Regatta is a family affair

Spectators watch the action on the water from Devonport. Photo / Brett Phibbs

The Auckland Anniversary regatta is now 171 years old. The Herald on Sunday's Anniversary Day magazine is dedicated to the regatta and all those who make it happen and who participate in it.

The event has become a true 'landmark' of Auckland's growth as a city and as the City of Sails; pre-dating the America's Cup and becoming the biggest single-day regatta in the world.

For the first 10 years it was a naval occasion, celebrated by the crews of the port's commercial sailing ships. As the town grew, professional yachtsmen came on board. It was not until the 1960s that women came into yachting. Children followed and today the all-male, hard-driving yacht crew is a thing of the past.

The harbour is the same, the wind is the same, only the people and social customs have changed. Today it is a family regatta, which is fitting as yachting is truly a family sport.

The regatta history makes interesting reading:

1840: The first Auckland regatta was held on the day the city was founded, 18 September 1840, the day that Captain Hobson's officials raised the flag; 11 years before the first America's Cup contest was sailed in 1851.

1842: There were two official regattas, one to commemorate Irish-born Hobson's arrival in September and the second to honour St Patrick on March 17. They were combined and held on one date, January 29.

1850: The Auckland Anniversary Regatta was recognised as the official celebration of the arrival of Captain Hobson in New Zealand.

Late 1890's/early 1900's: Many of today's venerable yachts competed in their maiden races on Anniversary Day - a builders' showcase was an apt description of the regattas.

1900: The regatta was cancelled due to the Boer war in South Africa.

1903: Power craft made their debut.

1914: The first Anniversary regatta speed championship was held.

1917: Handicaps, often a bone of contention, led to the appearance in the 1917 regatta of the X class, the first single design boat.

1919: Inclusion of a flying race, the first in the Southern Hemisphere involving a seaplane and two flying boats which took off from Kohimarama.

1940: Entries gradually increased until it grew to be the biggest one-day regatta in the world. Post-war to the present day was an exciting time in the yachting world with new materials, more yachts, more classes. With New Zealand's yachtsmen starting to challenge the world, the Regatta committee decided to introduce races for Olympic and International classes.

2006: A multiplicity of classes was catered for, from slick racing machines which could challenge the world without shame, to tiny radio-controlled yachts.

2007: The arrival of tugboats on the regatta scene.

2010: The keelboat startline moved into the downtown city area off Princes Wharf, a move popular with spectators and participants.