A Very Large Tree Stump
When we sailed FAIR WINDS over to New Zealand around ten years ago, perhaps the highlight of a sparkling summer was the The Mahurangi Regatta.
One returning to my desk this week I find a copy of the Mahurangi Cruising Club Year book 2025, sent to me by the remarkable Stephen Horsley. Nothing special about that you may say… just another glossy yacht club magazine, pumping up the club and its membership. How wrong you would be. The Mahurangi Cruising Club, its annual Regatta and its 25th year book, are all examples of how to do things differently and more importantly, do them better.
Here’s some background. The Club was formed in 1988. The story told is that a small group of friends, sitting around on a beach in the Mahurangi Harbour, decided to create a home for disaffected sailors who did not want to belong to a proper yacht club. Rather, what was needed was something less formal, very inclusive and definitely without a clubhouse with all the complications and costs that property entails. A committee was thought to be essential, though–one that had a lot of fancy titles,could organise a programme of events and compete for lots of lovely trophies. A very large tree stump outside the heritage Scott house at Scott’s Landing on the Mahurangi Peninsula was claimed as the new club HQ and the vision of the club was formalised as ‘Encouraging the ownership,use and restoration of classic wooden boats’. On Anniversary weekend of 1990, the new club held its first classic yacht race in the Mahurangi Regatta. This was the perfect fit for the traditional spirit of the new club, as the regatta, brought back to life a decade before by the Friends of the Mahurangi group, was modelled on the old Mahurangi Settlers Regatta that had been held annually in the harbour from the late nineteenth century until the outbreak of the second world war. The race, at first rather small and gathered together by personal invitation, soon grew and has continued to grow, attracting a large number of visitors to the harbour every Anniversary Weekend. Over a hundred boats now take part in the racing and upwards of 600 boats anchor in the Mahurangi to enjoy what is now recognised as the southern hemisphere’s largest meet of classic wooden boats–yachts of all sizes as well as classic launches. While the regatta race remainsthe club’s premier event, there are also club races held around Kawau Bay at Easter and again in early spring. The club was keen to see, and welcome into the regatta,newly built replicas of the old Mahurangi punt–tenders that were used around the harbour as early as 1860. In 2009 following a major reconstruction project supported by members of the club, the trading scow JANE GIFFORD was re-launched.
The JANE is now permanently berthed in the Warkworth river basin and provides excursions in and around her old sailing grounds in the Maurangi Harbour. She has a regular outing at the regatta acting as the Club Start/Finish Boat. In 2010, the club was dealt a blow when its club HQ and sometime trophy cabinet was destroyed in a covert operation by Parks Management. The stump was cleared away. Committee members spent some months meandering haplessly from pub to pub in search of a suitable venue for meetings. At last, two club members offered their magnificent shed in Warkworth as a base. Admiralty House on Bertram Street now provides us, our trophies and other odds and sods, a permanent home.
All this leads us back to the Magazine now sitting on my desk. Its somewhat of a rarity these days being published in hard copy, tangible analogue, paper format! Its articles all demand reading.
The 20205 edition has stories on FIERY CROSS, Jim Young’s 45ft canting keel yacht from the 1950’s (Yes …not a typo!), an account of Gerry Clark’s 38,5000 mile cruise on the 11m yacht TOTORORE from Keri Keri to a Southern Chilean Archipelago and then Antartica all in the service of the seabirds of the southern ocean. Boris Penchev tells of his emigration from Bulgaria and family’s subsequent rebuilding and sailing of a Trekka, a Stratus 747, the Logan GYPSY and a Davidson 31 Tonnant. And that’s just a start…there are accounts and pictures galore from recent MCC events, results, information about next years regatta and so much more.
To get your copy of the yearbook contact the office of the Mahurangi Cruising Club.
It’s the best $20 you could spend!
