"To hear today that they're working so hard to rebuild it so kids can get sailing again, that's really heart-warming."
Like much of post-quake Christchurch, the club currently operates out of two large cargo containers, but has ambitious plans to build a new headquarters.
"He's actually asked me to send him some details, which I believe will be tabled at an Emirates Team NZ board meeting in the not-too-distant future," said club official Nigel Humphreys.
"We need to raise about a million dollars - we have about a third of what we need - so it's a big amount of money.
"It involves building up the ground and bringing in the services from the street, which is a long distance. That cost, in itself, is quite a considerable amount, before we even put a stick of wood on top of the ground."
