2019 Regatta and Centreboard Cup
View our gallery of the event.
Correction: Racing tomorrow starts at 15:00 (3pm), not 4pm as previously reported.
The Sloanes Beach Regatta and Centreboard Cup at Sloanes Beach, 33/35 Marine Parade, Herne Bay, will be on Saturday 21 December with racing starting at 15:00 (3pm) 16:00 (4pm).
Tides for Sat 21 Dec: 0926;0.7m, 1550: 3.2m, 2201: 0.7m
Download Centreboard Cup Race Instructions (including a chart) or view online Centreboard Cup chart, or visit our 2019 Facebook page
The Herne Bay Cruising Club (HBCC), Ponsonby Cruising Club (PCC) and Richmond Yacht Club (RYC) celebrated the inaugural Centerboard Cup in November 2013 as part of the 100 year birthday of our clubhouse on Sloanes. This Centerboard Cup and regatta now runs every year in November/December with a mix of sailing, historic mullet boats and beach games.
We will be running our usual mix of mucking about in boats, and around-Watchman-Island racing for centreboard boats big and small. As in past years, our racing will feature the historic Mullet boat fleet in all their glory. There are two races. The first is for centreboard boats 18’ and over (including the mullet boats); this is followed 5 minutes later by the start for for the smaller centreboarders. Racing will be run by the Ponsonby Cruising Club. All centreboarders are welcome. The format will be similar to past events.
Bring along a picnic and enjoy a relaxing time watching the old Mullet boat yachts racing in their traditional upper harbour fishing grounds. Our friends from Hawke Sea Scouts will be assisting with the day with a taxi service and a drinks stall.
Water taxi rides from ship to shore will be provided by Hawke Sea Scouts with a suggested koha in aid of the scout group water and land programmes for local youth. Based just around the corner at Opoututeka Coxes Bay, this summer troop members will be attending the 22nd NZ Scout Jamboree at Mystery Creek. Hawke will also have cold drinks, chocolate, chippies and the like to snack on. Bring along a few gold coins (or notes!) to help support this cause.
Fri 20 Dec Race Entry & Briefing: 1800 Ponsonby Cruising Club, Westhaven
Entries and the race briefing will take place at the Ponsonby Cruising Club on Friday December 20th at 1800hrs. If you cannot make this, then late entries will also be accepted at Sloanes Beach before the race.
We would welcome (but do not require) a race entry fee donation for non-mullet boats; mullet boats enter in the normal way for their summer series.
Sat 21 Dec Sloanes Beach Regatta & Centreboard Cup
1400 Late Race Entries accepted at Sloanes Beach
1500 Race 1 Starts: Boats 18’ and over, which we expect to be following the long course
1505 Race 2 Starts: Boats under 18’, which we expect to be following the short course
1550 High tide 3.2m
Followed by Prize Giving & Music featuring Hopetoun Brown & special guests Times are estimates only & are weather dependent.
Race Instructions and Online Chart
Download Centreboard Cup Race Instructions (including a chart) or view the online Centreboard Cup chart
We have both clockwise and anti-clockwise versions of the same course as these allow us to better match the prevailing wind. We normally follow the anti-clockwise course. We will announce if this is changed at the Friday briefing, and again on Saturday at the race entry desk.
Anti-clockwise course. The planned anti-clockwise 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 will be between a yellow conical buoy laid off Sloanes beach and the HBCC Clubhouse on Sloanes Beach. We expect that the longer boats will start off Sloanes Beach (crossing the start line in a north-easterly direction, yellow conical buoy left to port). If following the anti-clockwise course, boat then go around Watchman Island (leaving it to port), then around the Chelsea Buoy (port) (buoy 19 on this chart, 36°49.68S 174°43.80E), then back to Sloanes Beach and around the yellow conical buoy (left to port), then Watchman Island (port again), Chelsea Buoy (port again), and then cross the finish line between the yellow conical buoy and the HBCC Clubhouse (leaving these to starboard and port respectively, heading in a south-westerly direction). The anti-clockwise 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.
Clockwise course. The clockwise course will be similar except that all marks are left to starboard, meaning boats 18′ a over go: start line between HBCC Clubhouse and yellow conical buoy (crossing the start line in a north-easterly direction, yellow conical buoy left to port), Chelsea Buoy (starboard), Watchman Island (starboard), yellow conical buoy (starboard), Chelsea Buoy (starboard), Watchman Island (starboard), and finish line between HBCC Clubhouse and yellow conical buoy (leaving the conical buoy to starboard, heading in a south-westerly direction). Shorter boats complete just one lap of this course.
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.
Course changes will be announced on VHF 77.
Safety Boat Watchman and Channel 77 Radio Communications
We expect Ponsonby’s Watchman patrol boat to be on watch in the area. They can be contacted on VHF 77.
Charts and Launching Ramps
Please see the Centreboard Cup chart and map for the planned courses and suggested launching ramps at Westhaven and Birkenhead.
Facebook & Contact
Any questions? Feel free to email me (Andrew) at centreboardcup@hbcc.net.nz, or call me on 021884673. Or, post on our 2019 Facebook page, or (on the day) call us on VHF 77.
You may wish to look at our details from the 2018 Centreboard Cup.
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