Historic sailing race still a barrel of laughs

STILL GOING: Barney's Barrel participants set sail circa 1977. A number of the owners of these boats are still sailing in the event.PHOTO/SUPPLIED

One of the most important, albeit traditionally boozy, events on the Whangarei Cruising Club's calendar is set to take place tomorrow.

The club's annual Barney's Barrel race, which dates back to the early 1950s, will take place to acknowledge the historical significance of Whangarei's trailer yacht history.

In the 1950s a few yacht owners decided to stage a race starting from Whangarei Town Basin and finishing at local identity Barney Finch's bach in Taurikura, at the harbour entrance.

To make it more of a novelty, the original starting point was in the public bar of the Settlers Hotel on the corner of Walton and Cameron Sts.

"At the blast of the start gun a crew member had to drink a jug of beer and then run down to the yachts waiting in front of the old cargo sheds at the Basin," said Club Commodore Doug Smeal.

"No yacht was able to cast off or raise sails until the crew member was on board."

Once under way, water fights, flour bombs, paddling and any form of propulsion were the order of the day to run with the race's festive theme.

"There is even a tale of a bucket being tied to a rival's rudder," Smeal says.

After the hi-jinx of the start, the yachts then used to race down the harbour to finish off the Spark Plug in Taurikura, where a few drams of rum were consumed from a barrel donated by Finch.

Participation in the race dwindled, until it was revived in the late 1970s with the growing popularity of trailer yachts.

The number of boats grew to about 40 and the club's Parua Bay headquarters was established to accommodate them, driven by the late John Gentry and the late Bryce Newman.

The trailer yacht owners adopted the name "Barney's Barrel" as the namesake for the event, and the race became a popular with the public before the present Town Basin development took shape.

With the popularity of the Town Basin as a mooring facility it was deemed prudent to remove the race's hi-jinx and start the race at the cruising club's clubrooms on Riverside Dr at Kissing Point.

The format is still adhered to but the crew member now has to drink a can of beer, coke or juice at the town-end of the carpark before running down to their yachts.

The finish is now off the Parua Bay clubrooms, where the barrel is broached in the traditional way.

This year's event starts tomorrow at 11am, weather permitting, and Smeal welcome's the public to watch the start from the club's Kissing Point clubrooms, 212 Riverside Dr, Whangarei.