Sat 19 December 12:00pm: Centreboard Cup Racing, Classic Boats, Childrens Games and a Picnic on Sloanes Beach, Marine Parade, Herne Bay
Thanks to everyone from Ponsonby Cruising Club & Richmond Yacht Club, and in particular Nick Atkinson, for making this day work so well. Photos are available on Facebook. There is a lovely independent writeup of the day from Waitemata Woodies.
Note: This event will be going ahead tomorrow, even if the wind is on the strong side. Skippers are asked to keep an eye on the MetService forecast and our local weather station and to sail to the weather.
We will be running our annual Sloanes Beach regatta and Centreboard Cup this year on Sat 19 December from midday with our usual mix of childrens’ games, mucking about in boats, and around-Watchman-Island racing for centreboard boats big and small. There will be activities on the beach from 12:00 midday. The approximate schedule is:
1200: Games and Picnic on the beach; cook your sausages on our BBQ
1300: Centreboard Cup Race briefing on Sloanes Beach.
1400: Race start for boats 18’ and over following the long course
1405: Race start for boats under 18’ following the short course
1630: Prize giving and musical entertainment, courtesy of Hopetoun Brown and guest.
High tide is at 14:26 (3.2m).
Bring along a picnic and enjoy a relaxing afternoon watching the old Mullet boat yachts racing in their traditional upper harbour fishing grounds. The club BBQ will be available for you to cook your sausages on.
Keep an eye on our Facebook page for more information as we finalise details for the 3rd in this series of fun days.
We are pleased that The Coffee Guy, John, will again be selling a wide range of coffees from his stall at the top of the Sloanes Beach steps.
Centreboard Cup Race & Weather
We celebrate a rich history of shallow draft sailing in the upper harbour with two Centreboard Cup races. All centreboard boats big and small are invited. Racing will be organised by the Ponsonby Cruising Club in their Watchman committee boat; we are are very grateful for their support.
Race Courses and Centreboard Cup map
The planned courses are shown on the Centreboard Cup map. There will be two divisions, one for boats 18 feet and longer (which includes the Mullet boats), and a second for smaller boats. The start and finish lines are expected to be between an inner yellow conical buoy laid off Sloanes beach and an outer orange mussel buoy laid close to the Watchman patrol boat. We expect that the longer boats will start off Sloanes Beach (crossing the start line in a northerly direction, inner yellow mark left to starboard), then go around Watchman Island (leaving it to port), then around the Chelsea Buoy (port), then back to Sloanes Beach and around the yellow buoy (left to port), then Watchman Island (port again), Chelsea Buoy (port again), and then cross the finish line between the yellow inner and orange outer buoys (leaving these to port and starboard respectively, heading in a southerly direction). The plan is similar for the smaller boats, with a start off Sloanes, going around Watchman Island (leaving it to port), and back to the finish line off Sloanes beach. These courses may change to suit weather conditions; any such changes will be advised at the race briefing. You can check the weather conditions recorded by our weather station (although as of 30/11, the wind direction is not quite right!).
Race Entries
Mullet boats should enter for the race through Ponsonby in the normal way. Other boats big and small should enter on the day; forms will be available from the clubhouse at the beach. We would welcome (but do not require) a $5 race entry donation, with proceeds going to cover the HBCC’s costs.
Charts and Launching Ramps
Please see the Centreboard Cup chart and map for the planned courses and suggested launching ramps at Westhaven and Birkenhead.
Contact Us
Any questions? Feel free to email me (Andrew) at centreboardcup@hbcc.net.nz, or call me on 021884673.
Previous Events
Details of our previous 2013 Centreboard Cup – which was also the Centenary Celebration for the clubhouse – are on our 2013 Centre Board cup Facebook page. See also our 2014 Centreboard Cup pages and photos on Flickr.
Leave a Reply