2012 NATIONALS CLARKS BEACH YACHT CLUB

Clarks Beach Yacht Club, 9-11 March
The 2012 Nationals were held at Clarks Beach Yacht Club on the Manukau. A traditional stronghold for the class 23 boats made a welcome return to the tidal waters at the beach with many competitors electing to camp around the clubhouse over the three day event.
Clarks Beach Yacht Club turned on their traditional hospitality and fed us like kings. The club organization was superb as was the race management, rescue teams, catering, and sponsors prizes.
The AGM was held on the Friday night with discussion mainly revolving around what we can do to promote the class more effectively now that we have builders secured for new boats. It's a special year for the Jollyboat class this year and marks 25th anniversary of the design. A number of initiatives were mentioned including but not limited to an annual Jolly Junior regatta targeting teenagers, Boat Shows , road trips and combining with other classes for regattas. The minutes will be posted onto this website in due course.
But on to the racing ...
Throughout the regatta it was great to see the kids racing with and without adults and the formula that makes our class so interesting to sail in working well.
Friday saw the fleet afloat for three races and a shake down in the rankings as competitors woke up to the fact that there was a chance for glory with last year's World Champ Mark Orams away in Brisbane chasing a World title in the Laser Radial. Simon Paul took over as guest jockey in his boat "Sublime" to form the third man in what turned out to be a very competitive Torbay SC team.
Race 1 was won by Mark Winters in the recently resored Weapon, brought back to full race mode with all the tricky bits by Roger at the Jollyboat Shop. Colin put in a fine performance and came second. Race 2 saw Matt Hall-Smith take line honours from Graham in "Peppermint Planet". Race 3 was again a Maraetai afair with Bill Hewitt taking the gun from Mark followed by Fergus in "Dry Reach". Mr. consistency, and French Bay's newest recruit Mike Candy lead the fleet at the end of day one after a 5th, a 3rd, and a 4th.
The breeze kept the tents flapping overnight but dried up on Saturday where many hours were spent watching the waters of the Manukau slip by as planes passed overhead en route to Auckland Airport. Eventually our diligent race team got a start off and this race was won by Mark Winters, from Bill and another fine performance from Fergus to come home 3rd. The second race of the day saw Matt leading until the final turning mark where the race was abandoned due to the failing breeze and ebb tide that was sucking the fleet out towards the Tasman Sea.
Some very exciting white knuckle tows home for the fleet ensued. JC perhaps showed the best form of the day after coaxing Fergus to race him to the beach he copped a flier across the liquid himalayas of the ebb flow and after that 'experiment' was last to reach the beach for a beer.
Mark and Bill from Maraetai were at the pointy end of the points table on Saturday night leading into a great evening at the clubhouse. After another spectacular feed and strong rumours flowing that the boys from Maraetai had gone on a date with the Mermaid (might just have been their last!) Clarks Beach fired up their cocktail machine. No half measures here. None of your electric rubbish. To do the job properly an engine is required. Armed with the appropriate ingredients which included rare fruit and even rarer rum, the moreporks were silenced when a converted leaf blower sprang into life in deafening fashion ... topped with a blender. Gentlemen, that's how it's done.
Sunday dawned with the Mermaid's reputation intact (the boys had actually been to the speedway). There was also a nice breeze in train on the race course. FBYC's team coffee made a difference, and it was Matt's day after some close fought battles with Colin in "Icy Red" and Blair in "The F-Word" he pulled off three wins to seal the Single Handed title and the World Cup.
Colin and Ben took out the Two Handed title and this win contributed to Maraetai Sailing Club keeping the coveted Munted Mermaid. The result was close and the writing is on the wall for Maraetai to mount a serious defence next year as Torbay and French Bay are catching up. Next year's Mermaid will be bigger than the America's Cup.
A special thanks to Neil and Peter from the Clarks Beach for their excellent organisation of the event and also to all the afloat and ashore crews, Kim and Murray for the on the water co-ordination and race management,and the lovely ladies who prepared dinner and lunches.
Overall winner: Matt Hall-Smith (J155 'Monkeychunks')
Most Heinous Acts of Piracy Awards
Honourable mentions:
Youngest girl: Amelia Marlow (J144 ‘Wind Warrior’)
Oldest competitor: Don McBeth (J56 ‘Saracen’)
Youngest combined crew: William and Emilia Marlow (J57 ‘Blue Hull’).
Single Handed Division & Overall
1st Matt Hall-Smith J155 Monkeychunks French Bay Yacht Club 2nd Blair Gerrard J157 The F Word Torbay Sailing Club 3rd Mark Winters J118 Weapon Maraetai Sailing Club Double Handed
1st Colin Brocas & Ben Beasley J120 Icy Red Maraetai Sailing Club 2nd William & Emilia Marlow J57 Blue Hull Clarks Beach Yacht Club 3rd Adrian France & Leon Teao J70 Jedi Ngaroto Yacht Club Handicap Division
1st Rene van der Voort J51 Justification French Bay Yacht Club 2nd David Mattson J107 Plan B Maraetai Sailing Club 3rd Simon Paul J113 Sublime Torbay Sailing Club Munted Mermaid Team Trophy
1st Maraetai Sailing Club 13 Points 2nd Torbay Sailing Club 15 Points 3rd French Bay Yacht Club 17 Points 4th Clarks Beach Yacht Club 58 Points
The 2012 Nationals were held at Clarks Beach Yacht Club on the Manukau. A traditional stronghold for the class 23 boats made a welcome return to the tidal waters at the beach with many competitors electing to camp around the clubhouse over the three day event.
Clarks Beach Yacht Club turned on their traditional hospitality and fed us like kings. The club organization was superb as was the race management, rescue teams, catering, and sponsors prizes.
The AGM was held on the Friday night with discussion mainly revolving around what we can do to promote the class more effectively now that we have builders secured for new boats. It's a special year for the Jollyboat class this year and marks 25th anniversary of the design. A number of initiatives were mentioned including but not limited to an annual Jolly Junior regatta targeting teenagers, Boat Shows , road trips and combining with other classes for regattas. The minutes will be posted onto this website in due course.
But on to the racing ...
Throughout the regatta it was great to see the kids racing with and without adults and the formula that makes our class so interesting to sail in working well.
Friday saw the fleet afloat for three races and a shake down in the rankings as competitors woke up to the fact that there was a chance for glory with last year's World Champ Mark Orams away in Brisbane chasing a World title in the Laser Radial. Simon Paul took over as guest jockey in his boat "Sublime" to form the third man in what turned out to be a very competitive Torbay SC team.
Race 1 was won by Mark Winters in the recently resored Weapon, brought back to full race mode with all the tricky bits by Roger at the Jollyboat Shop. Colin put in a fine performance and came second. Race 2 saw Matt Hall-Smith take line honours from Graham in "Peppermint Planet". Race 3 was again a Maraetai afair with Bill Hewitt taking the gun from Mark followed by Fergus in "Dry Reach". Mr. consistency, and French Bay's newest recruit Mike Candy lead the fleet at the end of day one after a 5th, a 3rd, and a 4th.
The breeze kept the tents flapping overnight but dried up on Saturday where many hours were spent watching the waters of the Manukau slip by as planes passed overhead en route to Auckland Airport. Eventually our diligent race team got a start off and this race was won by Mark Winters, from Bill and another fine performance from Fergus to come home 3rd. The second race of the day saw Matt leading until the final turning mark where the race was abandoned due to the failing breeze and ebb tide that was sucking the fleet out towards the Tasman Sea.
Some very exciting white knuckle tows home for the fleet ensued. JC perhaps showed the best form of the day after coaxing Fergus to race him to the beach he copped a flier across the liquid himalayas of the ebb flow and after that 'experiment' was last to reach the beach for a beer.
Mark and Bill from Maraetai were at the pointy end of the points table on Saturday night leading into a great evening at the clubhouse. After another spectacular feed and strong rumours flowing that the boys from Maraetai had gone on a date with the Mermaid (might just have been their last!) Clarks Beach fired up their cocktail machine. No half measures here. None of your electric rubbish. To do the job properly an engine is required. Armed with the appropriate ingredients which included rare fruit and even rarer rum, the moreporks were silenced when a converted leaf blower sprang into life in deafening fashion ... topped with a blender. Gentlemen, that's how it's done.
Sunday dawned with the Mermaid's reputation intact (the boys had actually been to the speedway). There was also a nice breeze in train on the race course. FBYC's team coffee made a difference, and it was Matt's day after some close fought battles with Colin in "Icy Red" and Blair in "The F-Word" he pulled off three wins to seal the Single Handed title and the World Cup.
Colin and Ben took out the Two Handed title and this win contributed to Maraetai Sailing Club keeping the coveted Munted Mermaid. The result was close and the writing is on the wall for Maraetai to mount a serious defence next year as Torbay and French Bay are catching up. Next year's Mermaid will be bigger than the America's Cup.
A special thanks to Neil and Peter from the Clarks Beach for their excellent organisation of the event and also to all the afloat and ashore crews, Kim and Murray for the on the water co-ordination and race management,and the lovely ladies who prepared dinner and lunches.
Overall winner: Matt Hall-Smith (J155 'Monkeychunks')
Most Heinous Acts of Piracy Awards
- JC - Obviously confused by sailing on the other side of town and after a characteristically confident call of Starboard (heard by most of the fleet), John found he needed to quickly recalibrate and take hasty evasive action as he was actually on Port.
- Mike Candy (J115) for having his boat rigged by his girlfriend on Saturday.
- Blair "I'm just going to pull the locking pin out of my rudder boys, OK?" ... WTF ? whilst surfing behind a RIB at 12 knots under tow in the notorious Clarks Beach tide race.
- A five year old in the dinghy park ... "Mummy that boat's called Fartal Attraction"
Honourable mentions:
- Adrian and Leon for managing to fit a self tacker to Jedi between breakfast and racing on Saturday and for making the long trip up from Ngaroto. This team improved with every race and got a top spot of 11th in the final race of the series. And to newcomers Brian and Calum in 'Night Raider' and Mark and Mitchell in 'Storm'. Well done!
- The man with the petrol powered cocktail mixer. Awesome!
Youngest girl: Amelia Marlow (J144 ‘Wind Warrior’)
Oldest competitor: Don McBeth (J56 ‘Saracen’)
Youngest combined crew: William and Emilia Marlow (J57 ‘Blue Hull’).
Single Handed Division & Overall
1st Matt Hall-Smith J155 Monkeychunks French Bay Yacht Club 2nd Blair Gerrard J157 The F Word Torbay Sailing Club 3rd Mark Winters J118 Weapon Maraetai Sailing Club Double Handed
1st Colin Brocas & Ben Beasley J120 Icy Red Maraetai Sailing Club 2nd William & Emilia Marlow J57 Blue Hull Clarks Beach Yacht Club 3rd Adrian France & Leon Teao J70 Jedi Ngaroto Yacht Club Handicap Division
1st Rene van der Voort J51 Justification French Bay Yacht Club 2nd David Mattson J107 Plan B Maraetai Sailing Club 3rd Simon Paul J113 Sublime Torbay Sailing Club Munted Mermaid Team Trophy
1st Maraetai Sailing Club 13 Points 2nd Torbay Sailing Club 15 Points 3rd French Bay Yacht Club 17 Points 4th Clarks Beach Yacht Club 58 Points