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September 2019

FROM THE QUARTERDECK A REPORT FROM THE REAR COMMODORE BLAIR CLIFFE

Well despite it being winter Emma and I have sailed a few miles since I last wrote to you all. We sailed with Mark and Jude Clough along with their son Will to Tonga. We had been considering getting our boat to Cat 1 to sail up for some winter sunshine

ourselves but time away was not easily available and I had to take a deep breath once I sat down and worked out the cost of Cat 1 for our Cavalier 39 'Hautere'.

So I was moaning about this to Mark one day and he said well why don't you come with us. Well we didn't need to be asked twice and quickly agreed. Over the summer months Mark prepared the boat and I am sure more than once saw that comment on the EFTPOS machine 'Declined, you have spent enough on your boat'. I promised to help lots and, in the end, only helped a bit, he didn't seem too upset. We were determined to ensure we were all prepared for the trip and Emma and Jude enrolled on the sea survival course, which I think they enjoyed but Shane the instructor being a salty old seadog from way back took the opportunity to 'swing the lamp' and 'spin a few dits' which had their hair

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curling a bit! It gave them extra food for thought about whether they really wished to go on such a silly trip. We planned a few weekends to go out onboard Kiss and practice our watchkeeping routine, sail overnight, do some sail changing and reefing and practice our man overboard drills. Well every weekend we went out there was little or no wind. Putting reefs in and putting up the storm jib in 5kn of wind got us a few funny looks. The culmination of this seagoing preparation had us motoring down the harbour one Sat morning in fog so thick we could barely see much further than the bow, practice for restricted vis anyway. Nice to have the AIS so we could track the ferries and match up their tracks with their foghorns. By the time we were at Rangi Light gaps were appearing and even some wind and for the rest of the day we sailed very gently out towards Barrier. We were all being very serious and conscientious but by late afternoon with the wind dying and none forecast overnight we gave up, turned around and headed for Rakino where we anchored just before sunset and opened the bar and so ended our preparation. Emma and I had booked the month of July off work and the plan was to get away as soon as we could after the first. Unfortunately, right at this time the biggest anticyclone in the world was sitting to the NE of NZ and therefore we had headwinds to Tonga. We decided to head up to the Bay of Islands and wait for a more favourable breeze. We left on Sat 29th June and a fast, boisterous ride up the coast which was the perfect shakedown for us all I think although it was a bit rougher than necessary. We had a couple of days on a mooring in Russell and then moved to the Marina at Opua where last minute shopping was done, Will joined us and we studied all the wind info we could find. Finally, on Fri 5th the stars and wind aligned, and we were off. We had a couple of days with a pretty stiff breeze and made good ground to the North East and then things died, and we found

ourselves motor sailing a lot to keep ahead of a big soft patch which was threatening to engulf us. We managed to keep ahead of it and eventually picked up a good breeze again. Will needed to get back to NZ to start the new term at Uni so sadly we had to bypass Minerva Reef and headed directly for Nuku'alofa. I had stopped at Minerva Reef once before when crewing for an Aussie family on the way to Fiji and found the whole experience of standing on a rock in the middle of the ocean quite surreal and was looking forward to repeating it. Anyway, hopefully there will be an opportunity to share that with Emma in the future. The last two days we picked up good wind right on the beam and made good speed towards our goal.

Finally, on Friday 12th after 7 days we reached our goal and in low cloud, poor vis and drizzle we made our way down Piha Passage and into the harbour at Nuku'alofa.

The weather was very un-tropical not cold, but it looked like a winter day in Auckland!

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After the usual confusion about where and how we were supposed to check in the formalities were complete and we could open the bar to celebrate our arrival.

We said goodbye to Will who had been great to have onboard, a good sailor who knew the boat and who was more than happy to go forward when needed; a godsend to those of us who moved around the upper deck a bit more carefully than we might have done a few years ago! We pointed the bow North and headed for the Haapai group.

Not many boats, sunshine, whales galore, sandy beaches sums it up I think.

All too soon it was over, and we were there, and it was time to get off and leave Mark and Jude to their adventure, but it was not quite over for us we had a date with Seachange Eco Resort on Uoleva Island. Mark and Jude headed North to Vava'u where although the weather has not been brilliant, they have had a great time with a stream of visitors flying up and they have also caught up with Jan Beydals on Tumua who has also visited friends in Samoa. They will all be beginning to look at the weather maps and think about the passage home about now, I suspect.

Emma teaches a Pilates retreat at the resort with two sessions a day and whale watching being the attractions, the rest of the time is up to you to chill however you see fit. Relaxed we were. Then the final stage was over, and it was time to fly courtesy of one of Royal Tonga's bugsmashers back to Nuku'alofa where we would link up with the Air NZ flight home. But Tangaroa was not done with us yet as on the day of our departure there was low cloud, rain and drizzle; flights all cancelled, no flights Sunday best chance Monday, Oh Bugger more time in

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paradise. Monday saw us in promised Chinese Built bugsmasher complete with sunlight shining in around the door where the seal didn't fit! It creaked and groaned a bit but got us there and eventually we were home. A fantastic month and a great experience and now we have been home for a few weeks enjoying the big wet. The log burner has been getting a smashing trying to restore the tropical heat. Memories it's what we do it for I suppose; the feeling of success with a safe arrival, friendly Tongan people, beautiful beaches, storming through a dark night with no moon at 9 knots, swimming with the whales, amazing sunsets which just kept going on and on, friends new and old.

This weekend Hautere is coming out on the universal cradle and I will be down at the club scrubbing and painting the antifoul and hoping not to find any other work that needs doing. Spring is around the corner and a new season beckons. As for Cat 1 well it might be expensive but how do you put a price on such an adventure so who knows Hautere might find herself heading North in a season or two but meanwhile we have another season of DYC racing to look forward to. See you out there and if you want to give a hand with the antifoul, you'd be very welcome!

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REPORT ON THE 96TH ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING

The meeting this year was held on Tuesday 20th August at the DYC clubrooms 25 King Edward Parade, presided over by President Peter Strathdee and started promptly at 7.30pm. The meeting was well attended with a good range of members present and some twenty members offering apologies. Obituaries were noted for Mike Petricivich, Peter Parsonson and Ian Morgan. The 2018 Annual General Meeting minutes were read and with no matters arising were accepted as a true record of the previous year’s meeting. The Commodore Geoff Evans presented the Commodore’s report where he thanked the many groups that manage the various activities of the club, sailing, haulage and social as well as those who work on tasks that maintain club assets and ensure the smooth operation of the clubhouse and section. Special thanks to our business Manager Kirsty McPherson and her team and Matt !!! and his Platters catering team. Highlights of work completed or in progress includes fixing the halyard on the flag staff during the working bee and ongoing work upgrading the kitchen, which leans heavily on a number of club members with specific skills.

We look forward to progressing planning for activities around the America’s Cup defence in Auckland, completing work upgrading the kitchen and lobbying Auckland Council to upgrade the wharf. Treasurer Grant Daniel presented his report which shows that the club finances remain healthy. However he has done a large amount of work analysing financial records back to 2013, when the records were first electronical stored. This shows a mild trend downwards in profitability over some six years where prices the club charges have remained static but costs have risen incrementally but persistently each year. As a result the General Committee has increased bar prices by a small amount and proposes an increase in subscriptions to be approved by the meeting to take effect in 2020. Other charges namely sailing and haulage will be examined and set before the beginning of next seasons activities. Beside expenditure required to upgrade the kitchen the club must plan for upgrades to some key haulage equipment. The Treasurer’s report was accepted. The proposed new subscription rates for 2020/2021 financial year were approved by the meeting. Family Membership 285.00 Ordinary Membership 250.00 Family Associate Membership 180.00 Individual Associate Membership 160.00 Junior Membership 25.00 Country Membership 135.00 Veteran Family 157.50 Veteran Ordinary 135.00 Veteran Country 85.00

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Election of officers followed with the following results: Patron - Pipa, Lady Blake President - Peter Strathdee Commodore - Geoff Evans Vice Commodore - Hugh Pollock Rear Commodore - Blair Cliffe Treasurer - Grant Daniel Sailing Master - Andy Mason Haulage Master - Nigel Wilson Clubhouse Captain - Tony Bullard Site Manager - Ken Smith Bar Manager - Tim Ridge Communications Manager - Geoff Evans Social Manager - Emma Cliffe Management Committee Mark Clough Rhys Cole Peter Evans Hugh Maguire Auditor Honorary Solicitor - Don Hounsell Safety Officer -Kevin Johnson There were no proposals for rule amendments In general business there was discussion around a number of topics:

• A rule change to change the ratio of Full to Associate members from the existing 45% to 49% or possibly 65%

• A special America’s Cup membership • The use of Club Forum’s which have

not been held for some time to get feedback from general members

• Polling those leaving the club as to why. It was noted that registration letters often gave reasons which sometimes indicated dissatisfaction but was usually around moving out of the area or no longer needing the club services.

• A question of dogs in the clubhouse was raised. The committee has approved this except for when meals are being served and the meeting showed no appetite for change.

• Questions were asked about members and their guests with concern expressed at strangers walking in off the street. All members are reminded that guests must be signed in and the member must stay with their guest while they are at the club.

• Members cards will be required to be presented at the bar to get members prices. This is currently required and after a trial period will be enforced strictly.

There were no formal motions offered.

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COMMODORE’S REPORT ON THE 96TH ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING

1. Special thanks to the management committee. They’re an excellent team to work with. We’ve managed the club successfully for the last year. A hearty thanks to Peter Strathdee, our president who has attended most of our committee meetings, providing advice and guidance. Thanks to my fellow flag officers, vice commodore Hugh Pollock and rear commodore Blair Cliffe who have provided great support. A special thanks to the club officers and committee members (point out the team).

2. Thanks to our sailing master Andy Mason and the Sailing committee we have had another successful sailing season. As Tash Strong stated last year, yachting is our core activity, our reason for being. With good management and good calls Andy and team have run an enjoyable sailing programme, with a good range of events, good fleets providing members with a lot of fun. My favourite must be the cruising races, a fab way to get on the water, stay overnight in Hauraki Gulf anchorages and share a good BBQ on the beach. It’s been good to see newcomers to the fleet and new crew. One of the highlights was the Rocky Bay Race, which present plenty of challenges. And it’s good to see the increase in offshore sailing with more club yachts escaping the winter and heading up to the Pacific. Inspiring.

3. Andy and the Sailing Committee ran yet another very successful prize giving continuing the format of last year: one of the highlights was the certificates of recognition of service for Bill and Bill and one we didn’t present was to Martin Foster who was ill on the night (present tonight).

4. Thanks to Emma Cliffe and the social committee for managing the social events programme throughout the year and which continue our yachting focus…the highlight for jane and myself would have to be the Rocky Bay Ball.

5. Particular thanks go to Grant Daniel, the treasurer, who has managed our financial resources with skill and integrity. In addition, he spent much of the year managing the club membership, so it was much to his relief this is now managed by Stuart Smith who signed on as secretary in May. As you’ll hear in Grant’s Treasurers Report - the fact that membership subs, fees and bar prices haven’t sufficiently kept pace with rising costs, and the need to maintain sustainability (in providing for depreciation) means we will be calling for an increase in subscriptions and some other charges. In a moment Grant will explain why in more detail. It’s also pleasing to report our membership continues to grow. We started the year with ---- and now have 360 members. This is generally not the case other yacht clubs.

6. Thanks to Nigel Wilson and the haulage team we have 28 yachts on the hard this year. Special thanks to Paul Walter who managed haulage operations while Nigel was overseas. It’s always good to see the teamwork and skill …a delight to passers-by. Haulage is a big call on our R&M spending; with over $7k spent replacing the wheels for the carriage on the eastern slip; this is just the beginning.

7. The clubhouse has been ably managed by Tony Bullard, juggling maintenance, security cameras, upgrading cabling, managing compliance issues and is involved in a project to renovate the kitchen… likely to a big capital spend. We’re hoping to involve Mark Sigglekow (project management) and Karen Webster (with fund raising skills). In the next few weeks Peter Evans hopes to be redecorating the hall.

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8. Our site master Ken Smith has kept the fixtures and fittings and the yard in good shape. He has managed two very successful working bees in the year, including encouraging the team that scaled the flagstaff to repair the flag hoists. Nelson Webster and the flag raising team are once again able to hoist the flags in the appropriate way ---ship shape and Bristol fashion (Blair is pleased!)

9. There’s been considerable change in DYC Communications – with the retirement of webmaster Maurice Alderwick, and newsletter editor Kathleen Riley, and soon Don Mason who has been the yearbook publisher. In the meantime, the commodore has been coping with newsletters, the latest news weekly emails (using mail chimp) and website is being redeveloped. We’re looking for some help in this department!

10. We’ve had some excellent presentations at our monthly DYC Seatalks which are well supported, and much appreciated. It’s rewarding to hear our presenters share their expertise, experience and passions.

11. And a special cheers to our bar manager Tim Ridge and to bookings and bar staff business manager Kirsty McPherson who has continued to successfully manage the clubhouse bookings, events and the bar staff, and thanks to our caterer Matt and his team from Platters which provide such good fare every Friday. (Flowers for Kirsty?)

12. Some of the issues we expect to be facing in the coming year include our planning for the America’s Cup; pushing ahead with the kitchen renovations; pushing for Auckland Council to renovate the wharf, and for Treasurer in boosting our revenue and getting more participation in our round the buoys racing, eg the Duder Cup.

13. And thanks to all of you for coming along to our AGM and for your support. The club is on good heart, a tribute to all the team.

Geoff Evans 20 August 2019

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THE SWIPE CARD REPORT

The cards have been going out to paid-up members from early July. There is no intention to change the culture of the Devonport Yacht Club (well not for the worse anyway!) and staff at the bar have been very helpful and friendly. As from

last Thursday the default prices for drinks have been the non-member prices (called ‘function’ prices) and to change to the member pricing the member’s card has to be swiped. Again the bar-staff are helpful – and always friendly – and if a member doesn’t have their card the bar staff use theirs to change the price. There have been a number claiming they have not received their cards (they are posted out) however on inspection it turned out that most of them had not yet paid subs – so the system does work! As at the end of July 13 were using cards and as of today (29 August - pre-bar opening) 54 are using cards. Remember that use with ClubsNZ is felt to be one of the potential major assets of being a DYC member. Each card post-out includes a flyer describing ClubsNZ usage. We would love some feedback on the last point Tim Ridge – Bar Manager (it seems I have regained my old title!) NB Tim Ridge is also one of the most knowledgeable navigators and instructors in NZ. It was Tim that penned article Channels of Wind in last month’s newsletter, and the editor humbly apologises for not including attribution to his article. (oops!)

Above are images of some DYC members visiting MetService in early September.

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SOCIAL EVENTS

This year’s Quiz Night was a great success, and many thanks go to Murray, quizmaster, Sharyn Forbes and to Hoover for marking and supervision. It was a very enjoyable evening.

Next event = The Laying Up Supper 19 October

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STORIES FROM THE PAST Over the coming months I will include some old naval sayings, which will intrigue all and offer an explanation as to their origin.

Did You Know

Fairway - this golfing term has its origins in naval language. It means the clear passage into a harbour, port or river, where there are no hazards and obstacles. It seems that Golf didn't take this term up until the early 20th century.

Preserving Admiral Nelson - One of Nelson's dying wishes was that he not be buried at sea. Therefore, he was placed into a casket about 1.5m high. The body was shaved of hair, the clothes removed, and folded into the cask. Although the myth has it was rum, brandy was used instead due to its medicinal properties. At Gibraltar wine was added as Nelson's body had absorbed some of the brandy. The cask arrived in England in December 1805 and Nelson was laid to rest in St Paul's Cathedral in January 1806. His casket was lead-lined, filled with brandy mixed with myrrh and camphor.

"It takes three years to build a ship - it takes three centuries to build a tradition" - this was a quote from Admiral Andrew Cunningham RN, commander of the Mediterranean Fleet in 1941 when it was proposed that he should withdraw his warships from the waters around Crete due to the losses incurred by German dive bombers.

Piping the Side - the boatswain's pipe or call was in use at sea in the 13th century. It became a badge of rank and by the 16th century it was the symbol of an Admiral. 100 years later it became a tool for use by quartermasters, boatswain or a coxswain. Piping the side is a mark of naval respect and began in the days of sail when a commanding officer would visit another ship at sea. As he was hauled aboard from his longboat suspended in a chair, the boatswain would pipe orders to the men hauling the rope.

CR Leech ED*

Past Commodore

LIBRARY We have benefited over the years from the kindness and generosity of members and their families who have donated books with a maritime theme so that today we have a magnificent library. // These books may be borrowed for a limited period on an honesty basis. Please return promptly and keep the shelves tidy. // Should any require repair contact: Colin Tubbs ph 4451647 // recent additions from the families of Wally Carter and the late Ken Smith have been gratefully received. (Tubbs)

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SPONSORSHIP REQUESTS FROM EMMA "The club is looking for businesses to sponsor 2019 -2020 races. This includes a by-line on each page of the DYC Handbook for the race(s) sponsored and an invitation to present the prizes at the Prizegiving at the end of the year. The Handbook is distributed to all club members. For further information please contact Emma Cliffe, Social Officer on 021 172 8454 or emmaaw@me.com”

BOOK REVIEW CASTAWAY. By Robert Macklin. Softback, 154mm x 235mm, 320 pages. Black & White Photographs. 0.43kg. Published 2019 The astonishing, extraordinary and unknown survival story of Narcisse Pelletier - a French cabin boy shipwrecked in 1858 on the coast on Cape York in Far North Queensland.

In 1858, fourteen-year-old French cabin boy Narcisse Pelletier was aboard the trader Saint-Paul when it was wrecked off the eastern tip of New Guinea. Drawing from first hand interviews with Narcisse after his return to France and other contemporary accounts of exploration and survival, and documenting the spread of European settlement in Queensland and the brutal frontier wars that followed, Robert Macklin weaves an unforgettable tale of a young man caught between two cultures in a time of transformation and upheaval.

NZ$42.00