KEY POINTS:
If the Richmond Yacht Club had a motto for this time of year, it would probably be a parody of the old Elton John song: Saturday Night's All Right for Fighting. The song would simply transform into: Friday Night's All Right for Racing.
Often overshadowed by its more "glamorous" neighbours, the Royal New Zealand Yacht Squadron and the Ponsonby Cruising Club, the smaller Richmond Yacht Club plays a crucial role in Auckland's sailing scene: it focuses on getting new people on the water, preferably at minimal cost.
Their Friday Night Special is a perfect example. Starting on October 10 and running throughout the summer, the event enables people with little or no sailing experience to race on keelboats in a social race series.
"Sailing is often seen as an expensive or inaccessible sport," says Richmond Commodore, Margaret Harvey, "but actually the opposite is the case.
"Many skippers regularly struggle to find enough crew for the races they want to take part in."
Those interested in the Friday Night Special take out a Crew Membership for $90 a year and pay a further $60 entry fee.
The club then allocates the crews to various yachts, rotating these on a regular basis so the crew get to experience a range of boats and skippers.
Race nights start with the crew meeting their skippers before they board their boats at 6pm. After the race, the yacht returns, is packed away and the skipper and crew head for the clubrooms to dissect the action. To help the process, the bar is open and meals are available.
Harvey says the annual series has proved popular with local sailors and those new to the city, such as Trish Lewis.
"The Friday Night Special gave me my first opening into sailing when I emigrated to New Zealand," says Lewis. "It led to subsequent opportunities to crew in other races with skippers I met. My experience and confidence then built up to the point where I bought my own boat. I now regularly enter my boat in the Friday Night Special so that I can offer other people the same opportunities."
Local crew member Mike Todd has a similar story: "It's a really good opportunity to learn to sail, as crewing on different boats gives you the opportunity to learn off all the skippers in the fleet."
For more information, contact Margaret Harvey or Glenda Bennett at Richmond Yacht Club, ph 376 4332; email info@richmondyc.org.nz or go to www.richmondyc.org.nz
