The Tauranga yachting club where hometown hero Peter Burling learned the ropes celebrated 100 years of sailing this weekend. Burling spoke to the Bay of Plenty Times about the influence the club and Tauranga Harbour has had on his life.
It was a humble hero's welcome for America's Cup-winning skipper Peter Burling this weekend, as he returned to the Tauranga yachting club where he learned the ropes of the sport he has conquered.
Burling visited his hometown to celebrate the centennial of the Tauranga Yacht and Power Boat Club, where he is a long-time member - one of many national and world champion sailors the club has produced.
These have most recently included sailors Jason Sanders and siblings Molly Meech and Sam Meech, as well as windsurfer Veerle ten Have - all of whom are set to join Burling in representing New Zealand at the Tokyo Olympics in July.
Just over two weeks after skippering Emirates Team New Zealand to victory in the 36th America's Cup in Auckland - a win that captured global attention and sealed Burling's spot among the sport's all-time greats - his planned appearance at the centennial welcoming event was kept quiet from the public.
But there was no hiding the humble helmsman once he arrived at the club's Sulphur Point headquarters on Friday evening.
Club Commodore Delwyn Keyworth said Burling signed autographs and memorabilia, spent a lot of time talking to both young and beginner sailors, as well as to the older members he recognised from his youth in the club.
He also sat down with Tauranga sailing legend Jimmy Gilpin - a top Kiwi yachtie of the 1950s - for an engaging and banter-filled chat.
On Saturday, Burling caught up with the Bay of Plenty Times to talk about the influence the club and learning to sail in Tauranga has had on his career on the water.
The 30-year-old two-time America's Cup winner and Olympic 49er-class gold (Rio, 2016) and silver medallist (London, 2012) said it was always good to get back to his roots at the club where he first started sailing as a youngster growing up in Welcome Bay.
"It was pretty cool to see so many familiar faces. It's a massive milestone and pretty cool to chat to some of the people who have been there for a very long time."
He said he had seen "so many people that really helped me get to where I am today".
"It's amazing to see so many volunteers and how passionate some people are about the yacht club."
The club was one of the few to have a strong keeler division through to centreboards for sailors to learn, which Burling said was one of the reasons it propelled people towards success.
"It's pretty amazing to have such great talent coming from one club.
"It's having that overlap where you can learn different skills and be a lot more diverse with your sailing. It's definitely a pretty cool thing we have here in Tauranga."
He said it was neat to see the young, aspiring sailors honing their skills in the sport, just as he did.
His advice to them was: "Make sure they keep enjoying the sport and what they do."
Asked if there was anything he learned about sailing as a youngster in Tauranga that he still used at the helm today, he said everything he learned as a young sailor he continued to improve on.
"I think one of the cool things Tauranga has is our pretty diverse range of conditions and our weather. It definitely makes you be pretty creative with how you go about racing.
"I definitely enjoyed growing up in Tauranga and try to get back down wherever I can."
Keyworth said the natural features of Tauranga Harbour forced sailors to learn to navigate many different conditions.
There were strong currents coming in and out, sand banks, and winds that could shift dramatically.
"There are 45 to 180 degree wind changes so you have to learn to cope with those. You have to be aware of the tides and the depth of the water."
She agreed Burling's ability to read the wind had served him well, especially well in the Hauraki Gulf in Team New Zealand's AC75, Te Rehutai - though on foils an understanding of water depth was less of a concern.
Keyworth said the centennial represented a "real true achievement" and not one many clubs could claim.
She said the club - formed in 1920 in a Devonport Rd barbershop - was "extremely proud" to watch one of their own bring home the America's Cup.
"A lot of our senior members who are the backbone of the club saw him as a youngster and were very instrumental in helping him grow his passion and skill base."
She said Friday's event had been also been about thanking life members and patrons for their contributions. The rest of the weekend's celebrations had gone very well, she said.
Club manager Lynne Whitaker said Tauranga was one of the only clubs that offered sailing for keelers, trailer yachts, and multi-hull to dinghies.
"The kids get the opportunity to be exposed to a whole range of boat types, they get more and more skills."
The club's membership stands at about 400, including some families with multiple generations enjoying a shared love of boating.
Longest active club member Wayne Eaton put the club's success down to the "parents of the day".
"Peter Burling's parents [Heather and Richard] committed big time to support him. That is obviously the pinnacle of young people out of our time.
"Tauranga has been pretty lucky producing some very good sailors and national champions."
Eaton has been a member for about 60 years.
"It's interesting to think I've been a member for more than half of the life of the club."
He joined because he thought sailing looked like a good sport to get into.
"I managed to convince my parents that buying a P-class was a good idea."
Eaton said being out on the water was what he enjoyed most.
"I used to say if I go sailing by the time you got out on the open water you didn't think about work any more. You really did tune out from shore-based problems."
Aspiring Olympic sailor Teaghan Denney, 16, said she and her brother got into sailing at the same time and "loved it".
"I love being out on the water and sailing your own boat and being out in the elements. No matter the weather, wind, rain, or storm you can always go sailing."
Denney, who joined the club at age 8, said it was "pretty cool" to be part of the centennial celebrations.
"We've had so many good sailors come out of our club. It really inspires me to push myself to my goals and dreams of getting to the Olympics."
She said she had received so much support from the club "right from the beginning" and thanked Warren Belk for his commitment.
"He has been the race officer ever since I can remember starting sailing and still is. It is people like him who help this club run for all the sailors to enjoy."
Additional reporting - Samantha Motion
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