YACHTING - Twilight variation looks set to stay

A VARIATION to the Onerahi Yacht Club's summer sailing calendar to include twilight centreboard yachting this season has proved popular.
A concept of organising a budget twilight laser yacht event in preference to a twilight keeler event was floated by the OYC sailing committee last year.
The sailing committee's primary objective was to get people and boats back on the water by providing an opportunity for skippers to learn, and practically apply, the sailing rules in a relatively controlled environment.
As part of the controlled sailing environment, the Onerahi Yacht Club operates its start/patrol boat from 5.30pm each Tuesday.
As this concept has come to fruition the objective seems to have been realised, based on the renewed interest from the sailing community.
Having initially started in October with a "fleet" of four old lasers, it has progressively been increasing to its current fleet of about 20 yachts.
Although, the laser yacht design is still predominant there has also been a mixture of other designs regularly appearing, such as optimists, starlings, sunbursts, paper tigers, cherubs and jolly boats, and the final format of the event has been modified to "regular twilight centreboard yachting".
Twilight centreboard yachting is open to all boat owners and will continue until daylight saving finishes. It is held outside the Onerahi foreshore on Beach Rd every Tuesday from 5.30pm, and alternates each week between a practice and a race night.
The format is to have multiple short races, which has proved to be appealing both to the enthusiastic group of centreboard skippers and a regular spectator group, who are viewing from either the foreshore or the Onerahi Yacht Club building.
Based on the current popularity of this event, it is likely to be a permanent fixture on the yachting calendar.