Small craft come out of cold storage

By ROBIN BAILEY

A couple of enthusiastic small-boat sailors have turned a perceived need for more competition into a winter reality.

Over a late-summer beer at the Richmond Yacht Club, Bob Nevill and Dean Jolley were bemoaning the lack of racing ahead of them. So they made a list of the small cruiser-racers and trailer-sailers that normally disappeared with the sun to moorings and backyards.

"Let's do something about getting them on the water," said Nevill (quarter-tonner Rebel Yell) to his mate Jolley (Farr 727 Yotasorus).

"We knew there must be lots of people like ourselves, [who were] keen for more racing, particularly fun racing. It was just a matter of getting to them."

The two phoned around some Auckland yacht clubs, discussing their idea with everyone who would listen. The reaction was promising, so they borrowed a runabout and cruised Auckland moorings for six hours on a Sunday morning, dropping flyers on boats that seemed to fit the criteria they had in mind.

The message was simple: "This is what we plan to do. Call us if you are interested."

The response was immediate. At the end of the first week they had the names of 70 interested skippers. The next step was to organise a race programme and a club prepared to add the Up to 26 Class to its schedule.

Richmond was quick to slot the new group into its racing schedule, and the first race of a planned fortnightly series was sailed on May 12 with 27 starters. "We would have had another eight," says Nevill, but for the clash with Mother's Day.

The group caters for everyone, from keen racers to new yacht owners who tend to be a little intimidated by the full-on racing scene. The fleets, too, are mixed, with everything from cruising boats to seriously rigged and tuned little keelers.

The types of yacht taking part include Reactors, Variants, Trackers, Noelexes, Farr 6000s and 727s, Whiting 26s, Davidson 26s, Salthouse 25s, Pied Pipers, Spencer 25s, Beachcomber 25s, Clark 7.7s, one-off quarter-tonners and Folkboats. Membership so far totals 53 boats with an average of 30 starters a race.

The series is sailed in two divisions, spinnaker and non-spinnaker, and racing doesn't clash with events out of either Ponsonby or Akarana.

Richmond stalwart Vera Mummery, a member for 36 years and secretary for the past 22 years, believes the Up to 26 Series has been great for the club.

"We get people from other clubs sailing with our members and we've made it as easy as possible for new skippers to take part," she says.

"They can even enter on the day and we have arranged with Westhaven Marina for temporary berthing so our visitors can moor up and attend the prizegiving."

The series suits the trailer-sailers as well, because they can launch at Westhaven and be out on the starting line under the Auckland Harbour Bridge in a short time.

Nevill and Jolley have been successful in drumming up sponsor support, too. Addos and CRC provide prizes for the first three placings in each division. There is also an incentive prize for the last boat to finish in the spinnaker division: hull-scrubber Phil the Frogman gives a free service to demonstrate how much performance can be improved by having a clean bottom.

The club founders still have the welcome mat out to owners of 20ft-26ft yachts and trailer- sailers. There is room to join in and hone your skills - at whatever level - with a bunch of people determined to put some fun, as well as competition, into their sailing.

If you haven't got an experienced crew to race with, they can even sort that out as well.

* Contact Bob Nevill on (09) 630 4864 or 025 832 473
email the22_26club@hotmail.com