Well, it feels like Summer is still hanging on with the warm days, just the morning starts are a bit cool. Still nice out on the water though.

BBQ Cruises

The last couple of club BBQ cruises have been a great success with an enthusiastic turnout of yachts and launches. Nice to see so many club members out together enjoying the bay.

BOI sailing Week

Bay of Islands Sailing Week was a great success despite low entries and wild weather. Plans to put the entertainment area on the grass had to be abandoned for fear of the tents blowing away and race courses had to be adjusted to keep the boats in more sheltered areas, but it was certainly lively sailing, even being unable to see the top mark because the rain was so torrential. Very unique and a good fun sail.

Annual Sandbank Cricket

This month, on March 28th, is our annual Otehei Bay / Sandbank cricket weekend. Good fun event last year. We took some sailing dinghies out and had a great round robin challenge with a BBQ afterwards. It’s a great fun family day out. High tide is 11.00, so action should start around 1400 hrs as the tide falls. More updates to follow.

F&P Interclub Race

The Fisher and Paykel Interclub race between Russell Boating Club and OCC was this past weekend. OCC was down on numbers, probably due to the morning rain, but Blue Dude, Kantime, Farr South and California Kiwi fronted up against 8 boats, mostly Etchells from Russell.

Kantime was second, 38 seconds behind the winning Etchell, Farr South was 6th and Blue Dude was 11th. California Kiwi, unfortunately, had to retire.
We are behind on points now, so are going to have to put in a supreme effort and get our game up for the next event on the 18th April.

Trans Tasman Challenge

The build up for the OCC Single Handed Trans Tasman challenge is increasing with all the local entrants well-focused on preparing their yachts. The race is still looking for a major sponsor but just recently received a generous contribution from the Major Event Boost Fund, an initiative driven by MBIE to support events such as this race.

Julie Kidman is doing an amazing job bringing things together with lots of pre-race activities planned in the club and on the main wharf 2 weeks prior to the race start on the 30th May.

So far 22 boats have entered, some coming from Australia and a large number as members of OCC.

Sword Fish Club Open

Nice to see the new Sword Fish Club is finally open. It’s great for Opua to have another dining option and it should bring a lot more people into the area. It has also been encouraging that we have had lots of comments reinforcing the value and quality of dining and drinking at OCC and we want tp thank everyone for their support.

Wedding Venue Competition

Lucie, our amazing communications guru, has been running an online ‘Win a Wedding Venue’ competition with the intention of promoting the club for these types of events. So far, we’ve had a great response with over 30 entrants and the interest the club is getting online has seen a real spike.

We are trying to utilise the place more, so if you are having a birthday party/wedding, please consider the club as an option.

Yachting NZ

We recently had an informative meeting with Steve Armitage, the new CEO of Yachting NZ. Steve admits he has no boating experience but comes from a background of business and hospitality. Travelling the country, he has been made well aware of the changing yacht club environment and that the majority of members are non-sailors. Something all clubs have been voicing concern about for a long time. He is keen to prioritise what YNZ does for its member clubs and we are looking forward to any updates.

Upcoming Events

Hopefully we are going to have Becks Hornell in the club one night soon to tell us about her recent Round the World record sail. We’ll let everyone know once a date is set, its going to be a great story. We also have Charlotte Jones playing again on Sat 14th, so get your dancing shoes polished up!

Happy boating, see you on the water.

Terry Dunn – OCC Commodore