The Spinnaker - Evans Bay Yacht & Motor Boat Club

The Spinnaker 

The official magazine of the Evans Bay Yacht & Motor Boat Club 

August 2008 

Clockwise from top-left – Thanks to AXA for new Sailability sails, EBYMBC’s welcomes our first 

female Commodore, a good dinghy turnout for the second race of the Winter Series, and 

Deborah Stewart tells us about the joys of yacht chartering. 

Racing and Events Calendar 

Saturday, August 23 rd 

Final races of the Winter Series 

Saturday, September 20 th 

Working Bee 

Saturday, September 27 th 

Allocation Day for Black Shed & Trailer Park 

Saturday, October 11 th 

Opening Day 

Labour Weekend 

Old Salts Reunion


Contact Details 

Club office: 

Telephone: 04-939-4167 

Fax: 04-939-4168 

Office open: Mon-Fri 9am-5pm 

Sat 9am-1pm 

Email address: 

admin@ebymbc.org..nz 

Web Page: 

www.ebymbc.org.nz 

Postal address: 

PO Box 14-496, 

Kilbirnie, 

Wellington 6041 

Physical address: 

501 Evans Bay Parade, 

Kilbirnie, 

Wellington 6003 

Slip master / Bookings 

027-240-5109 or 

04-939-4172 

Clubhouse (members) phone 

04-939-4170 

Management committee contact 

details are on Page 10. 

The Spinnaker is produced bimonthly, 

contributions (written 

and photographic) are welcome. 

Editor: Alison Pritchard 

04-385-7347 

kokamo39@actrix.co.nz 

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Next Issue – October 2008 

Commodore’s Report 

Greetings fellow club members, it is with excitement and 

enthusiasm that I write to you as your newly appointed club 

Commodore. Many of you may not know who I am but I 

sincerely hope that as the term progresses I get the 

opportunity to meet each and every one of you at some 

point. 

I have been a member of the Evans Bay Yacht & Motor 

Boat club since 2004 after my husband Mark and I 

purchased our first boat - a Noelex 22 called Mistress. I 

have been sailing since I was very young but graduated 

straight from the Optimist to Trailer Yachts with a short stint 

in high school sunburst racing on the way through. I started 

racing in a Monarch with my father and older sister when I 

was about 8 and have been involved in casual racing ever 

since. Not one for sitting around watching the scenery, my 

sailing is very much focussed on racing and I have been 

known to be a little competitive at times. 

Late last year, Mark and I had the opportunity to purchase 

Big Brumus, a Noelex 25 which has been based at Evans 

Bay for a long time. While Big Brumus is still being restored 

to her former glory (and we hope speed), we are thrilled to 

be able to race with the Gazelles in Division 2 – all we need 

now is some co-operative weather and a crewmate or two 

and it will be all on. Our Noelex 22 is still part of the family 

at present although apparently owning 2 boats is being 

greedy so we may have to sell her in the coming summer. I 

would love to see a Noelex 22 fleet up and running at the 

club, since there are at least 6 in the club and they are 

great boats to learn to race in. 

When I am not sailing or working on the boat(s), I am the 

co-director of a consultancy business based in Wellington. 

We work with the horticultural industry to provide 

independent advice on Biosecurity policy and market 

access issues. As part of the business, I manage two 

industry organisations (NZ Citrus Growers and NZ Truffle 

Assn) so I am well acquainted with the challenges of 

managing membership based organisations. In total I am 

responsible for management, including financial 

management of four separate businesses. As you may 

imagine this requires skills in organisation, efficiency and a 

great deal of focus. That combined with my background in 

risk management means I have a lot to offer the club during 

my term. 

I have only been in this role for seven days so there is a lot 

of learning and prioritisation to be done. 

- 2 -


It is no secret that the club has been through some difficult times recently and some of you may 

well have concerns about the number of new faces in management roles at the club. The new 

faces bring some significant and important skills to the roles to which they have been appointed 

and are well supported by a range of ‘old hands’ such as the immediate past Commodore John 

Seggie who now holds the position of Club President. Your incoming management team are 

committed to focussing on the future of the club and its members. 

At our first management meeting, we will be setting goals for each individual area of responsibility 

and I look forward to reporting on the progress of these over the coming newsletters. Initially I 

intend to focus on financial accountability and progressing the accessible toilets project. Rest 

assured that while this is a priority, sponsorship is a key component to moving forward and I am 

keenly aware of the need for the club to maintain a favourable financial position. 

I hope that as the club moves into a new sailing year, every member and affiliate member takes 

part in club activities at some point. There is a lot going on and still more to come and if you 

haven’t been to the club for a while, I encourage you to get involved. Make sure we have your 

email address and you will receive emails letting you know about upcoming events. Finally, I 

encourage you to contact me if you have comments, concerns and of course, compliments or 

would just like to introduce yourself – see you on or near the water. 

Nikki Johnson 

Commodore 

Totally Unofficial AGM Minutes by Alison Pritchard 

It was the night before a dark & stormy day, & folk gathered from all over to witness the ceremony. And 

ceremony it was indeed, before the evening was out, a new leader would be elected & the club would enter a 

new era. 

Formalities were dealt with, a chairman elected & apologies given, some of them for people present at the 

meeting, so we’re not entirely sure what they were apologising for. 

The Annual Report was opened to interrogation, & a few people pulled out their thumb screws. Why is slipway 

revenue down on last year? Are we going to do something about the running of the bar, as raised in the 

Commodore’s report? Why do bad debts appear so high? Why have bar profits fallen for the 5 th year running? 

Why are the lease costs not being split as specified on our lease & why is bar profit approximately one quarter 

of that made by the trailer park? As I don’t have an answer recorded in my notes to a single one of these 

questions, might I be so bold as to suggest that queries (especially those regarding financial matters), are 

emailed to the club in advance so that that the answers may be investigated & prepared for the meeting. Or is 

that too radical? 

And so to the Notices of Motion… There was much 

discussion over the issue of setting the fee for Associate 

Life Members, a new category created by the latest 

constitution for partners of Life Members. Debate went 

on for some time, which is strange because everyone 

pretty much agreed with everyone else, well, except for 

agreeing with the motion itself. The end result being 

that the fee was set at zero, in recognition of the role 

partners play in supporting the Life Members’ 

considerable contribution to the club. Warm fuzzies all 

round. 

- 3 -


Motion Two concerned the fundraising required to build the Sailability facilities attached to the Start Box. 

Expert witness Popeye Wagstaff gave the background to the request to take fundraising back off the fundraisers 

(all taking too long, quotes will expire, prices are rising, complications of having to get funding from several 

sources, yadda yadda yadda) & Don Manning from Sailability put in a hearty request to give our disabled sailors 

some decent facilities. It was pointed out that the club has a respectable cash reserve & what more respectable 

use for that than to get this building work underway. There was very little in the way of opposition to this 

motion, & those few individuals were taken out back & dealt with quietly. 

My notes covering the discussion of Motion Three stretch to nearly two pages, as there was quite some 

strength of feeling on both sides of the argument, viz what hours should the bar be open & where should drinks 

be served? Location of said imbibing was quickly forgotten in the heated debate over hours of operation. 

Compromises were suggested & shot quickly down in flames. After much to-ing & fro-ing, raising of both hands 

& voices, the original motion was returned to the fore for voting on. Interestingly, given the level of Chinese 

whispers regarding this issue over the last few months, the motion was shot down in flames. 

And so as light returned to the clubhouse, tempers calmed & discussion turned to the Election of our Leaders. 

With many roles contended, voting papers were completed & scrutineers departed to count under a cone of 

secrecy. To keep the punters amused, attention turned to the setting of membership fees. 

A highly contentious amendment to the fees was proposed, namely increasing the family fee to double that of 

senior membership, combined with a serious reduction for youth members. Understandably this brought forth 

considerable venting of spleen, not surprisingly mostly from family members. But the whole amendment was 

brushed under the rug when it was queried why fees were being raised anyway. The answer that “they haven’t 

been increased for four years” went down like the proverbial metallic inflatable toy, & so the recommended 

membership fees rises were squashed like campaigners suggesting Winston Peters for PM should be. 

The scrutineers returned with the results of the election. Chairman Gary raised his eyes skyward to request the 

approval of his ancestors, & announced the election of the club’s first female Commodore, Nikki Johnson. 

Douglas Roberts, Martin White & Frances Broatch were elected as RC, Sailing Academy Officer & Events Officer 

respectively. John Seggie was nominated as President in his absence, well done John. 

With the end in sight, General Business was called for. I had barely finished writing the heading on my page of 

notes when it was all over, the highlight of which being Don Manning speaking on how happy he is with the 

ongoing relationship between Sailability and EBYMBC. And quicker than you could say “Bar’s open”, the 

meeting was closed at 9:35pm. 

October 11 th 2008 

At this stage we’re expecting events to kick off around 11am, general milling around 

first, then speeches, welcomes, cannon, hoisting of burgees, to be followed by a light 

lunch & Opening Day racing. We look forward to seeing you all there. 

Thanks to Graham Rowe, Deborah Stewart, Brian Taylor, Izzy & Chris, Lynley 

Manning, Judith Clearwater, John Seggie and Sailability for content & photos in 

this issue. 

- 4 -


Learn to Sail – Relocation 

With the Flying Fifteen fleet moving on, the building commonly known as the ‘Flying Fifteen Shed’ was 

essentially vacant. This provided a wonderful opportunity for the relocation of the ‘Learn to Sail’ 

equipment. 

As all Hard Stand areas are recognized as ‘hazardous’ areas, with their own health and safety requirements, 

removing the need for Learn to Sail participants to frequent the area can only be seen as a safety 

improvement. With the boats closer to the rigging area, launching ramps and club house there is less 

distance to push and pull heavy boats and trailers - a blessing to all involved. 

With the Learn-to-Sail equipment all in the same area (420 compound next door) security should also be 

improved, with better visibility and control over who is able to access these areas. 

To facilitate the move, Club Captain Matt McCullough and Vice Commodore Gary Wagstaff (architect), 

drew up a couple of clever plans for effective use of the space. 

The Facilities Committee of Matt McCullough, Frank Clark, Rory Graham and Steve Hazelwood, along with 

Rodger Wilson, Allan Osborne and Daryl McGee, built a new optimist rack, mezzanine at the back of the 

shed, mast racks, life jacket racks, swept the floor, and moved the boats and equipment to their new homes. 

Matt Taylor and Greg White turned up later in the day to give a hand dismantling the old Optimist rack in 

the Black Shed. This was no easy job given it had been put together with 4 inch steel nails that have gone 

rusty in the timber. 

The Weather Gods played their part with the day remaining dry, allowing the team to get a big job done in 

just one day. A fine effort! 

Being next to the Clubhouse should make it easier for 

new people to find the shed especially after the sign 

writing has been completed. Maybe we need to get a 

flag like Bob Bakker used to fly from the shed in the 

old days… 

Rodger Wilson 

HAVE WE GOT YOUR EMAIL 

ADDRESS? 

Information is power, & your power can 

come from being subscribed to our irregular 

emails. All the appropriate e-protection is in 

place to ensure that this is a pleasant 

experience, that your email address is used 

only for club purposes & you can unsubscribe 

at any time. So if you think you’re missing 

out, drop Communications a line at 

kokamo39@actrix.co.nz 

- 5 -


Travels with Uncle Brian & his friend Rita (ex Rear Commodore of EBYMBC), on his yacht 

Kyogle, currently in Vanuatu 

08/07/2008 to 14/07/2008, lazing around Port Vila waiting for the engine part to arrive. During that time we went 

to a couple of cruising dinners at local restaurants organised by one of the yachts that’s has been in Vanuatu a 

few years. The company was good and a great way to find out the good places to go. The food tasted good, but 

the serves were small, especially the Thai restaurant, you we lucky to get a tablespoon full of each dish. Had to 

come back to the boat and have cheese and crackers and bananas to fill us up. 

15/08/2008 Tue,finally got the engine part in our hands, it arrived in Port Vila over the weekends but it took over 

24 hours to get it cleared through customs, engine part was fitted and all systems working by 1730. 

17/08/2008 Thur, got our new cruising permit, did a final shop to stock up on supplies, paid the mooring account 

and topped up the water. 1215 we headed out of Port Vila, 1700 anchor down at Moso Island just outside 

Havannah Harbour, lovely motor sail. Beautiful spot, warm clear water, with a lot of dead coral and very few fish. 

Great to be on our way to somewhere different. 

19/07/2008 Sat, motor sailed to Leman Bay on the northern end of Epi, then sailed to Paama island, caught a 

fish on the way. We were going to drop anchor in one of the bays on Paama, but the water was to deep, 70 

meters in most places. Gave our fish to one of the locals that was fishing in his traditional dugout canoe off 

Paama, he was very happy. Most of the islands around Vanuatu use the dugout canoes for fishing and transport. 

We continued to Ambrym Island to anchor. 

20/07/2008 Sun, very rolly in Craig Cove, so after the rain shower went through we up anchor at 0945 and 

headed for Port Sandwich on Malakula Island, great inlet and a beautiful spot and very calm. Rained most of the 

day on and off. 

21/07/2008 Mon, went for a dinghy ride up Murder River once we found the mouth, very hard to see amongst the 

mangroves. Did washing in almost fresh water in the river. Up anchor at 0945 and went to Awai island at the 

southern end of Malakula island, anchor down 1300 another lovely claim spot. Did some exploring of the island 

as well as part of Malakula in the dinghy. When we got back to the yacht, two men from the village on Awai 

Island came to the boat and wanted to know if Brian could have a look at the village generator and see if he 

could fix it. So we went ashore to Awai island again and then had a lovely walk across the island to the village. 

The village was very tidy, clean and neat, the houses are of traditional thatch roofs, woven walls and dirt floors, 

with a central cooking hut with open fires for cooking and a well in the centre of the village. The spring was 

broken on the pull start of the generator, Brian managed to use the main part of the spring to erect a new one to 

fit by heating it in the cooking coals so he could bend it into the correct shape. But once put back together it still 

didn’t work properly. It was dark by now so we were led back across the island walking by torch light to our 

dinghy on the other side. The villagers wanted the generator for the Children’s Day celebrations on the 24 th July. 

Brian went back to the village by dingy at 0700 the next morning to have another look at the generator. He 

managed to fix it. 1045 we up anchor and headed up the west coast of Malakula to Millipe Bay a pleasant sail 

most of the way before we had to use the motor. Dropped anchor in the bay at 1445, six other yachts in the bay, 

all here to attend the traditional custom grading festival of the small Nambas people on Toman Island. The 

festival started today, so hopefully we didn’t miss too much. 

23/07/2008 Wed, 0645 we headed to Toman Island by dinghy as there is nowhere 

to anchor on the island. The island was about 1½ miles from the bay we were 

anchored in. The passage we went across had quite big waves with a reasonable 

swell, it was a quite exciting wet ride. We were met on the beach by some of the 

locals from the village near the beach and then waited for the rest of the yachties to 

arrive. I was taken off by one of the village women to her house to be given a 

Mother Habit dress to wear at the festival, the other visiting women had been given 

a dress the day before to wear. This is the first time outsiders were allowed to the 

grading ceremony, and also there was a film crew from the National Museum in 

Port Vila there to film the whole event. The last time this village held this ceremony 

was between 25 or 37 years ago, we kept getting conflicting stories but it happens 

once in a blue moon. Once all assembled we walked across the island to the village 

were the ceremony was being held. It was a lovely walk through the trees and 

shrubs. 

- 6 -


When we arrived at the village we were greeted by two chiefs. The chiefs and the men and women who were 

taking part in the ceremonies were dressed in traditional dress, men were wearing just a nambas over their 

penis, which is made from a banana leaf, the women had just a woven skirt with bare breasts. The first event of 

the day was the initiation of three girls to the secret women’s area, this entitled some amazing dancing by the 

women and girls and the planting of stones. Two areas in the village we were not allowed to go were the secret 

men’s area and the secret women’s area, which were fenced off, we could stand by the fence and look in but not 

enter, only the people who have been initiated are allowed in these area. During a break in the ceremonies we 

went and visited the Hill Valley Primary School, which was a one room traditional building with a dirt floor and a 

blackboard, a few bench stalls and desks. The children recited their stories they had learnt off by heart. The 

school had very little equipment, so the next day we donated pens, pencils and writing paper to the teacher. The 

afternoon ceremonies was the initiation of three young boys into the secret men’s area and this also gave them 

the right to be circumcised in the next couple of years, two of the boys would of only be about 2 or 3 years old. 

There ceremony including the more amazing dancing and planting of the stones by the men and the boys and 

the donation of a pig to the secret men’s area. 

Also in the afternoon we attended the grading ceremony of one of the chiefs, all the Ceremonies included a lot of 

traditional dancing of the participants and the men playing the traditional drums. At the end of the day it was 

another exciting and wet dinghy ride back to the bay were the yachts where anchored. 

Lunch for both days of the festival was rice, taro and fish served in a banana leaf and eaten with your fingers. 

24/07/2008 Thu, last day of the grading ceremonies. The first part of the 

morning was the grading of the older women, this including dances, the 

planting of stones and also a dance were they shook down a small structure 

that they built on the first day and then the gruesome killing of the pigs, 

where each women slit the stomach of a live pig and then rip the heart out 

with their hands. Then it was the men’s turn, were they would use a large 

club to kill the pig by hitting it on the head. They can only hit the pig once 

with the club. If the pig didn’t die it was later clubbed to death or its throat 

cut. All pretty amazing but gruesome stuff. 

Next there was more grading of a couple of chiefs, one very high chief arrived and performed the dancing with 

the two chiefs, after each dance they would go off and change the decorations on their body using the earth and 

other natural products. Some of the dancing was done with masks. Then there was the spearing of a couple of 

pigs while dancing, which concluded the ceremonies. The pigs were all killed and cut up, and each yacht 

attending the ceremonies were given a taro, yam and a piece of raw pork if they wanted it. We just took a piece 

of pork. The rest was divided up amongst the groups that attended. The pigs that were killed by the women, 

were cut up by the women and the ones killed by the men were cut up by men. The men cannot touch the pigs 

killed by the women and vice versa. We said our thank you and goodbyes and went back to the yachts. 

The last two days have been an amazing and truly great experience of traditional island culture. It was wonderful 

to witness this. 

25/08/2008 Fri, 0820 up anchor and left Millipe bay for Awai Island, stayed put for a couple of lazy, wet days. On 

the Saturday Brian managed to fix one of the villages DVD players that had blown a fuse. The people from the 

village came over by boat to the anchorage to see if anyone could help them. Before they left they asked as if we 

wanted a roaster, we said no. Later they came back in there boat, with about 15 people on board and gave us a 

heap of fresh prawns which they had just caught. So that night we had garlic prawns for entrée, very nice, there 

were also tiny things more like shrimps that were fiddly to peel before I cooked them. 

31/07/2008 Thu, 0705 up anchor and headed to Luganville on Espiritu Santos, the largest island in Vanuatu, 

motored all the way arriving at 1415. Went ashore, Brain went to the Doctor because he had a sore ear and had 

lost hearing in it. Wandered around the town, shopping here is nothing like Port Vila, very limited in what is 

available. Cannot even get two litre bottles of lemonade or coke, we can only find cans. It is very much like 

Neiafu (Tonga) the shops are run by Chinese and they have a little of everything, food, cloths, house hold goods, 

fishing hooks, you have to wonder into all shops as you don’t know where you might find something, always in 

the least expected shop. 

03/08/2008 Sun, went ashore in dinghy and had walk on beach. 1000 up anchor and headed north. As we were 

getting out of the bay the gear box started playing up. I sailed the boat while Brian tried to change the gearbox 

over to the spare one. He has two on board since last year as he keeps doing in the thrush washers in the box. 

Brian was having trouble removing the spacer from the gearbox as the nuts where getting stripped from all the 

- 7 -


changes over and they were an odd size that he didn’t have the correct spanner for. So put back problem 

gearbox and turned around and headed for Luganville were we could get an engineering company to get the 

bolts sorted out. 

04/08/2008 Mon, Brian removed the problem gearbox and we went ashore to get the nuts removed, also 

replaced the odd size nuts and bolts with new ones that fit’s the spanners he has. 1300 replacement gearbox 

installed and all working ok, so up anchor and headed around to the other side of Aore Island to Ratua Island, a 

lot of tide in the southern end of the Segond channel very slow trip motored and doing 1.5 to 2 knots instead of 5 

knots. 

05/08/2008 Tue, motor sailed to Peterson Bay on Espiritu Santos east coast, a lovely spot with lots of little 

islands, 10 yachts in the anchorage. We are anchored just off the Oyster Bay resort, lovely place. Went ashore 

last night to have dinner at the resort, was supposed to be Brian’s shout, be he didn’t have enough cash and the 

resort hasn’t got credit card facilities at present, so I ended up paying. The resort has a satellite dish with free 

internet available to everyone so we will probably stay here a few days. 

Sailing Academy Report 

Hi, my name is Martin White, and I have just taken over the role of Sailing 

Academy Officer. There will be plenty of you out there that won't know 

me and weren't at the recent AGM, so for all those people, here's a bit 

about me and my plans for the Academy. 

Three years ago I did the Learn-to-Sail course myself after years of 

wanting to get into the sport. It turned out I enjoy sailing as much as I 

thought I would, so after that I bought a Phase II, which I diligently sailed 

whenever the weather let me. It took myself and my crew a while to 

really get the hang of things – the boat has been named Fallout because 

of the amount of time we spent swimming that first season! I also got 

myself onto a trailer yacht (Tarantula) as soon as I could, and Warren 

hasn't been able to get rid of me since. 

Over the last year or two I have been helping out as an assistant instructor, and just last weekend I took my 

club instructor course. I really enjoy being involved in the courses, teaching more people to love yachting 

and just spending more time on the water, but I've also got a lot of ideas about how we could improve the 

experience for the students and make them want to keep sailing. This was one of the reasons I decided to 

stand for the position. 

My two main objectives for the year ahead are: 

- To build on the excellent work begun by the previous Sailing Academy Officer, Brent Frogley, in 

developing a relationship with the Victoria University Sailing Club. This has been a major source of course 

attendees and it is great to see so much extra activity round the club. 

- To increase the rate of retention of course graduates. Only a small percentage end up joining the club 

and really taking part in our activities, and there is a lot that can be done to improve upon this record. 

Feel free to contact me if you have any thoughts on any of the above, and needless to say I'd be very 

pleased if you feel you'd like to help out in some way! Teaching people to sail is the job of the Sailing 

Academy, but is down to the whole club to help our graduates find ways to keep sailing. 

- 8 -


Sailability News 

Sailing 

Yachting New Zealand has its committee for sailors with disabilities up and running. Its purpose is to 

ensure that all sailors have the opportunity to participate in the sport and compete internationally. This 

committee will be charged with responsibility for both sailors with physical disabilities and blind sailors. 

It incorporates the interests of both Sailability and the Blind Sailing Association. Both these organisations 

however maintain their independence, and the purpose of the committee is to add value, where Yachting 

New Zealand is able to do so, to the programmes these organisations already have in place. Michael 

Jones represents us on this committee, and Don Manning is a YNZ appointment. 

The following is from YNZ’s 28 May 2008 Briefings: 

“Two World Champs in NZ for Sailors with Disabilities 

New Zealand is anticipating a busy start to 2009 with two major world championships in the disabled sailing 

realm. January 25th – February 1st will be the ‘Kiwi Cup’ a combined International Association for Disabled 

Sailing (IFDS) Single Person Dinghy World Championship & Access Liberty World Championship. March 

12th- 21st will see the 2009 IFDS World Blind Sailing Championship in Rotorua. 

The Kiwi Cup will be run between Sailability Auckland and the Royal New Zealand Yacht Squadron, and will 

expect 25-30 boats to compete from up to 12 countries sailing in the Access Liberty Class boat, designed 

specifically for sailors with disabilities. Competitor classifications will range from IFDS Functional 

Classification System, Number One through to able bodied sailors. 

The IFDS World Blind Sailing Championship will host approximately 30 teams, organized by the Bay of 

Plenty Trailer Yacht Squadron and Blind Sailing NZ. For more information see event website 

www.2009worldblindsailingnz.com. More information is available from YNZ http://www.yachtingnz.org.nz 

Thank you AXA 

Sailability received funding from AXA for some new sails (see photo front page), and VHF radios, all of 

which are in good use. The radios are essential for safety, providing us with a means communicating 

between the shore and boats on the water, and boat to boat when we venture further a field. 

Black Shed Storage Rate Increase 

Due to increased running costs, storage rates in the Black Shed will increase by 7% for the new storage 

year starting 1 st September 2008. The invoices will be sent out at the beginning of September and the 

usual discount will be given for those paying the full amount by the end of September 2008. 

Interestingly, while the Black Shed barely raises an 

eyebrow these days, back in 1957 it was the cause 

of great consternation when it was proposed to 

replace the Nissen Huts that previously stood on the 

site, & that were used for the Flying Boats. The 

Dominion newspaper of the day notes that “At Evans 

Bay club some skippers have expressed through 

direct action their dissatisfaction with a decision of 

the club to pull down the old Nissen hut boatsheds to 

enable the building of the new Harbour Boardfinanced 

shed. To date two X class Sanders Cup 

yacht skippers have removed their craft to the Royal 

Port Nicholson club.” 

Popeye (whose brother Hal designed the Black 

Shed) thinks the skippers were unhappy that boats stored in separate lockups were to be moved to 

common space, along with reluctance to remove sheds & the Nissen Huts. Can anyone else top this as a 

reason? 

- 9 -

Working Bee – Your Club Needs You!!! 

20 th September 2008 - All Members. 


Please plan to be ready to start at 9.00am and report to Club Captain Matt McCullough. So you don’t get growled at 

when you get home please wear clothing that is allowed to get grubby or painty. 

If you have specific skills and/or talents that you would prefer to employ – please contact Club Captain Matt 

McCullough prior to the day. Then we can ensure that your talents are not wasted. Please also bring a paintbrush or 

two, some tools, or whatever else you think might be useful. 

The Facilities Committee have a huge list of jobs to get through around the Club House and premises this year, and 

the more we can get through on the Working Bee day the better. Many hands etc etc. Your enthusiastic participation 

is very much appreciated. 

Tea and Coffee will be provided. Lunch will be provided. Thank you in advance! 

Allocation Day – Black Shed and Trailer Park 

27 th September 2008 - All Black Shed and Trailer Park Tenants 

Please be ready to start at 9.00am sharp. Please wear suitable clothing. 

Black Shed 

You or your representative must be present. You may apply for a storage space in the Black Shed. Your application 

will only be processed on receipt of the required fees. Should your application not be successful the payment made 

will be refunded in full. 

Please be ready to pay your storage fees, swap your Black Shed key, and remove your boat from the Black Shed. 

Once all of the boats have been removed the Black Shed will be swept/cleaned out. Then those boats that have been 

allocated a space will then be moved back into the shed. Please note that you may have a different space this season. 

There is a waiting list for storage spaces. Should your storage fees be unpaid/outstanding your boat may be removed 

from the Black Shed and the space reallocated. Should you not require storage for the next year please clear the 

space and advise Ryan prior to Allocation Day. 

Please contact Club Captain Matt McCullough or Black Shed Coordinator Ryan Leatham with any queries or concerns. 

Trailer Park 

You or your representative must be present. 

You may apply for a parking space in the Trailer Parking area. Your application will only be processed on receipt of the 

required fees. Should your application not be successful the payment made will be refunded in full. 

Boat spaces not paid for may be cleared and reallocated. Please be ready to pay your storage fees, swap any 

Changing Room keys, and to then participate in the clean up of the area. Changing Room keys are available to 

financial Club Members with the payment of a $10.00 bond. 

Please contact Vice Commodore Gary Wagstaff with any queries or concerns. 

Lynley Manning, Divine Goddess of Pink Jobs 

2008 - 2009 Management Committee Officers 

Commodore Nikki Johnson Ph 972-1613 Email commodore@ebymbc.org.nz 

Vice Commodore Gary Wagstaff Ph 387-2477 Email garywagstaff@xtra.co.nz 

Rear Commodore Doug Roberts Ph 589-2859 Email doug.roberts@paradise.net.nz 

Club Captain Matt McCullough Ph 567-2117 Email mdlj@clear.net.nz 

Sailing Academy Officer Martin White Ph 380-6110 Email whites.nz@gmail.com 

Communications Officer Alison Pritchard Ph 385-7347 Email kokamo39@actrix.co.nz 

Events Officer Frances Broatch Ph 499-7739 Email weavert@actrix.co.nz 

- 10 -


Introducing the new Rear Commodore 

I have been in the club for the past 3 ½ years, since I moved to Wellington 

early in 2005 with my partner Jasmine and we now have a 10 week old 

daughter Sian. I have been sailing since about 8 years old through a variety of 

classes and currently sail a Farr 3.7. 

I work for ANZ National in Corporate Banking based out of the National Bank 

building on Victoria Street. 

Looking forward to the year ahead I see a number of challenges and equal 

rewards. I would like to see an increase in the use of the club facilities and the 

number of people sailing. While the House Committee has ideas on achieving 

this we welcome and appreciate your ideas and feedback to help guide us. 

So please let us know what you think and what you would like to see. I look forward to hearing from and 

meeting with you all. 

Doug Roberts 

Rear Commodore 

Facilities 

Welcome to the new committee, thanks to Rory Graham, Frank Clarke and Steve Hazelwood for standing 

again. And to the new committee members - Gary Wagstaff (officially this time), Ryan Leatham (who is in 

charge of the Black Shed as part of his duties), and Lynley Manning (who is doing some of the pink jobs). 

We have started the new club year with a big list of jobs to be done – it’s just like the story about ‘The Great 

Porridge’ – it just keeps on coming. From replacing a couple of cracked windows, right through to reroofing 

the Clubhouse, which is overdue. 

We have hit the ground running and already have been able to tick a couple of things off. (Please have a look 

at the flash new doors on the new Learn-to-Sail Shed, formerly the Flying Fifteen Shed). Getting through it 

all is going to take a lot of very hard work from a lot of people – not just the usual few. So, if you have 

skills that you would be happy to apply in a voluntary capacity, and can make some time for us, please 

contact your Club Captain Matt McCullough - he is bound to find something on the ‘Big List’. 

Matt McCullough 

Every year the City Council’s annual harbour 

cleanup pulled up the odd surprise find. 

There’s always someone who’ll pull out all 

the stops to get to the top mark first. 

- 11 -


Paper Tigers in Evans Bay – a growing fleet 

Rick Martin is going back to the future and has bought a top boat. PT2987 The Edge was built for Bob 

Preston (twice National Champion) by Chris Heywood of Picton who has sailed here a few times. Rick’s 

boat is now called Butterfly. He has been seen to be getting quite a bit of sneaky practice in, in between 

southerlies, and seems to be getting both of the pointy ends going in the right direction. 

Alan Dunn has imported what appears to be two canoes ready for assembly (PT2887 Happy Daze – will be 

interesting to see what name is on the side when we see her on the water). And a third refugee from the 

dwindling E5.9 class, Andy Brown is spending many hours in the workshop putting the finishing touches on 

his new canoes. Thank you Andy for bringing your progress photos into the clubhouse for discussion and 

dissection over the weekend. Again will be interesting the see what name is on the sides when she hits the 

water – ‘Mini Gladys Emmanuel’? Alan and Andy are aiming to be on the water by Opening Day. 

It is quite a few years since Rick and Andy sailed PTs full time. I am sure they will be up to speed in no time, 

and creaking and groaning after a windy race with the rest of us! 

Peter Robins is heading down the home stretch of a winter re-decking project on PT888 Skytrain, also 

aiming for Opening Day. Bruce Kenyon is intending to get reacquainted with his boat PT2596 (was Lynley 

Manning’s original ‘one fish – two fish’ then sailed by Jennifer Loader as ‘Swell’) when the weather gets a 

bit warmer – he’s not the only one! Welcome to the Evans Bay fleet Bruce. 

Ryan Leatham, our esteemed Black Shed Controller, is waiting for Daddy to sort out his steering 

department after a spot of gear failure. He has been crewing for Chris Hargreaves on Eraser in the 

meantime, it will be interesting to see if he dances around on the foredecks in the same way on PT821 

Flyer when it’s back together. 

Glenn Syman (PT2922 Unplugged) is now carting two boats around for race days with son Sean. Sean is 

very keen after sailing a borrowed boat for the last Nationals at New Plymouth over New Year, and now 

has his own boat Money for Nothing. The trouble with PTs - if you have two boats, you don’t just have to 

have two of everything, you have to have four… 

With this lovely lot, add Jane Thomassen (PT2668 Pom Puss) and myself, we are looking at having very 

good numbers on our start line this year. And this doesn’t count Rodger Wilson and Remy Thomassen who 

are choosing not to sail their boats at present, Carl Syman who is studying beer at Palmerston North this 

year, Shirlene Vautier PT301 with Lay Down Sally who is on maternity leave, and a few other boats and 

owners that are in varying states of ‘maintenance’ and enthusiasm. 

The Paper Tiger Nationals will be hosted by Nelson Yacht Club just after New Year – this is always a happy 

event. It will be a selection year for our Internationals which will be held at Lake Illawarra, south of Sydney 

(to be confirmed) over Easter 2009. We send a New Zealand team of the top 10 contestants, and a ‘B’ team 

called ‘Team Tui’ (named for the bird, not the beer) of another ten. It looks like we are going to have a 

fabulous turn out from the Evans Bay Yacht and Motor Boat Club at the Nationals. 

If you would like to have a go in a Paper Tiger, we currently have the New Zealand Paper Tiger Owner’s 

Association boat at the club for this purpose. Please contact Glenn Syman to work out a suitable sail time. 

They are a lot of fun. Just do it! 

See you on the water, and in the Clubhouse afterwards. 

Lynley Manning 

PT 2800 one fish – two fish 

- 12 -

2008/2009 Season Programme 


The Voice of the Vice 

The draft programme is based upon past seasons format and a summary is as follows. 

Opening Day Sat 11th October 

Spring Series Sat 18th October thru to Sat 29th November 

Xmas/New Year 

Summer Series 

Autumn Series 

Twilight Series 

Sat 6th December thru to Sat 31st January 

Sat 7th February thru to Sat 28th February 

Sat 14th March thru to Sat 18th April 

Friday Nights, eight before Xmas and ten in the New Year 

A Draft programme is on the Racing Notice Board at the club should you wish to see. If you have any 

comments could you please address them to garywagstaff@xtra.co.nz by the end of August 2008. 

Wellington Anniversary Regatta 

The club has put its hand up for this event in 2009 which could also be promoted as part of the club's 

90th year. 

In the February 2008 Spinnaker Jane Thomassen wrote "It would have been nice to have seen Evans 

Bay better represented at the Regatta (then held at Heretaunga), but we had fun and that's the main 

thing. Hopefully more of you will participate next year." 

As this regatta will be on your own waters we could show to the rest of Wellington that we can put on a 

spectacle. 

ISAF Rule Book 

The current rule book is applicable up to the end of the 2008. As from January 1st 2009 the new rules 

come into force, hence you will need to obtain a copy from the club in due course. 

In the current book is Rule 76 which talks about exclusion of boats or competitors. The Rule and the 

Prescription from YNZ are quoted as follows. 

76.1 Yachting New Zealand prescribes that organising authorities shall not accept entries from keel, 

trailer or multihull boats which are not registered with Yachting New Zealand or with their national 

authority, or with their International Class Association in the names of the current owners and such 

boats shall not be entitled to race. 

Should you need to follow up on registration please do so as the prescription from YNZ cannot be 

altered by clubs. 

Also following the posting out of results various comments were made concerning the symbols as part 

of the results. 

Clause A11 of Appendix A Scoring is quoted in full. 

OCS: Did not start; on course side of the starting line at her starting signal and failed to start or broke 

rule 30.1. 

Race Management Resources 

In order to make the saying "many hands make light work" I am seeking teams of people to help out in 

the various aspects of the Sailing Committee. They are: 

• To help in Race Management ON and OFF the water under the guidance of our Race Officers. 

• To help in manning our Rescue Boats under the guidance of our Safety Boat Officer. 

• To be part of a team in processing the results as they become available so that competitors can 

be aware of their performance etc. 

- 13 -


Should any of you be aware of anybody who wishes to become part of the team could they please 

contact garywagstaff@xtra.co.nz. 

I am looking forward to another successful season. 

Gary Wagstaff 

Vice Commodore 

What the young folk are up to... 

Earlier in the Year Cushla came 2nd in the Laser Youth Worlds which was 

held in Takapuna, the regatta was won by Gabrielle King of Australia. 

In Denmark, sailing in the ISAF Youth Worlds, Cushla came 3 rd , helping 

New Zealand come second in the Volvo Trophy battle for overall team 

performance. 

Interestingly, despite all her achievements, Cushla at age 18 was not 

eligible to vote at the club AGM in August, full marks though for turning 

up, Cushla. 

After five days of racing in Gdansk 

Poland, New Zealand has taken out both 

the gold and silver medals at the 2008 

FISU World University Match Racing 

Championships. 

Josh Junior, Matthew Steven, Chris 

Jones and Carl Syman from the Royal 

Port Nicholson Yacht Club, ran out 

convincing winners in the finals over 

their country mates from the Royal New 

Zealand Yacht Squadron. Rounding out 

the medallists was the team from the 

United States of America. 

Winners of the 2008 World University Match Racing Champs: 

Chris Jones, Matthew Stevens, Josh Junior, Carl Syman - 

2008 World University Match Racing Championships. 

Carl’s father Glen picked up the 

Yachtsman of the Year award for him at the recent EBYMBC Prize Giving. 

Old Salts Reunion 

Labour Weekend Sunday (October 26 th ) 

Tickets from Mike Usher 

- 14 -


From Trailer Sailor in Wellington to Bareboat Charter in Paradise 

By Deborah Stewart 

We have had many spectacular holidays in the tropics of Whitsundays and Tonga and the milder 

climates of the Bay of Islands, Auckland and the Marlborough Sounds, as well as further afield in 

Greece. Relaxing in the most beautiful locations in the world, slip off the boat to swim and snorkel. 

Why don’t more people do it? 

It seems that there are three main reasons: 

• Cost 

• Different skills required 

• Their partners don’t want to 

Costs 

The boats usually cost around $100 per person per 

night but as you don’t pay to hire cars to enter 

theme parks and you are paying supermarket 

costs for food and drink its cheaper than a week in 

Surfers. Last year’s trip to Whitsundays cost us 

NZ$898 per person for 8 nights including gourmet 

food, extra kayaks on board, a night on Hamilton 

island. 

Different skills 

In addition to the skills you demonstrate every 

Saturday skills you would need: 

• Chart reading and basic navigation: you need to be able to read a chart, especially depths and 

dangers; plot position on chart with GPS, calculate compass bearings; and use tide tables to 

predict tides effect on depths and your speed distance calculation. They may say it is possible to 

navigate by sight but I can assure you one palm tree covered island looks very like the next! A 

Coastguard Boatmasters course would get you started or last year we ran informal navigation 

lessons for our Whitsundays’ crew. Get the chart and pilot book of your destination before you 

go, so your crew is prepared and excited. 

• Anchoring: practical anchoring technique as well as using chart, tide tables and depth sounder 

to work out where to anchor and how much chain to let out. 

• Other boat systems: the average keeler has a myriad of electrical, gas detectors, water pumps, 

bilge pumps and toilet systems that a simple trailer sailor doesn’t have. Listen carefully at the 

briefing and if anything goes wrong the base is only a radio or, if you’re embarrassed, a 

cellphone call away. The charter company won’t expect you to fix anything…in fact its clear from 

their manuals that do-it-yourselfers are the bane of their lives! 

Key points to encourage your partner to come 

• A charter yacht is luxury not hardship. It’s different from your trailer sailor, which you have 

emptied of its minimal comforts to go faster. Bareboat chartering allows you to get to beautiful, 

secluded spots usually accessible only by tramping and camping. The difference with a charter 

boat is that you have comfortable beds, hot showers, gourmet food, wine in glass bottles and 

ice for your gin and tonics. The additional advantage in tropical locations is that it is virtually 

bug free, which even the most luxurious hotel is not. 

• Promise never to shout...remember it’s a holiday…if you forget all about racing and make it fun 

to have a go they just might. 

• Consider a catamaran, they stay flat and have loads of space. You can be sailing into the wind 

at seven knots while one crew member makes a cup of tea down below and another sunbathes 

with a book up front. Yachties may miss being on a lean, but once they give it a go, they realise 

they can tune the sails to their heart’s content and go faster than they imagined. 

(continued over) 

- 15 -


• Explain that it’s not all sailing. Most destinations we 

would sail for two to three hours a day on the days 

we move from one idyllic spot to another. Some days 

we would just stay put. That leaves plenty of time for 

swimming, kayaking, hiking, reading or just 

sunbathing. 

• Hotel stopovers before or after the trip may be a 

compromise. In the Whitsundays we usually do a mid 

trip visit to Hamilton Island where for AU $80 you can 

tie up, have water, showers, shopping, cocktails and 

the run of the Island. 

Getting started 

Sign up for your Boatmaster’s course and book your 

first weekend away either with an experienced 

friend or a paid skipper. 

Anyone wanting further information, please feel free to 

contact Deborah Stewart on dstewart.mcc@paradise.net.nz 

A changing of the guard for Friday night meals 

After so many years and so many much appreciated meals, 

Yvonne has hung up her apron. A presentation was made to her 

after a recent Friday night film showing, expressing our grateful 

thanks. And of course she was already a Life Member of our Club. 

Friday nights will never be quite the same again, but to our 

rescue comes the Rose family, well experienced in catering for 

organisations like ours. The food is of a high standard, still at 

reasonable prices, and available from 6:30pm (bring the kids) so 

please come along and make it worth their while. 

There is a choice of mains priced at up to $15, and there are 

desserts at $4. The pan fried fresh caught fish is a highlight, and 

the home made sticky date pudding is a popular choice. And of 

course the bar is open for a drink beforehand or to accompany 

the meal. 

- 16 -

The Spinnaker - Evans Bay Yacht & Motor Boat Club

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