Kids Fishing Competition at Opua Wharf
The Biggest Race Ever – and It’s Coming to Opua!
With just days to go before entries close, we’re excited to share some incredible news — the 2026 Solo Trans-Tasman Yacht Challenge will feature a record-breaking fleet of EIGHTEEN skippers!
This makes the upcoming event the largest in the race’s proud history, surpassing the previous record of seventeen boats set way back in 1986. Nearly forty years ago, Bullfrog Sunblock skippered by Ian Johnston took line honours in six days and eight hours, while Alby Burgin’s Alstar claimed the fastest monohull in eight days and eleven hours.
Now, the challenge continues with a new course, new faces, and a new record waiting to be written — and Opua will be at the heart of it all. With sixteen monohulls and two multihulls on the start line, the 2026 fleet promises close racing, diverse designs, and plenty of stories to unfold.
This is a major event for Opua Cruising Club and our local community, bringing international attention and visiting sailors from across New Zealand, Australia, and beyond. It’s a chance for us all to celebrate ocean racing, showcase our beautiful Bay of Islands, and get involved in something truly special.
Richard Grant fresh from the two-handed Melbourne Osaka race one of the Australians who has entered for his next short handed sailing challenge.
Race Entrants (as of 21 October 2025):
With several Opua Cruising Club members among the entrants, this truly is our race — a chance to cheer on our sailors and show off the warmth and hospitality that make Opua special.
Get involved
The 2026 Solo Trans-Tasman Yacht Challenge will bring a full week of celebrations, visiting yachts, and events to the Bay of Islands. There will be lots of opportunities to get involved — from helping with race operations to volunteering during the race village week.
If you’d like to be part of this historic event, get in touch with the Race Management Team to find out how you can help.
And there could still be more to come. Entries close 25 October 2025, with late entries accepted until the end of March 2026.
Let’s make this one to remember — Opua, the home of the biggest Solo Trans-Tasman fleet ever!
Keep up with the race news on the event website – www.solo-tasman.co.nz
Contact race management race@transtasmanchallenge.org
Pomare Bouy
At last, we have Pomare buoy back in the water. Many thanks to Gary Ardern for much help and supply of chain and shackles. We also moved Oyster buoy a bit closer to where it originally was before Kantime took it on a little cruise. At half tide both are in 4.5mtrs of water so anything above that will be ok for A Division.
Happy Sailing!
Cheese & Cheers Evening – 1st Nov.
6.30pm Saturday 1st November – join us for an evening of tasting local cheeses, wines, beer and sausages.
There will be a range of New Zealand wines from amongst others Villa Maria, Beers from Phat House, Cheeses from Mahoe and handmade sausages from our very own Galley Bistro. The focus will be on tasting locally produced artisan products. Join us for a fun evening of food, entertainment, games and prizes.
Tickets are just $10 per person. Places are limited, so please book early to avoid disappointment.
BBQ in the Bay
Our first BBQ in the Bay is fast approaching on Sunday 19th of October. The destination will be chosen hopefully by Wednesday 15th and it will be posted on the OCC Racing WhatsApp Page and on the blackboard outside OCC.
If the weather is suitable Long Beach at Russell is a likely destination, as people can get there by car if their boats are not yet ready for action. The Club BBQ will be fired up by 1pm and with low water at 1.48pm there will be plenty of space on the beach for fun and games, and the incoming tide will return us to Opua later in the afternoon – what could possibly go wrong 🙂
Any queries, please don’t hesitate to call me on 0277126898. Hope to see you there.
Cheers, Ian Templeman
Why so windy this spring?
Why so windy this spring?
Bay of Islands wind and barometer over past month…..
From climatereanalyzer.org/clim/sst_daily/
There has been a SSW (sudden stratospheric warming) in Antarctica. The following notes are from www.weatherzone.com.au/news
The polar vortex extends from the surface up to the stratosphere. The stratospheric polar vortex sits about 10 to 50 km above Earth’s surface and over the pole. This section of the polar vortex is strong and typically shaped like a circle or oval. Beneath it lies the tropospheric polar vortex which affects weather patterns by changing the shape and behaviour of the polar jet stream.
MetBob. Bob McDavitt is the weather guru that uses //etBoB to provide meteorological information for cruising sailors, primarily for those in the South Pacific.
Sudden stratospheric warming
A Sudden Stratospheric Warming (SSW) is a rapid increase in temperature in the polar stratosphere triggered by sinking air. These stratospheric warming episodes can filter downwards through the atmosphere, weaken the polar vortex and allow disturbed westerly winds to spread equator-wards.
The recent SSW is shown in the video below:
This weakened the polar vortex to weaken, allowing the polar jet stream to drag cold air away from Antarctica, and bringing more westerly winds than normal to New Zealand. This can be measured by negative values of the Southern Annular Mode (SAM), I use the AAO (Antarctic Oscillation) as a proxy for SAM and indeed the forecasts in red below are showing it may well be negative next few weeks:
This would make the following conditions more likely in
- More westerly winds= wet over the Southern Alps, hot and dry for Canterbury plains. Squally for Bay of Islands.
So that explains our recent dramatic weather.
Bay of Islands ITM – October’s Sponsor of the Month
We are delighted to spotlight Bay of Islands ITM as Opua Cruising Club’s Sponsor of the Month for October. As part of the wider ITM network – New Zealand’s leading co-operative of independent building supply specialists – Bay of Islands ITM brings trade-grade materials, local knowledge, and a community spirit right here in the mid-north.
What they do
Located at 2 Haruru Falls Road, Haruru, Bay of Islands ITM caters to both tradespeople and DIY enthusiasts with expertise in:
- Building material supplies & advice
- Frame & truss systems
- Pole sheds & structural timber work
They operate Monday to Friday: 7:00 am – 5:00 pm, and Saturday: 8:30 am – 12:30 pm
Why they matter to our community
Bay of Islands ITM is more than just a supplier – they are a local institution. They describe themselves as “the only privately-owned and operated building supplies store in the mid north,” emphasising that they “cater to our tough Trade guys and the DIY’ers … from timber to paint … if we don’t have it, we’ll get it for you.”
Their team brings nearly 250 years of combined building industry experience, giving them the depth to advise on projects of all sizes.
Opua Cruising Club is proud to have Bay of Islands ITM supporting our local sailing community.
For more information visit www.itm.co.nz/stores/bay-of-islands-itm-paihia
Open day a great sucess
The Opua Cruising Club’s Open Day on Sunday couldn’t have asked for better weather – warm, sunny, and just right for being out on the water! The clubhouse was buzzing from the start of the morning, with everyone tucking into delicious breakfasts and catching up with friends old and new. A highlight on shore was the official blessing of the club’s brand-new flagpole, with glasses of ice-cold champagne raised high to mark the occasion and set the tone for a season full of good sailing and good company.
Out on the water, the racing brought plenty of energy and laughter. For our ‘have a go’ guests who had never sailed before, it was an unforgettable introduction to the sport – the mix of sunshine, sea breeze, and the thrill of the race left plenty of wide smiles.
The combination of fun competition, friendly hospitality, and the beautiful Bay of Islands setting made the open day a true celebration of what the Opua Cruising Club is all about.
Quiz night raises over $10K
The OutFit North Fundraiser quiz night at Opua Cruising Club was a resounding success, drawing in a full house of supporters eager to rally behind a worthy cause.
Thanks to the incredible efforts of the organisers (with special thanks to Nadine and her team and Dan the quizmaster) and everyone who took part, over $10,000 was raised in one evening.
The funds will go directly to support three of the club’s much-loved members who are currently battling cancer, offering them practical help and a powerful reminder that they are not facing their fight alone. It was more than just a quiz night – it was an inspiring show of community strength, compassion, and hope.
Introducing RONI
A more indicative measure of ENSO…Introducing RONI
ENSO stands for El Nino- Southern Oscillation
The EN part of this parameter deals with sea temperature. We have been using the sea surface temperature measured in the Nino3-4 area as the parameter for deciding if the atmosphere is being driven by El Nino or La Nino or is in between the two in neutral gear.
The SO part deals with the isobaric pressure difference between Darwin and Tahiti… located on this map:
From climatereanalyzer.org/clim/sst_daily/
MetBob. Bob McDavitt is the weather guru that uses //etBoB to provide meteorological information for cruising sailors, primarily for those in the South Pacific.
However, climate change has been raising the world’s average sea temperate in a roller-coaster fashion
From www.moanaproject.org/marine-heatwave-forecast
o try and remove this trend from the measurements, climatologists in Australia and NZ have introduced a new measure called the RELATIVE OCEANIC NINO INDICIES (RONI).
As seen at https://www.bom.gov.au/climate/enso/
Relative Oceanic Niño indices RONI
RONI measures sea surface temperature anomalies in the Niño regions but mathematically removes any long-term trend found in the tropical region temperature. This helps relate the value more closely to localised processes associated with ENSO, rather than larger-scale tropical SST features such as global warming.
RONI values are scaled to have the same variance as the traditional index. Anything more than 0.8C above normal is in El Niño territory, and anything less than -0.8 is in La Niña territory. This is what REL NINO 3-4 looks like from April 2021to Sep 2025.
It gives a good view of the El Nino in late 23/early 24 and the La Nina of late 24/early 25 and shows a neutral trend in recent data.
The RONI is forecast to have a 55% chance of getting into La Niña territory by the end of the year. It is close to a coin toss, and if it comes down as La Niña then this summer in Northland may be like last summer.