During the years fleet numbers have dwindled down to around 50 boats; Mr Thomson attributing the lifestyles many lead nowadays leaving them no time to sail in New Year Regattas.
"It's a sign of the time. People work and there are so many other things people do. People can't give up the time to travel to events. Everything's altering," he said.
As one of the prime instigators of the annual event, Mr Thomson said he was disappointed to hear the traditional event had come to an end.
He raced in the very first New Year Regatta and every regatta that followed; the only exceptions being the years he was racing elsewhere in New Zealand.
Mr Thomson served as club commodore for three years and has a unique claim to fame: having sailed one of the special patiki class boats, Kahurangi, before they all but disappeared.
Measuring up to 10 metres the patiki boats were designed for speed with light, flexible material that was well suited to the flat waters of the inner harbour, Te Whanganui A Orotu.
Previously the club's primary sailing waters, the inner harbour was almost entirely converted to dry land after the 1931 earthquake; leaving many boats in the harbour high and dry.
The Napier Sailing Club centennial history details the last regatta held on the waters of the inner harbour on January 31, 1931.
The afternoon event saw canoe, rowing and outboard motor events combined with yacht racing and a dance in the pavilion in the evening.
Just several days later, on February 3, the earthquake shifted the sea bed up; draining the Ahuriri Lagoon, leaving boats perched on dry land and the club's pavilion significantly damaged.
The 1931 Napier Sailing Club Annual Report detailed: "The main setback to the Club's property rendered by the earthquake likes in the fact that what was once the yachting waters of the Inner Harbour has been converted into almost entirely dry land".
After voluntary efforts to repair the club's property a special general meeting was held in May, where 60 club members "showed a keen desire to continue the Club's activities on the outer harbour and retain the ground at Westshore".
Fast forward to 2017 and the club is still sailing out on the coastal waters of the outer harbour; it's club located in Ahuriri.
Now 86 years old, Mr Thomson has since retired and sold his beloved flying fifteen boat, fflorin, on which he sailed countless times with his compatriot Bob Gunsman.
The name fflorin was characteristic of the two's personalities which were well known to the club and wider region.
The two 'f' letters signified the flying fifteen class of boat they sailed, while the word 'florin' (meaning a British two-shilling coin) represented the two sailors as often a shilling would be referred to as a bob.
Mr Thomson couldn't recall a specific age he started sailing, but said he was hooked the moment he visited the old site of the Napier Sailing Club as a teenager.
He retired in 2009 and recalled his best years being the late 1980s and early 1990s where fleet sizes rose well more than 200 boats.
In 2007 Mr Thomson and Mr Gunsman received an Honour Award presented by Yachting New Zealand in recognition of their outstanding achievement and service to sailing.
Mr Thomson said he misses his time on the water and keeps precious memories from the early days in numerous diaries he began filling in the 1940s.
Everything from newspaper clippings, regatta information and race times were logged; now representing an authentic snapshot of time seen through the eyes of a young sailor.
Now that the final and 70th New Year Regatta has sailed it will be memories like Mr Thomson's which will keep the annual event's legacy alive and well.