Competitors pushing for position in Auckland for the start of the 2019 Coastal Classic. Photo/LiveSailDie
One of the biggest fleets in recent years has entered the 40th-anniversary race of the Coastal Classic, the quintessential yacht race up the coast from Auckland to Russell that begins on Friday.
Entries have now closed and 170 boats have accepted the challenge to race in eight divisions. It can take as little as five hours for the fastest boats in perfect conditions, or could take as long as two days for the slowest boats in light conditions.
There are few opportunities to use manoeuvres to overtake, and success can often depend on getting a good tactical start.
Commodore of the New Zealand Multihull Yacht Club, organisers of the event, Greer Jackson, said the two questions to be asked are whether the course record set in 2019 by multihull Beau Geste in an astonishing time of five hours and 37 seconds could be broken, or whether a monohull will take the overall victory.
"In the past 13 years only one monohull has won so multihulls still have the edge, but I won't speculate until closer to the time because anything could happen."
Who are the front-runners for 2022? The multihulls Cation (Graham Catley), Romanza (Dougall Love) and Apache skippered and owned by Okiato's Erle Williams, will all be in with a good chance. Of the monohulls, the likely favourites are V5, Wired and Mayhem all sailing in division 1a.
The PIC Coastal Classic is the biggest coastal yacht race in New Zealand and one of the biggest in the world. It started life 40 years ago as a drag race between Auckland and Russell for just a few boats and over the years has attracted a bigger and more diverse fleet, ranging from grand prix racers to small family cruisers.
A PhD student from the German Trier University is immersing himself in the Bay of Islands in the interest of research.
Historian Haureh Hussein has Kurdish heritage and is in New Zealand looking into the connection between Quaker whaling families, who were temporarily based in Kororāreka-Russell, in the early 1800s, and Māori.
He delivered a paper to the recent ASHA (Australasian Society for Historical Archaeology) conference held in Russell, which was once the provisioning port for scores of whaling ships from all over the world. Hussein believes there is a gold mine of information for his research.
"Throughout the first half of the 19th century, the Bay of Islands, and Kororāreka in particular, was a key stopover for ships that were undertaking whaling activity in the North and South Pacific," he says.
"On the other side, Māori rangatira actively fostered interactions with whaling ships as they sought to benefit in many ways."
He said his research will explore the significant whaling families such as the Swains and the Starbucks and their connection with Māori, with a view to enabling the Māori aspects of the history to be recorded and told.
Of particular interest is a whaler, Captain Swain. He apparently left his ship, the Indian, during a Bay of Islands stopover in September 1826 and rowed up the Waikare River accompanied by botanist Robert Cunningham. What Captain Swain might have had in mind remains a matter of speculation, but Haureh says a lead he has links him to Ngāpuhi rangatira such as Pomare II at the Bay of Islands.
A number of archives, libraries and museums are on his visiting list during his research stay in Northland. He has spoken to Heritage New Zealand Pouhere Taonga staff during his time here and is in touch with leading Bay of Islands historians Lindsay Alexander and (former) Russell Museum curators such as Kate Martin and Heather Lindauer.
"I would like to contribute to the comprehensively researched history of the whaling industry in New Zealand by reconstructing the interactions between Māori and specific whaling families in particular," he says.
He will include Wellington and Dunedin as part of his research trip. He is a research associate in the research project Family Business: Creating a 'Maritime Contact Zone' in the Colonial Anglo-World, 1790-1840, at Trier University and can be contacted on his research blog: www.transoceanic.hypotheses.org
At first glance Ōkaihau Bowling Club shouldn't exist and certainly shouldn't be thriving.
It is in one of New Zealand's most unsung locations, just north of Lake Ōmāpere on State Highway 1 between Kaikohe and Kaitāia.
Club secretary Anne Wilson says it nearly didn't exist at all in 2016.
"We were down to just nine members of which only five actually played bowls. Our green was out of action and we had to play at the Kaikohe Club."
Ōkaihau could possibly lay claim to having the longest full-playing member of any bowling club in New Zealand. The evergreen Kath Mudgeway has been a member for 70 years since 1952.
And its membership is growing rapidly. It has 30 full-playing members, and that will swell to 40 full-playing members in the coming season. That's not counting the 50 or 60 casuals who turn up for twilight bowls every Friday evening in summer, and not counting the 15 or so social members who enjoy mingling as much as full-playing members.
What's even more remarkable is that the membership of Ōkaihau is new and young. The average age in the club is only 30 to 40, and that average age isn't skewed by school kids, the youngest is 21. The oldest, by way of comparison, is 96.
The green has been back in action since 2019 and at the recent club AGM there was approval to raise funds for an artificial green.
According to club vice-president Nati Tonitara, the juniors are causing some "damage" at the junior championships with wins and runners-up across the board and the key to the club's success, he says, is having the club open all year round.
The ocean swim from Paihia to Russell is on again on Saturday, October 29, and is considered one of the most scenic harbour crossings on the yearly swim calendar.
It consists of six swim events catering for all ages and stages, and includes the Banana Boat Ocean Kids event of two swims, 100m and 200m for kids aged 7-12.
The Rotary Club Bay of Islands is running another sausage sizzle. The club's efforts with both the sausage sizzle and marshalling the last ocean swim in May raised nearly $1500, which was sufficient to send a Shelter Box to Ukraine.
Other funds generated will be put towards paying for an emergency response kit to help communities.
The club is still looking for volunteers to help with marshalling duties. Phone David Scoffham 021566237 or Chrissie Moses on 0274779686.
'At what point do we say enough is enough?'