By Airwaves Writer at-large, Sara Morgan Watters
After a 23 hour journey to Wellington, New Zealand just over a month ago, I was welcomed to the country’s capital city by overcast conditions and, as promised, a strong summer breeze. Some people compare windy Wellington, as it is known, to San Francisco for consistent and breezy conditions. Additionally, I can personally attest to the steep San Francisco like hills, since I walk up one every day and can justify it as a short work out.
As I am settling into my new Kiwi life I have been keen to get involved in some New Zealand sailing, arguably the best in the world. As summer is wrapping up here, the high sailing season is coming to a close. So, trying to get the most out of my one month of summer I’ll get this year, I’ve been hard at work familiarizing myself with what the sport has to offer here in Wellington. So, what have I learned so far?
1. No one wears shoes!
It seems silly, but going barefoot is totally acceptable in supermarkets, stores, university classes, the street and yacht clubs! Perhaps this is so shocking because isn’t the number 1 rule of any junior sailing program in the U.S. to wear closed toed shoes at all times? Well, here bare feet around the club or while sailing is just the way it is. Are we just overly cautious in the U.S. or do New Zealanders end up with a lot more stubbed toes?
2. Everyone gets involved in sailing
Club members are very active at the three main clubs around Wellington. At Worser Bay Yacht Club (WBYC), a 10 minute drive out of the city center, you have a very community, family friendly oriented club, while still maintaining its competitive edge. On Saturday mornings, there are Opti, laser, Starling and P Class racing, the later two fleets being an alternative junior racing boat for kids just out of the Optimist or adults who are still the right size. Senior racing takes place after lunch, although you’ll often find a younger junior sailor hanging off the wire catching a ride on their parents boat. Some of the clubs’ more weekend based sailors will go out on the water for a casual rip around the bay on The New Zealand 12ft Skiff, not your average cruising boat.
Evans Bay Yacht & Motor Boat Club is another active club just five minutes from the city center which has social cruising division racing, competitive weekend dingy racing for sailors of all ages, hosts high school teams, learn to sail programs, and national and international regattas. Every Saturday there are opportunities to compete in trapeze and non-trapeze dinghies, Javelin Skiff (another New Zealand native skiff), Paper tiger (single-handed catamaran), among other classes. With a very fairly priced snack/bar area, there is plenty of socialization after racing – an important part of any club. On Sundays you can join the Development Squad or Learn to Sail Programs and try your skills on a boat you’ve never sailed before. Or if you are a slightly less experienced sailor you can just work on getting better. As you can see, there are lots of opportunities.
Under 21 year olds who are keen to do more competitive keel boat or match racing might be more likely to sail out of Wellington’s closest venue, Royal Port Nicholson Yacht Club, just a few minutes walk from downtown. There, youth sailors can train on the Wellington Youth Match Racing Development Squad, a feeder into the Under 21 Squad, which competes at major national and international match racing events.
3. When they go sailing, they do it in a lot of wind!
It is important to imagine these three clubs operating all the weekend activities in one of the world’s most consistently windy venues. When skiff sailors go out for a cruise on Saturdays, there is nothing leisurely about it. Or if you are taking advantage of the learn to sail program, you are most likely learning to sail in perpetually windy conditions. As a result, there is a significant shift in the perception of what a windy day is really like. When I think of a windy day I think of sailing in 18-20 knots. When a Kiwi thinks of a windy day, they might be thinking more in the 25-30 knot range.
4. Everyone Volunteers
Probably the most impressive feature of the sailing taking place at these clubs is that the people running it are mostly all volunteers! Sailors often regard volunteering time as part of being a member of the club. For example, at the start of the year at WBYC rosters are drawn up for Race Officer (Junior/Senior), lunch duty, and bar duty so everyone has a turn. Managing the different classes, choosing a day to set courses or act as the safety boat are all a part of being an active member. Members of the club also typically serve on National management committees for the classes they compete in.
From my experiences in the last month, both in the sailing community and out, Kiwis are very friendly, open people who make it easy to fit in. New Zealand, after all, is a very multicultural country so it is no surprise that I’ve felt so welcomed. So, I ask myself, are the sailing communities in the U.S. as bare feet going, passionate about sailing, and unquestionably willing to give back?
With rain and wind for the last six of the seven days, I’ve been told this is the official start of winter. As summer is just around the corner in the northern hemisphere, New Zealand is shifting into its winter season. Let’s see what there is to offer over these next few months. Stay tuned!
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