Cannon roars for delayed Opening Day

FROM THE CEO

After more than three months of the club being physically shut and operating in virtual mode, we are finally there! We re-opened the doors to members again on Friday the December 3 and we can also go racing again.

The annual cannon fire for the start of the summer season was only a couple of months late on the 3rd and it was great to see this finally happen. Following a full house for the first day of the re-open, we had our iconic Friday afternoon Havana Club Rum Race followed by more than a few rums in the dinghy locker by many. It was great to see.

I can’t say it has been easy. Like many clubs and businesses around the country (more so in Auckland), we have felt the huge impact of Covid 19 in many ways. We are lucky to have such great staff and a Committee that kept things going throughout, with plenty of enthusiasm for new ideas, online events and planning various projects for when we re-opened – without knowing when that might have been.

We have cut costs and raised funds to minimise the financial impact as much as possible. I now hate the word “pivot”, but we did plenty of it, and will keep doing this throughout the changes operationally in the various traffic light stages the government has introduced. Please be patient and understanding while we work through these, as they are certainly not the way we would want to operate normally in order to deliver good service to our members, but we will make it work.

Under the RED traffic light system there are some essential things for you to be aware of: • All members and their guests must be vaccinated to enter the facility or use the RNZYS vessels. • All staff (paid or unpaid) must be (and are) vaccinated and wear facemasks if in a close contact role. • You will need to use your COVID tracer on arrival. • You will (at least initially) have your vaccine pass sighted, or scanned at reception, or entering any of the bars or restaurants. • When entering the premises, you will need to wear a face mask. • You do not need to wear a face mask in the food & beverage areas, but it is encouraged. • Our maximum capacity for each separate venue is 100 people with tables spaced 1m apart, and people must be seated and separated for service. • There is no limit to a table / group size. • It is up to individual boat owners to decide if crew need to be vaccinated or not, but they do still need to provide details of those on-board for tracing and can do this via Top Yacht.

As a result of these requirements, we chose to the run the postponed August AGM and following that an SGM (around the AC venue) as a hybrid model of in-person (across two rooms of 100 members) and also on Zoom.

This, in theory, actually gives us the ability to present to more members than we normally could. By the time this goes to print, the AGM and SGM would have taken place, so I don’t know the outcome as I write this.

The Flag Officers, the whole AC Committee and I have put a huge amount of work into trying to resolve and explain the situation around making a decision on the venue, and the consequences of forcing ETNZ to potentially be completely underfunded for a defence, so we hope that common sense prevails and we can get on with being the best yacht club in the world for you.

The cost of the SGM has also been a huge financial burden to the club, with a variety of professional advice required, which is disappointing when we are focused on financial recovery from Covid 19 at present.

A huge positive from the AGM was that we inducted a Life Membership to Colin Carran who has given so much to the club over so many years, including many years on the General Committee, most recently chaired the 150th Committee.

A Service Award went to Richard Wingfield, who again has given so much time and energy in the various roles he has performed (and still does) for us. Over the last few years he has been very involved in the America’s Cup Committee and acts as our Cup Custodian. Another club hero who works tirelessly as a volunteer for all of us.

Entries opened for the 37th America’s Cup and immediately there were a number of confirmed entries, which is brilliant to see. More to come in this story and I really must thank the AC Committee and in particular the Flag Officers, who have put a huge amount of time and energy into getting things this far. I cannot stress enough how difficult this has been for the club to deal with this time around, with various agendas at play throughout. I guess it wouldn’t be the America’s Cup without a drama or two!

Our Corporate Regatta had to be postponed until March 2022, but we still ran the fundraising auction and as a result contributed $40k to our Kawau tree planting project and $10k to our International Sailing Fund. We now look forward to raising a similar amount in March with the proportion of proceeds changed around for that one.

Thank you to the many people who bid, and also to the sponsors and members who provided some amazing items to auction off. We still encourage you to get involved in our Kawau project, which is now completed for this year at least and will resume next winter for more planting. The amazing new deck at Lidgard House is also now complete amongst other projects on Kawau Island.

We have a lot to fit in before Christmas Day and the summer is now full to the brim with various on and off water events for you to be involved in, as we have also moved postponed items into the few free dates we had open, or combined them into other events already planned. So support your club, get involved, bring some friends and enjoy what we have on offer.

This year we will close down only for a short period from December 26 (after an amazing Christmas Day lunch) and re-open on January 5.

Best wishes for the Festive Season, enjoy the sunshine, and we hope to see many of you over the summer break period on the water, or at the club.

Hayden Porter CEO

Whitehaven 7000 Flybridge All New for 2022

Cannon master Gerald Flynn (left) stands by while Commodore Aaron Young lights the fuse to officially open the delayed summer Sailing Season

Cannon roars for Covid-delayed Opening Day

After the restrictions of a protracted Covid lockdown, an air of relief and release hovered over the much-delayed Opening Day celebrationson Friday, December 3.

A group of RNZYS members gathered at the flagstaff, while cannon master, Gerald Flynn, made the required preparations and precautions to ensure the health and safety of all concerned and Commodore Aaron Young did the honours.

Immediately following the annual pyrotechnics, Gerald turned his immediate attention to cleaning the cannon and returning it to its customary place in the RNZYS foyer, while members scattered to their boats to head out on the water.

As the RNZYS Race Committee manned the Westhaven starting tower, the Havana Club Rum Race fleet jockeyed for position in the shadow of the Harbour Bridge for the first