our place
The history of Titirangi’s own yacht club
Above: French Bay beach on a crowded sailing day. Below: Club members building the reclamation at French Bay.
The thriving sailing club at the bottom of Otitori Bay Road in French Bay, Titirangi has a history that reflects how our city, and community, has developed over the last century. The origins of organised sailing at French Bay hark back to August 1891, when the Manukau Sailing Club was formed in the bay. Boating and sailing was a huge part of the lives of Aucklanders, both for recreation and for transport. On the Manukau, a wide range of vessels criss-crossed the harbour, ferrying goods and people every day, but the idea of enjoying the water for sport and recreation intensified through the first half of the 20th century. French Bay Yacht Club itself was founded in 1956, in a small building on the western side of the beach, and, as in many other beach communities around Auckland, it became the heart and soul of its local community. “In those days there was no LynnMall, no cinemas or cafés, few overseas holidays and few other recreational opportunities,” says commodore Allan Geddes. “People sailed. They built boats, looked after them, sailed them, and socialised together at the club before and after sailing. The Club was at the centre of everything for many people, whether sailors or not.” By 1964 membership hadn’t slowed down, and the sandy beach was getting over-crowded with sailing boats – often to the detriment of bathers. It was clear the club needed more space. Plans were drafted not only for a new club house, but for the reclamation area on the western end of the beach, to provide space for boat storage and rigging. The princely sum of $15,000 was needed to make it happen and a massive fundraising project ensued: carnivals, sausage sizzles, bottle drives and even building P-Class dinghies to raffle off at shopping centres. In the end, bottle drives raised the majority of funds and convoys of cars and trailers were often seen
travelling through the local area, scrounging for stashes of bottles to collect and return. A loan from the Auckland Harbour Board and a Golden Kiwi Grant topped off the budget, albeit at a reduced level of $11,000. To get the project across the line, most of the manual work for the build of the clubhouse was done by club members, who spent their weekends and evenings for many months undertaking the backbreaking chores of forming concrete foundations and building retaining walls. Since it reopened – with much fanfare including a circus elephant – French Bay Yacht Club has continued to provide decades of sailing opportunities. The club has been through its ups and downs, the most notable being around 15 years ago when it was down to just a handful of members and nearly defunct. But just as the volunteers put their backs into building the club from the foundations upwards in the 1960s, volunteers once again put a tremendous amount of energy into fundraising, building membership, maintaining and upgrading the heritage clubhouse, and running sailing events, to bring the club back into focus as a sailing club to be taken seriously and one that is contributing to its community. “Today, the club remains a volunteer-run sailing club that is at the heart of the Titirangi community. It is still a place where the community – sailors and land lubbers alike – congregate for a wide range of reasons, whether that be sailing, yoga, celebrations or food markets,” says Allan Geddes. In 2010 it was recognised with a special commendation by Yachting New Zealand for such a successful turnaround and the club is still regarded as one of the most successful ‘grassroots’ sailing clubs in the country, giving all ages the opportunity to hit the water, and even producing occasional national champions! Sailing fever is high right around New Zealand with the 36th America’s Cup due to be raced in less than 12 months and in French Bay, on any sailing day when the tide is high at the right time of day, you’ll see the deck and reclamation scattered with sailing dinghies, and sailors aged from seven through to 77 in a hive of activity getting ready to enjoy the joy of the Manukau Harbour. “If you’d like a trip down memory lane, you are very welcome to visit us – our sailing calendar is published on www.frenchbay.org.nz. Come down on a sailing day and say hello,” says Allan.
Linda Cooper
Councillor for Waitakere O 6 P M | S AT & S U N 9 A M T O FRI 9AM T 5PM MON -
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