  

 

 

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Next marine sale = 0830am-1030am Saturday 25 May 2019

Stories from the Past Over the coming months I will include some old naval sayings, which will intrigue all and offer an explanation as to their origin. Did You Know Hanky Panky - despite its meaning on land, in the Wardroom it is a drink made by mixing brandy and ginger wine. A slight variation is Horse's Neck when ginger ale is used. Warrant Officer's Champagne - a cocktail of rum and ginger ale also known as Lion's Neck. Stinkpot - this derisive term for how a person might smell bad has its origins in a weapon that was used at sea during the Classical and Medieval periods. A stinkpot was a pottery jar filled with a combustible material. It would be thrown on to an opponent's ship. It was designed as an anti-personnel weapon. If the mixture contained sulphur there would be noxious stench hence, 'stinkpot'. Pipe Down - aboard a sailing warship, the hammocks that the sailors slept in would be 'piped up' in the morning and required the men to unsling their hammocks and take them up on deck for airing out. At the end of the day, the Bosun would signal 'pipe down' for the men to take their hammocks our of stowage and hand them up ready for sleeping. The men were expected to go to sleep until their watch, also all lights were extinguished and there was no smoking hence the order 'pipe down' was an order to keep quiet. CR Leech ED* Past Commodore

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Book Review INTO THE RAGING SEA By Rachel Slade. softback, 0.44kg, 135mm x 215mm, 391 pages, Published 2018.

On October 1, 2015, Hurricane Joaquin barrelled into the Bermuda Triangle and swallowed the container ship El Faro whole, resulting in the worst American shipping disaster in thirty-five years. No one could fathom how a vessel equipped with satellite communications, a sophisticated navigation system, and cutting-edge weather forecasting could suddenly vanish—until now. Relying on hundreds of exclusive interviews with family members and maritime experts, as well as the words of the crew members themselves—whose conversations were captured by the ship’s data recorder—journalist Rachel Slade unravels the mystery of the sinking of El Faro. As she recounts the final twenty-four hours onboard, Slade vividly depicts the officers’ anguish and fear as they struggled to carry out Captain Michael Davidson’s increasingly bizarre

commands, which, they knew, would steer them straight into the eye of the storm. Taking a hard look at America's aging merchant marine fleet, Slade also reveals the truth about modern shipping—a cut-throat industry plagued by razor-thin profits and ever more violent hurricanes fueled by global warming. A richly reported account of a singular tragedy, Into the Raging Sea takes us into the heart of an age-old American industry, casting new light on the hardworking men and women who paid the ultimate price in the name of profit. NZ$38.00 Cheers, Marianne Bosman Boat Books Ltd 22 Westhaven Drive Westhaven Auckland 1010 Ph: ++ 64 (0)9 358 5691 e: crew@boatbooks.co.nz w: www.boatbooks.co.nz