Commodore Penchev’s charming regatta newsletter
Predecessor’s B-Class: The beautiful B-Class Ngatira belonging to Stephen Horsley, the current commodore’s—Boris Penchevs’—immediate predecessor, sailing in the 2017 Mahurangi Regatta. image Lyn Bergquist
Dear secret admirers, friends and members of the Mahurangi Cruising Club, best wishes for a happy New Year on the water and elsewhere.
Many of you provided positive and constructive, and also critical, feedback from the 2017 Mahurangi Regatta. Particularly helpful has been the collaboration with:
- Mahurangi Action – Cimino Cole
- Classic Yacht Association – Joyce Talbot, James Mortimer and Peter Mence
- Classic launches – Alan Houghton and Angus Rogers
- Stewart 34 Association – Paul Groom
- Milford Cruising Club – Tim Turner, Mark Hoyle, Lance Johns, John Innes
- Mullet Boat Association – Martin Robertson
- Reactor-25 Association – Antony Toledo
- H-28 Association – Nicholas Holey
- Townson-32 Association – Tony Kendal
- Shelly Park Cruising Club – Marcus Butterfield and Chris
We have considered all your recommendations and you will find them integrated into the structure of the 2018 Mahurangi Regatta. Thank you everybody.
We also want to thank all representatives of yacht clubs, associations and businesses, who attended the inaugural Mahurangi Regatta commodores meeting arranged by Cimino, which was kindly hosted by the Royal New Zealand Yacht Squadron, in its members lounge. Present were:
- Classic Yacht Association – Chairman Peter Mence
- Mahurangi Action – Secretary Cimino Cole
- Mahurangi Cruising Club – Commodore Boris Penchevs and ex Commodore Stephen Horsley
- Milford Cruising Club – Vice-Commodore Tim Turner
- Panmure Yacht & Boating Club – Commodore Iain Rabbitts
- Ponsonby Cruising Club – Commodore Tania Ruri and Vice-Commodore Rob Vallom
- Richmond Yacht Club – Commodore Gordon Dyer
- Royal New Zealand Yacht Squadron – General Manager Hayden Porter
- Sandspit Yacht Club – Chairperson Lynette Smith
- Teak Construction – Managing Director Stuart Charlton
- Weiti Boating Club – ex Commodore Colin Thrush
Bumper Yearbook: Along with the Mahurangi Regatta, the Mahurangi Cruising Club’s ever-superb yearbook continues to expand and become——even more superb. image Mahurangi Cruising Club
Our yearbook expands both in volume—almost 100 pages this year—and in demand. The yearbook team of Lyn Bergquist, Kelly Grove-Hills, Victor Hopwood and Martin Farrand, and Stephen Horsley and Hugh Gladwell in the near past, have continued the tradition founded by the first editor Ian Free, and have gradually brought the yearbook to a world-best standard. Not have only the volume and the quality of the Mahurangi Cruising Club yearbook amplified; the cost of its creation has expanded too. The sell price was not adapted for many years and gradually the financial aspect of this exercise became more and more concerning to our committee members. Therefore, this year, the yearbook is priced at $20, for the general public.
A 25% discount—i.e. $15—is available for all members, who have registered to participate in the 2018 Mahurangi Regatta. “Registered Participant” means a participant, who has submitted an online entry via our website either for racing in any of the eight yacht divisions, or for participating in the classic launch parade.
The Mahurangi Regatta enjoys growing popularity with more spectators and more boats joining every year. This is great and we love it, but it also requires extra work and funds, and efficiency in the administration. We believe that these aspects have improved as a result of the extended collaboration with likeminded individuals, businesses and sailing organisations.
Our website and the MCC Facebook page have facilitated our communications. Some of you are familiar with both and have found them suitable platforms for sharing ideas, news and for organising sailing events.
We used online entries for our Spring Splash Rally and it worked. Encouraged by that, our ambition now is to adopt complete online processing of the pre-regatta administration, while leaving the traditional options still open. You see, we do all this to save precious time at the event—time we can spend chatting with buddies, making new friends and sharing gossip and drinks. You can greatly help us—and please do so—by submitting your entries online.
Available, but less desirable, entry options are nonetheless still available:
- post entry form—available on our website—to PO Box 555, Warkworth 0941 by 20 January, latest.
- email entry form to Svetlana Pencheva: sbpenchevs@yhoo.co.nz by 20 January, latest.
- last-minute entry at Sullivans Bay on Saturday 27 Jan. 9–11.30 am; in gale easterly conditions—at Scotts Landing.
Whatever form of entry you choose, please have a representative at the Mahurangi Action entry tent! They will collect your yearbook and will check for last-minute amendments and perhaps buy a t-shirt, or a 2018 Mahurangi Cruising Club calendar, and maybe more.
Calling all classic launches for 27 January
The Mahurangi Cruising Club and the Classic Yacht Association are keen to make the 2018 Classic Launch Parade the best and biggest that Mahurangi has ever seen. We will have a dedicated Classic Yacht Association photographer, and he and Lyn Bergquist will be taking images of your gorgeous vessels, and we will also have an expert on hand, to announce you, as you pass close to the shore.
And, as you all look so amazing, we have set aside pages in the next Mahurangi Yearbook to feature the Launch Parade, plus any suitable articles you may like to submit to our Editor, Kelly Grove-Hills. Her contact details are below. To help us achieve this, can you, please, let Joyce know at: admin@classicyacht.org.nz, or call Joyce at: 021 818 448. We will send you the meeting place and time—it is usually around, but no later than, 10 am at Scotts Landing, but we will confirm this.
We have uploaded on our website the Programme of Events and the Sailing Instructions for the Mahurangi Day and the Mahurangi Regatta. As we are not perfect, our programme and sailing instructions might have omitted things you would like to know in advance. In contrast we are friendly and helpful, and we will answer all arising questions. One such question could possibly be:
Why a $15 entry fee for the classic launches?
Answer:
The launches that have entered online, and have paid the $15 optional entry fee, will receive in return our 2018 yearbook. We will also provide, in our next yearbook, more dedicated pages for the classic launches to publish articles and photographs.
The event is growing fast and becoming more expensive. The combined cost of the shoreside events—organised by Mahurangi Action, and the sailing events—organised by the cruising club—was more than $34 000 in 2017. To be able to meet the expanding financial demand, and to run the Mahurangi Regatta in the future, we need to continue to develop a sustainable business plan, and the minor changes you see this year are part of this plan.
Committee members can be contacted at:
Borislav Penchev (Boris) 021 031 8120 sbpenchevs@yahoo.co.nz
James & Selene Buttle 027 275 6778 james@whakaari.com
Victor & Ngaire Hopwood 021 373 575 ngairehopwood@yahoo.co.nz
Hugh Gladwell 021 606 409 dorothyandhugh@gmail.com
Stephen Horsley (Steve) 027 280 7497 srhorsley@gmail.com
Kelly Grove-Hills 021 981 261 kellygrovehills@gmail.com
Lyn Bergquist 021 930 747 artdept@orcon.net.nz
Helen Johnson 09 422 333 tkstudio@slingshot.co.nz
Ian Free 021 035 6787 ianfree59@gmail.com
Jacques de Kervor 022 634 8878 boatsmith@gmail.com
Jill Hetherington 022 184 0299 jillhkawau@gmail.com
Martin Farrand 021 933 804 martin@forbespack.co.nz
Sally Meiklejohn 0274 930 747 sallymeik67@gmail.com
Svetlana Pencheva 021 150 5855 sbpenchevs@yahoo.co.nz
See you at Mahurangi, where for one day on water and sailing, the gods require many days work on Earth.
Fair winds!