FACES & PLACES

SERVICE TO YACHTING YACHTING HONOURED HONOURED

Rear Commodore (Power) at Bucklands Beach Yacht Club, Wayne Huang, has been awarded a Yachting New Zealand Service Award and although the awards dinner and ceremony had to be cancelled due to Covid19 restrictions, a YouTube presentation has highlighted his excellence in this domain.

Acknowledged for his dedication to developing awareness and participation in boating in the wider community, Wayne is one of several award recipients whose achievements and dedication to the sport at local and club level has been commended.

He was nominated for the award by the Bucklands Beach Yacht Club Commodore, Sara Poore, who said she was delighted Wayne had been recognised for the work he is doing in helping BBYC communicate with the wider community.

“Wayne has taken our percentage of Asian folk learning to sail from zero to 4 percent of members; his enthusiasm and give it a go attitude has been inspiring.”

Now in his third term as a Rear Commodore (power), Wayne has long been committed to raising awareness of, and participation in, yachting and boating across New Zealand including within the Asian community. “I am very honoured to be recognised by such a prestigious organisation as Yachting New Zealand but I have always considered it a privilege to serve at BBYC and beyond. The club has truly supported my endeavours to bring other cultures into the sailing community. I love helping our community to access, learn and enjoy success on the water.”

New Zealand has produced, and continues to produce, outstanding sailors who have achieved some amazing feats on the world stage. In light of this, The Yachting Excellence Awards recognises distinction in sailing from Optimists through to offshore boats.

Wayne Huang.

Previous winners of the top Sir Bernard Fergusson Trophy for the Sailor of the Year include Sir Peter Blake, Barbara Kendall, Peter Burling and Blair Tuke, Sir Russell Coutts, Jo Aleh and Polly Powrie, Bruce Farr, and Emirates Team New Zealand.

As the awards dinner was unable to take place, Wayne recently held an outdoor barbecue with friends (within Covid-19 guidelines) to celebrate his honour and enjoy the Whitford Bird Park which he owns. EastLife photographer WAYNE MARTIN called in to record the event. 1

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1: Fiona Ji, Sara Poore and Wayne Huang; 2: Merry Zhan, Henry Fan; 3: Evelien van Vliet, Andrew Laing; 4: Jenson Gilmore, Andy Gilmore, Auda Finan and Ken Davie.

Best wishes for 2022

FROM DAVID AND SHARON STEWART