Club spirit prevailed again, another great turnout of willing and skilled hands and minds to keep the club facilities up to standard. Weed eater guru David Chin had the grounds finely trimmed by the time most arrived. (Thanks for your early start, before attending family things. Earlier in the year David enjoyed time (and a little expense too) at his son’s wedding in Hong Kong, well worth it I’m sure. Two more weddings to go David?).

John and Ross dealt to the weeds and pruning along with changing room and boat cleaning. A boatshed door was re-hung under the eye of Owen with hammer hands Grant and son. Alex fitted another shelf in the kitchen (for those all too important provisions) and brackets in the shop for lifejacket stowage. The grime on the out side of the clubhouse suffered under the brushes and water blaster wheeled by Danny and Jamie. The flag pole was lowered, prepared for painting when drier and re-erected under the hydraulic arm of Gordon with Shane and sons, John, Jamie, Evan, Matt all lending a hand.

Our true craftsman, Philip showed his skills in doing a repair to an ailing front window frame. The kitchen and lounge undertook a reorganisation and major cleansing from the floor to the ceiling, thanks to Claire and Angela. Matt was more interested in stowing the beer in the right place, while Jamie noted that after the BBQ the sausage supply was gutted, and has his eye on a special from Woolworths to replenish the freezer. Chappy re-cut the awning to better protect the BBQ area.

Believe it or not, as Tom and Glen and son cleaned the patrol boats the water tank ran dry; but our Commodore, Danny, to the rescue and he soon had the water tanker there to refill the tank (but only after John removed a bird from it; not a good place to go nest building!). Finally the windows were cleaned inside and out. All set for the summer season now, starting on Sunday the 7th September with some fun races.

The flagpole will need to be lowered again in a few weeks time when hot and dry; for a final sand before painting, refitting the sprit, pulleys and ropes. We will need a few brush hands to paint the outer walls of the clubhouse too. Watch for notice of this.

17th August 2008
What a day! The tide was well in, with the recent rain higher than last week. The areas Raupo out from the Clubhouse and down towards the rowing club looked like islands in the lake. Yachts could easily be launched and landed on the submerged grass just 15 metres in front of the Clubhouse. Eleven keen sailors turned out for this late winter regatta, ready to show that the weather was no deterrent. Race one got away soon after eleven with a reach to the first mark (our OD wanted to stay in the warmth of the tower), a wind from the north of not more than five knots. After the hour long race the sailors enjoyed the warmth from the BBQ at the refuelling break for lunch. The wind shifted to the northwest for the second race; but as the light rain and a little more wind arrived later in the race the temperature dropped too. The OD wisely called the regatta to a close at that point; an early finish while sailors were not quite frozen was appreciated by most (although there were a few who would have braved another race).Shaun Rumbles was the better of the two Optimist sailors with two first placings ahead of Jaeden Buxton. In the Open fleet first on the water and also on handicap was Ross Wrenn, less than one minute ahead of Chris Rayne’s sailing another Laser from the Cambridge club. Micah Wilkinson took third place on handicap. Thanks to Owen and Nigel for setting the course and managing the day.

• The next day at the Club is a WORKING BEE on SATURDAY THE 30TH AUGUST, starting from 9.00 am. The clubhouse needs a big clean inside and out. Please bring tools and materials to help make the job easy. Many hands do make light work! Let’s have the place sparkling for the Opening Day of the “summer season” on the 7th September.

Sixteen skippers registered their comfy sailing cruisers to compete for the John Dixon Memorial Cup Trailer Yacht Winter Series held at Lake Ngaroto. The series proved to be a test of sailing skills, patience and a watchful eye for the wind movement on Ngaroto compared to the ocean waters of a coastal bay….and I’m sure the surrounding houses had spectacular views of the yacht’s heading downwind with their spinnakers in full glory.
Six races were scheduled for the John Dixon Memorial Cup during July and August, including a reserve day which was used due to flooding of the ramp and jetty area. The lake had risen significantly, conveniently adding draft and good sailing water. The weather provided a mixed bag of sailing conditions – from no wind to a good steady breeze, sunshine and rain.

A good frost on Sunday July 6 welcomed the competitors and organisers with clear skies and the promise of the wind getting up. The first round commenced with traditional networking over a morning rum and ginger wine. After the briefing of the course and divisions the jolly sailors headed to out to the water. It was a great day on the water with a variety of displays in sailing techniques and procedures!
Two races were successfully completed with Fast Forward – Ross 780 (Division 1) helmed by Neil Hodges from New Plymouth and Concrete and Steel – Nolex 22 (Division 2) helmed by Dick Newman from New Plymouth crossing the line first for races 1 and 2.
Sunday July 20 was wet with a good breeze destined to stay around for the day. Once the traditional networking and briefing was complete 15 boats headed out to the water, and with one race complete, they headed back in for a hot lunch and warm up before heading back out. The wind stayed around for the afternoon and provided excellent conditions on the lake for a good sail. A ‘little incident’ of a capsize due to broken rudder added some drama and once the skipper , crew and vessel were safely ashore racing commenced. Fast Forward and Concrete and Steel cleaned up for the day crossing the line first for races 3 and 4.
Sunday August 10 the sun was out, the rain had stopped, 12 boats had returned for the final two races 5 and 6. The ramp was marked with pipe rods and the jetty was just visible above the water. Everyone was keen but the wind was not. So the traditional networking and briefing continued through the morning with racing scheduled for the afternoon. With everyone fed and hydrated the happy sailors headed out to the water to battle two more times for a placing or a hand on the Cup! Race 5 was shortened and then the wind conveniently got up for race 6. The finish line was close to the shore and provided a good view of the yachts coming in. A change in positions saw Winsome II –Young 6 (Division 1) helmed by Rob Ebert from Hamilton crossing the line first for races 5 and 6. Nauti-Bouy – Cherry 16 (Division 2) helmed by Don Latimer from Whakatane come in first for Division 2 in race 5 and Concrete and Steel held onto her placing crossing the line first in Division 2 for race 6. The racing was complete and another successful regatta hosted by Ngaroto Sailing Club can be ticked off the calendar.
Prize-giving was the order of the afternoon and the clubhouse was soon hovering with skippers and crew waiting for the formalities of up-stairs to be completed so the prizes could be awarded. The clubhouse horn sounded and everyone gathered for the moments of truth.
The overall winner of the John Dixon Memorial Cup 2008 was awarded to Fast Forward, helmed by Neil Hodges and crew from New Plymouth.


The Division placings are as follows-
Division 1
Nine boats sailed in Division 1 with Neil Hodges, helmsman of Fast Forward taking the honours of 1st place, 2nd was Ian Horner from Bonkers and 3rd Rob Ebert from Winsome II.
Division 2
Seven boat s sailed in Division 2 with Dick Newman, helmsman of Concrete and Steel taking the honour of first place. 2nd was Don Latimer from Nauti-Bouy and 3rd Murray Wall from Bluegrass.
A big thank you to all the sailors that took part, your support has made the John Dixon Memorial Trailer Yacht Winter Series a success. Special thanks to Shirley Wall and her Crew for keeping everyone’s appetites satisfied and holding things together, also to Danny and Ross for showing me the ropes of OD duties. I learnt heaps about race rules, course setting and patrol boat management and got lots of great photos.
Cheers Ann Byford.

Neil Hodges along with his crew of Scott Hodges, Jean Miles and Barry Upson aboard their Ross 780 “Fast Forward” took first place in Division One by taking four first placings and a second place to count. They also claimed the John Dixon Memorial Trophy presented to the winning yacht after combining the times with Division two and recalculating. They had travelled from New Plymouth over three weekends for the series, repeating their winning performance of 2007. Second place in Division One went to Ian Horner and crew K Quickenden and Charlie Quickenden sailing another Ross 780, “Bonkers” also from New Plymouth. The first Waikato sailor Rob Ebert and crew John Barnard and Austin Ebert placed third in their Young 6m “Winsome II”.

Division Two (yachts with a smaller handicap rating) was won by Dick Newman with Ron Bachhouse, John Pease sailing a Nolex 22, “Concrete and Steel” who had five first placings to count in the Division. Second place went to Don Latimer and Ron Shapley (Whakatane) sailing a Cherry 16. Their regatta included a capsize in race four after being hit by a squall combined with a jammed cleat and a broken rudder and later being towed to shore. It was great to have them back for the final days races. Murray Wall and crew Linda Wilkinson and Kate French were pushed into third place on a count back with Latimer.

The day started with a good frost but soon warmed up accompanied by a light breeze. The final race starting mid afternoon saw the best of the wind, hitting ten knots at times. After the recent wet rainy period the lake was full, the water being up to the base of the car park area but did not dampen the spirit of the sailors. Thanks must go to Shirley Wall and Anne Byford for their valued assistance in keeping the regatta running.

The Annual Ngaroto Trailer Yacht Regatta on the 27th and 28th September 2008 is the next major regatta to be held at Lake Ngaroto. Briefing is at 10.30 am. The Pot Luck dinner on Saturday night has an “Under Water” theme; get your thinking caps on and come prepared with your creation!

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