The Cutlass - Lowry Bay Yacht Club

In this issue
• Commodore’s comments
• Upcoming events
• Diary
• Scuttlebutt
• Ralph Fletcher’s passing
• Ngaio McMillan’s passing
• Buoys for LBYC use
• Keen deck shoes
• Check electrical cords
• Cruising murders
• Cockpit table idea
• Super Liquor discount
• 15 is too young for speed
• Changed safety inspections
• Mt Pleasant Yacht Club 75 th
• Stormy night tales
• Advice from the Kaitaki
• What will the weather be?
• From the Rear End
• Sassy around New Zealand
Contact us at LBYC
www.lbyc.org.nz
info@lbyc.org.nz
Twitter @LBYCNZ
PO Box 30 533, Lower Hutt
Phone: 04 568 3715
Fax: 04 568 3739
Radio VHF62 Lowry Bay Sports
Club Manager: Brian Harris
Commodore’s comments
I enjoyed seeing so many Lowry
Bay Yacht Club boats out in the
Marlborough Sounds over the
Christmas break – and I see that
some went over there in February
to enjoy the continued good
weather. A few ventured further
afield to Pelorus and Abel Tasman,
which is good to see. Several boats
have changed hands this summer,
another sign that yachting and
cruising is still a priority recreation.
The Cutlass
February 2011
The club opening day in January was blown out for the second year in a
row, but it didn’t matter because flags were fluttering beautifully on the
boats, the club was spick and span, and everyone enjoyed the lovely
lunch put on by the House Committee. The cannon went off (on the third
try), suitably loud, and the Mayor unfurled the LBYC pennant on the
flagpole. Thank you to all the volunteers who ensured the club looked its
very best and the day was successful.
The workshops planned for the end of last year were postponed because
members were too busy before Christmas. We will reschedule them for
two dates very soon, and I hope that you will attend one. The workshops
are to find out how you think we can improve on race organisation, the
mix of racing and cruising and the use of the clubrooms. These were
identified in the member survey last year as needing improvement.
Friday night meals at the club have resumed, and Chalet Catering is doing
excellent buffets. Please come and try it out – I think you’ll be pleasantly
surprised at the quality and value. We would like to continue providing
this facility because it adds to the social atmosphere in the club, and
draws members in to relax and eat together. We can only continue if you
support it, so please do come along to the club on Friday nights.
This year is the last of my three years as Commodore. Later in 2011 I
hope to be able to hand over the club as it is, in good heart, to a new
Commodore, new flag officers and new Executive, and I encourage you to
look around at your fellow members and start thinking about who might
be good for those positions and work well together. Don’t underestimate
the task: it’s harder than doing a paid job! You have to be right in the
thick of things, incapable of making enemies, diplomatic, super-patient,
resourceful, inclusive, and able to give many, many hours to the club. I’m
not saying I am all of these things by any means, but it’s clear those are
the attributes needed by a Commodore and his or her team.
Geoff Thorn, Commodore

Visit the bar!
Most of our events are
accompanied by a drink and
good company at our lovely
club house bar, complete with
deck looking over the marina.
On Friday nights the bar is
always open.
Kids are welcome at all times:
we’re family friendly.
The bar is open on:
• Fridays 1700-2230
• Saturdays 1600-1800
• Sundays 1600-1900 on
non-race days, or from
the end of racing until
1900 on race days
2
Upcoming events
Friday buffet meals
Come to the club on Fridays and enjoy the
incredible value $15 buffet table with hot
and cold dishes, salads and breads, and
$2.50 dessert. It’s proving very popular
on these long summer evenings, and is an
ideal way to finish the week and watch the
sunset from the deck.
Friday night casual sailing
Members of all sailing abilities can enjoy
Friday night sailing, It’s more relaxed,
with staggered starts, no spinnakers, and
afterwards you can stagger to the club for
a hot meal and drinks. It’s an opportunity
to bring friends and family along for a
casual sail. Every Friday, and the first
group goes off at 1815hrs, subsequent
groups play catch up to the finish line.
Twilight series every Wednesday
Don’t complain there’s not enough sailing
this summer! After work on Wednesday,
get on board for two-handed (1820h) or
fully-crewed (1830h). Bar will be open
after sailing and hot pies will be available.
Summer series
Six races make up the summer series on
Sundays at 1300h until 3 April. You can
also compete in the popular single-handed
racing in the morning at 1000h. Singlehanded
round the world sailor Robin
Knox-Johnston (not pictured) challenges
sailors to go it alone, so try it out!
Night race 12 March
See the harbour from a different
perspective, all lit up at night in this, the
first of two night races. Brush up on your
light identification, make sure your nav
lights are working, and come and join in.
Sail Wellington Regatta 20 March
Lowry Bay Yacht Club hosts this major
annual regatta with a full day of sailing on
a specially-laid course, with excellent race
management, and great hospitality in the
clubhouse afterwards. Make sure you
mention this event to other clubs– we
welcome all visiting trailers and keelers.

Are you getting our
emails?
The club sends out regular
emails and tweets notifying
you of social, racing and
cruising events. Do let us
know if you’re not getting
them: the contact details are
on the first page of this
newsletter.
Our house
committee:
The house committee
organises all the social events
for the club. Feel free to
contact them to have a chat.
Rear Commodore:Liz Bostel
Secretart: Mary Myers
Cruising Captain: John Lord
Sue Eathorne
Helen Rushton
Liz Davis
Jo Fellows
Fiona & Gordon McIntosh
3
February diary
Wednesday 23 February
Twilight series race 4: 2-handed 1820h, fully crewed 1830h
Friday 25 February
Pursuit Series A (no spinnaker), Race 4 1815h
Sunday 27 February
Single handed & Summer series Race 2, 1000h / 1300h
March diary
Wednesday 2 March
Twilight series race 5: 2-handed 1820h, fully crewed 1830h
Friday 4 March
Pursuit Series A (no spinnaker), Race 5 1815h
Sunday 6 March
Single handed & Summer series Race 3, 1000h / 1300hr
Wednesday 9 March
Twilight series race 6: 2-handed 1820h, fully crewed 1830h
Friday 11 March
Pursuit Series A (no spinnaker), Race 6 1815h
Saturday 12 March
Night Race 1 (of 2). Special instructions
Sunday 13 March
Summer series race 4, 1300h
Wednesday 16 March
Twilight series reserve day: 2-handed 1820h, fully crewed 1830h
Thursday 17 March
Technical evening (tba)
Friday 18 March
Pursuit Series A (no spinnaker), Race 7 1815hrs
Sunday 20 March
Sail Wellington Regatta, special instructions
Friday 25 March
Pursuit Series A (no spinnaker), Race 8 1815hrs
Sunday 27 March
Summer series Race 5, 1300hrs
April diary
Saturday 2 April
Night Race 2 (of 2). Special instructions
Sunday 3 April
Summer series Race 6, 1000h / 1300h Note clocks go back 1 hour
Sunday 10 April
Long Harbour Race 1, briefing 0900h, start 1000h
Sunday 17 April
LBYC Rum Regatta, special instructions
Friday 22 April / Monday 25 April: Easter weekend
Cruising event tba

Thanks to our great
race sponsors:
Burnsco
Fujitsu Heatpumps
Italian Ceramics
Tilecentre
The Glass Shoppe
Sika (NZ)
Strait Marine
Totally Marine
Placemakers Seaview
Linton Sails
Hakes Marine
Margrain Winery
CentrePort
4
Scuttlebutt
This Scuttlebutt is all about the holidays! Send your best 10 holiday pics
to geoff.katie@gmail.com, and they’ll go on the website, and in the club.
Stephan (Fergus Star) lost his contacts when he dived into the
water, forgetting he was wearing them. Luckily he had his specs.
Then, while cleaning the vacuum filter, he dropped it overboard,
and dived in after it, losing his specs too! For the rest of the
holidays he had to read through the wrong end of binoculars.
Monty, the slimmed-down spaniel, is now so energetic that when Tony
was rowing him ashore for a stroll, and Monty spotted a weka, he jumped
overboard and towed Tony the rest of the way.
In the Waikawa regatta, Gareth was asked what crew positions
were on Testarossa. Gareth ran through who was on keyboards,
trim, and main, and then added: “And Jamie’s on vocals.”
And a casualty in Testarossa’s jaunt in the Waikawa regatta was Grant,
who cut through his tendon on the boom. (How?!)
Unable to find a willing scuba diver, and with no time to do a
haulout, Geoff (Am Meer) donned snorkeling gear and took only
15 dives to replace the anodes successfully.
Don’t use the Southern Somes Island buoy for overnight mooring, as it’s
chafed almost all the way through by some careless boatie.
Best freebie of the hols was scored by Tony (Vega): fresh tuna
and loads of pinot noir, from a vineyard owner he rafted up with.
Jamie gunned Testarossa’s outboard to get into the haulout at Waikawa in
strong winds, but he nearly didn’t make it: all of a sudden there was a lot
of noise from tne motor but no power, because the prop had fallen off.
Molly (Chickadee) was rescued by Capacious’ tender from the
marina rock wall when a rope got caught around the prop.
A little bird told Scuttlebutt that Cosmic Thing’s post-match function at
the Waikawa regatta got “a little messy”.
Ollie Muller, helming Freedom for the first time, burst out to Theo:
“Dad, this is what we’ve dreamed of all our lives!” Ah, sweet.
Paul (2 Low 4 Zero) was rafting up in the Sounds, and threw a stern line
across to his neighbour. Problem was, the other end wasn’t attached.
After the crews changed shift on Am Meer in the Wellington-
Nelson race in the early hours, the relief crew tried to tack, but
found the previous shift had attached only one jib sheet. Duh.
The bouquet for best gourmet feast on board goes to Christian (Gypsy
Girl) who prepared an authentic cheese fondue using special cheeses.
Never rely on a marine chart to plan a walk. After 2 hot hours
walking with no water, and unable to find the track, Geoff (Am
Meer) and Christian (Gypsy Girl) ran back to pick up Gypsy Girl to
rescue Katie, Tony, Jennie and the dog Monty, at Elaine Bay.
Vega was fishing at Punt Rails, when a fisheries vessel roared up with a
Coastwatch camera crew filming, and asked whether they knew the bag
limits. Jennie coolly replied: “I doubt one gurnard and a spottie in 12
hours of fishing would exceed any known limit.”
The rudest raft up attempt has to be a yacht which scraped up
against Am Meer. Katie grazed her leg pushing them off and the
owner said “Oh you should have let the fenders do the work”.

Got any good
scuttlebutt?
Tell us the gossip for
Scuttlebutt in The Cutlass.
Email info@lbyc.org.nz, or ring
Katie on 04 479 4913
5
Congratulations to Bob & Sue Rowell (Impulsive) who are grandparents at
last, to a boy, Taumoana born on 13 January.
John Lord, on a Furneaux Lodge mooring on Britta, witnessed a hit
and run. The owner of a dark blue ketch departing a mooring
switched to autopilot and went below. Seconds later, the ketch Tboned
another yacht on a mooring, swinging it around and
trashing the pulpit. The offender must have heard, but didn’t stop.
(There’s something about Furneaux and ketches …)
John Hermans lost his wind indicator when Mint Condition was tossed
about while rafted up on the Punga Cove club mooring by a motor launch
going too fast in a hurry to bag a mooring. Words were spoken.
Debbie says that Endeavour inlet is 2 Low 4 Zero’s nemesis, as
they have tried to get into it twice now in very strong winds, but
were completely unable to make headway.
When LBYC first had Chalet Catering do the Friday dinners, Jamie said
“You know the buffet’s good when at the end of the evening even the
caterer’s sitting down for dinner”.
Seven year old Nicki had Dad Stephan on the run with the toolbox
when he found a leak in his cabin in Fergus Star. “Dad, I don’t
want to drown when I’m asleep”, Nicki said.
Monty the dog was hidden from view under the bar leaner. A bystander
said “Hasn’t he lost weight!”. Kim Zwiers, standing on the other side of
the leaner said “Why thank you!”. The bystander added: “And his coat is
so glossy!” Kim said “Why, thank you!”.
A shag was hanging around close by Am Meer, which was fishing
off Alligator Head. When Geoff caught and released an undersized
blue cod the shag dived, moments later surfacing with the wee
fish which it promptly swallowed. So much for size limits.
Jenny, on Vega, caught a 2 metre octopus, which proceeded to hang onto
the entire cockpit, and to Tony, and squirted water all over them.
In the Nelson regatta, there was a loss of concentration on Am
Meer when an alarm started to go off. After checking everything
from depth sounder to GPS, someone finally worked out that the
helmsman had accidentally kicked the engine start button.
Max and Mary just couldn’t get enough sailing in this summer. As soon as
they were back from a family charter cruise in the Whitsundays, they
were off on Quetzalli for a second holiday in the Sounds.
The marina geese are now reportedly at the police college out at
Porirua. They are making statements all over the lawns.
In the Friday night race, Out to Lunch streaked ahead, clearly winning by
a country mile, while Testarossa might have bumped the finish mark
while tacking over the line. Afterwards, the race officer, who was on
Testarossa, just couldn’t seem to get the computer to spit out the race
results, so we had to go without. Funny, that.
When a yacht completed the race in super-speedy time, the
skipper was asked: “How did you do so well tonight?” The reply
was: “We had a domestic, so we had to sail quickly, otherwise one
of us would have ended up overboard.”
Graham Eathorne was all set to start the race in group 4 with his new
boat Strictly Business, but he inexplicably hung back, and completely
missed the start. The problem was, Graham was so used to sailing on
Vanilla Ice in group 5, that he was waiting for the group 5 start!

Our sailing
committee:
The sailing committee
organises all the racing events
for the club. Feel free to
contact them to have a chat.
Vice Commodore:Judy
Lymbery
Sailing sec: Bob Rowell
Cruising Capn: John Lord
Safety officer: John Hermans
Graeme McMillan
Gordon McIntosh
Wendy Edwards
Jamie Reid
Brent Porter
Warren Snowden
6
Ralph Fletcher’s passing
We were saddened to hear of the
passing of ex-club member Ralph
Fletcher on November 29 2010.
Ralph would be known to many of
you, as he put in hours of work
under the canopy he built over the
cockpit of H28 on Pier A. Our
condolences go to his widow, Jan.
Ngaio McMillan’s passing
On 16 February, Ngaio McMillan
passed away, aged 85 years. Ngaio
was Graham McMillan’s (Bluewater)
father. A service to celebrate
Ngaio’s life was held beside his boat
at Seaview Marina, on one of the
most beautiful, hot summer days of
the year. Ngaio spent over 20 years
designing and building his own boat,
which sadly he did not see launched.
Graham, and his daughter Louise
are long-standing club members,
and our thoughts go out to them at
this very difficult time.
Buoy oh buoy
Keen shoes
The club has two buoys in Wellington
harbour that members can moor up
to, one at the south end of Somes
island, and one at Kau Bay. We’re
looking at options for new ones –two
in Lowry Bay, one at Days Bay, and
a new one off the eastern beach of
Ward Island (the old Marlin
mooring). If you have ideas for other
possibilities, contact Graham
McMillan (Bluewater).
These are the prettiest summer
cruising boat shoes you’ll find. They
protect tootsies on deck, they don’t
smell, won’t mark, are incredibly
comfortable, dry fast, and come in
girly colours – green, blue and pink
as well as black for boys. Out with
Crocs, in with Keen! $195 at
Bivouac, Shoe Clinic, & Dwights, or
$136 from www.outsidesports.co.nz.

Just cruisin’
Our cruising captain John Lord
organises lots of great events
for the club: technical evening
talks on interesting things,
and events out on the
harbour, like the fishing day
and social cruises. Come
along to the next one (see
Upcoming Events): the bar’s
always open. Or suggest an
event yourself.
7
Check your electrical cords
Boat fires in marinas are everyone’s
worst nightmare as they spread
quickly and are extremely hard to
control. You must get your power
lead checked and tagged annually.
If it’s not tagged, don’t use it. And
test your RCD every time you
connect to shore power: just press
the test button and it should trip off.
Cruising murders by pirates
Americans Scott and Jean Adam,
along with two companions and the
yacht SV Quest have become the
latest victims of Somali pirates after
they separated from the Blue Water
Rally group and were hijacked and
killed. There was speculation that the
pirates were seeking revenge for the
recent 33-year jailing of the pirate
who hijacked the Maersk Alabama.
The Adams were mid-way through an 8-10 year cruise stated in 2004.
Their home base is LA’s Del Rey Yacht Club. The Adams bought the SV
Quest in New Zealand in 2002 where she was built in Christchurch.
Their website is www.svquest.com
Cockpit table
Here’s a clever idea we saw on 2 Low
4 Zero – a sparkling white cockpit
table complete with two recesses for
cans or bottles, that screws into a
base, so you can remove it while
sailing to stow it away safely. Or, do
like 2 Low did, and have a moveable
base instead, wider than the one
shown, so you can place it where
you want it. It also comes in an oval
table. It costs $250 from Burnsco.
Super Liquor discount for members
Did you know …. as a Lowry Bay
Yacht Club member, you can get a
discount on wines and spirits from
Super Liquor Lower Hutt - just show
your current membership card. The
Super Liquor store is located at the
bottom of the High Street, right next
to the butcher.

Tell us your holiday
stories
We want to hear your cruising
highlights, good or bad –
dragging anchors, great
fishing, drunken parties,
romances, gossip, and general
scuttlebutt. They’ll go in the
Cutlass! Or be brave and give
a talk at the club one evening
8
15 is too young for speed
An on-water accident over the
Christmas period has highlighted the
Maritime New Zealand rules around
age limits for being in charge of a
powerboat. Maritime New Zealand’s
Safe Boating guide states that:
“Unless very closely supervised by
an older person, who is in constant
reach of the controls, you must be
over the age of 15 to operate any
power boat that is capable of speed
exceeding 10 knots. This includes
dinghies and personal water craft.”
Changes to safety inspections
Yachting New Zealand recently
published some amendments to the
YNZ Safety Regulations as well as a
Safety Inspectors’ checklist, which is
useful to refer to as a compliance
summary. The changes include small
changes to wording for clarification
purposes, but also some changes to
the actual requirements. Category 3
is most affected, but there are some
changes for other categories also.
The recent amendments to the Safety Regulations include those
relating to cooking stoves, propulsion engines, lifelines, tools and spare
parts, fire extinguishers, navigation systems and registration numbers.
Skippers are obligated to be conversant with the safety rules. A
complete copy of the Yachting New Zealand Safety Regulations can be
purchased in booklet form from Yachting NZ, or can be downloaded
from YNZ’s website’s Safety Regulations page. An amendment sheet is
available for download from www.yachtingnz.org.nz.
Mount Pleasant Yacht Club’s 75th
Spare a thought for Mount Pleasant
Yacht Club in Christchurch, which,
like Lowry Bay Yacht club last year,
is set to celebrate its 75 th
anniversary this weekend on 26-27
February. After the second major
earthquake there on 22 February,
which is much more severe than the last one, it’s not likely to be much
of a celebration for club members who will be looking after their
families and friends. We hope that you can reschedule your
celebrations, MPYC, as it’s an important milestone for a club, and one
that we enjoyed celebrating immensely.

Any bright ideas?
We’re always on the lookout
for new products, or sailing
tips to suggest to our
members: let us know if
you’ve come across a good
solution for one of those
yachting problems.
9
Stormy, stormy night! The Cutlass gathered stories from
club members caught in the 28
December storm which registered
100 knots at Waikawa. Although it
created havoc throughout the
Sounds, surprisingly there was no
serious damage, nor injuries
reported by our members who were
out cruising at the time. Power was
out around the Sounds and roads
were closed the next day, and there
were reports of 11 power boats
flipped and sunk on moorings.
Here’s what our members experienced:
• Boogaloo lost her top windscreen and plastic windows at 3 am
while on a Stafford Bay mooring. “I would rather have been out in
the channel” said Trevor
• Fellow Sea was knocked completely flat on a Punga mooring. “You
couldn’t keep a coffee cup on the table” said Jo Fellowes
• Vega broke her line to the mooring in Resolution Bay, riding over it
in the early hours. “I’ve never been so scared” said Jenny: “I
thought we’d hit rocks”. Three boats were tied to the mooring,
Vega in the middle, but none had it on deck. “I’m not doing that
again”, said Tony
• 2 Low 4 Zero sustained stanchion damage while rafted up with
Vega. “I emptied 12 washing-up bowls of rainwater out of the bilge
and all my books and clothes got wet!” said Debbie
• Am Meer & Shariba dragged a private mooring and had to keep
engines in forward from 4 am when Am Meer’s rudder grounded.
They abandoned the mooring in haste at 8am when they got sideon
to the beach just metres away, despite having four stern lines
• Geoff (Am Meer) fell in throwing a rope bag onto a wharf while
standing up in a dinghy, trying to put an extra stern line on. Tip:
there’s not much friction between a dinghy and the water
• Am Meer registered 67 knots of windspeed in Queen Charlotte
• A willywaw hit Shariba, sucked the front hatch open, banged the
bedroom door closed so hard that it broke the door and the door
frame, whipped Julie’s favourite sunlounger and a squab off the
deck and hurled them into the forest never to be seen again
• 2 Low 4 Zero and Gypsy Girl’s dinghies flipped, losing their bench
seats, left later by friendly boaties at Waikawa (tip tie it in!)
• Gypsy Girl was towed into Punga Cove by Vega, to pick up a
mooring, because her motor wasn’t strong enough against the
wind. Gypsy Girl was helped onto the mooring by Katie in a kayak
• A non-club boat grounded at Punga Cove, when its motor failed.
Later, the same boat was on a mooring when its dinghy, complete
with motor, was blown over (surprisingly it started later). The
English couple on board said they had cruised for three years, but
had never seen anything like this storm.

Send us your recipes
Got an idea for how to cook
things with limited facilities on
board? Or make nautical but
nice cocktails? Share the
ideas with us.
10
Advice from the bridge of the Kaitaki
Jennie Darby (Out-to-Lunch) writes
of a very special experience on a
Cook Strait ferry!
After doing the Wellington to Nelson
race on Am Meer and three races of
the Nelson Regatta, Katie and Geoff
went on to sail the Torrent Bay part
of the Regatta and we (Jennie,
Christian and Simon) went home by
bus and ferry. Simon, who seems to
know someone everywhere chatted
up his friend Kelly and managed to get us up on the bridge of the
Kaitaki with a chance to talk to the captain and the first mate. The
view was wonderful!
We took the opportunity to ask about small boat visibility. The captain
emphasised that there were two key things to improve our visibility in
Cook Strait. Firstly, don’t have navigation lights (port/starboard lights)
at the top of the mast – it makes judging the distance to the boat
difficult from the bridge as it is high above the water level. From there,
a boat with deck-level lights which is further away on the horizon, has
the same appearance. The message: use deck level navigation lights
Secondly, use a radar reflector. Wave height can make it difficult to see
a small boat in the ‘clutter’ on the radar; this is particularly a problem
with wooden or fibreglass boats.
Looking at passive radar reflectors (those that hang up on the boat)
rather than the expensive receiver ones, trying to decide what sort of
radar reflector to use seems to be a matter of debate. The captain
mentioned octahedral reflectors (think three diamonds/circles slotted
together).
A quick search on the internet shows considerable debate on the right
type for small boats. The problems seem to lie in fitting the reflector:
most need to be vertical or rain-catch position, something that could be
difficult to achieve consistently in Cook Strait. Online forums provide a
variety of viewpoints ranging from no passive reflector is any good, to
they are essential.
A report commissioned by the British Maritime Body after a collision
and sinking of the yacht Ouzo advised yachties to fit the most effective
and appropriate radar reflector for your circumstances, and bear in
mind that, if fitting a passive reflector, fit the largest reflector that your
boat can sensibly display. Ensure your reflector is properly installed,
and finally bea aware that, notwithstanding the type of radar reflector
fitted, in certain circumstances your craft may still not be readily visible
on ships’ radars.
In summary the message seems to be for Cook Strait:
• no passive radar reflector is a substitute for keeping a good look out
• any radar reflector is better than nothing (size matters!)
• do your own research and find out what’s best for your boat.

Our Executive
Committee
Contact a member of our club
executive committee to raise
issues or give feedback.
Commodore: Geoff Thorn
Vice Comm: Judy Lymbery
Rear Comm: Liz Bostel
Hon Treasurer: Leo Austin
Cruising Capn: John Lord
Jennie Darby
Jamie Reid
Al O’Connor
Trevor Burgess
Hon auditor: Athma Baskaran
Hon legal advisor: Ian Greig
11
What will the weather be?
NIWA’s seasonal climate outlook for
February through to April indicates
that warmer than normal conditions
will continue into autumn. This is
caused by a strong La Nina in the
Pacific region. So we can look
forward to pleasant sailing right
through to the start of winter!
Early autumn temperatures will be above average, and rainfall will be
normal. Soil moisture levels will be above normal. Sea surface
temperatures will be above normal. There is a slightly elevated risk of a
tropical cyclone passing close to New Zealand.
There is disagreement between forecast models about whether La Nina
will continue into winter at weaker levels, or whether winter will revert
to more normal conditions.
From the Rear End
Rear Commodore Liz Bostel writes:
Happy New Year to you all! I hope you all
enjoyed a good break over Christmas and
the New Year.
We had a very successful children’s
Christmas Party on 4 December 2010,
which was well-attended and Santa’s
arrival by boat was especially memorable
for the children. Unfortunately, the same
cannot be said of the adult’s Christmas
Party. There were so few members
attending that consideration will be given
whether to hold this event again or not
as it clearly wasn’t popular, although those who did attend had fun with
secret Santa!
On the other hand, there was a very large turnout for the Working Bee
held on Saturday 29 January 2011 to clean and prepare the Club for
Opening Day; so maybe a message there? Thank you to you all and
while I do not usually single people out, I have been asked to mention
particularly Ralph and Rosie who came all the way from Waikanae to
help, Gordon and Margareth, Patrick, Gunther, Warren, Trevor, Phil,
Romain, Mary, Sue Eathorne and of course, Ian for his sustaining
scones!
We will be organising a full schedule of social events for the next few
months - please don’t hesitate to let me know if you have any ideas or
requests.
The House Committee is now responsible for catering on race-day
Sundays, so we’ll be offering a range of toasted sandwiches and hot
pies after racing.

12
Sassy around New Zealand
Sassy is the only Reactor to have
sailed around New Zealand. The
then owners, Rowley and Jennifer,
lived in Taranaki and set off in Sassy
from Waitara. These extracts from
their log (courtesy of the Reactor
Owners’ Association) give a picture
of what must be ‘the ultimate
cruise’. We’ll publish them in two
parts – Sassy goes South this
month, then Sassy goes North next.
there are 4 Reactors at Seaview –
Tempus, Madame Butterfly,
Bluebell, and Sassy.
Sassy Goes South
15 January 1989 - 31 March 1989
Starting: Sassy was loaded with a tank full of fuel, plus 3 drums of 25
litres each, tank of water and two more heavy drums, two anchors, chain
and long warps (one an extra-heavy Danforth) and food for a month.
Although heavily loaded, Sassy balanced well. We were able to sail
sturdily, being always pleased at her ability in less than good weather and
especially to windward.
To West Coast: Carrying too much sail, we made fast progress. Rain
created poor visibility, and wind piping out of Cook Strait, now headed for
Westport. Two reefs, #3 jib and wet through during this period, very
poor conditions. We made well away from land and heaved to – Sassy
with mainsail centred and tiller over, quite happily edges to windward as
we keep watch and have a rest. Next day beautifully hot, glorious night,
and early dewy entry to Westport
To Milford Sound: From Cape Farewell to Milford Sound the West Coast is
particularly inhospitable, no anchorage or shelter for even a small vessel.
We took four days, ran engine continuously against light SW breeze and
long deep swells.
Entering Milford Sound: Milford has the most precipitous and narrow
entrance of all the Sounds. The strongish SW breeze didn’t increase, but
the swell did and suddenly we found ourselves in clouds of spray, the
wind cannoning off the high cliffs and coming from all directions. St
Anne’s Point light didn’t come on until late, so we hove to until morning
when we sneaked past into Anita Bay, still blowing and spray everywhere.
Milford Sound to Doubtful Sound (31/1 – 5/2): We stayed in Milford over
three days. Usually, a visit here is a day trip from Te Anau plus boat ride.
Our stay gave us time to see the ever changing mood of the fjord. At
night, the stars clear appearing touchable in their brightness, the sunset
on the snow of Pembroke, the peaceful calm of the morning; by midafternoon
the wind blowing a chop on the water, rain, then a selection of
new waterfalls from the cliffs and always the ever-changing light altering
the aspect off each cliff and peak. Back to earth, as it were! Maintenance
and tied as we were to a cold storage barge at the fisherman’s wharf with
water, diesel, also the large camp-house in which to shower, washing
machine etc; an excellent haven.

13
Writing of the Sounds (I shall call them fjords as I believe this to be a
truer description), there are fourteen, spanning a coastline of some 150
miles or less. To describe them we could use terms such as
extraordinary, beautiful, dramatic or majestic. Doubtful Sound is the
deepest, something like 1,400 feet (230 fathoms). They vary in size and
length: Milford, about 10 miles; George, 13 miles; Caswell, 10 miles;
Thompson,12 miles; Doubtful – a further 25 miles to Deep Cove; Dusky,
27 miles – the most extensive Sound.
We left Milford for George, something like 45 miles away, at 7.30am, cool
and clear, the water mirror-like, joined by some 15 resident dolphins plus
one darling baby. They escorted us down to St Anne’s Head, a lovely
farewell to Milford, even the pin from a shackle I dropped didn’t fall
overboard. In the clear water the dolphins are the masters, so beautiful,
each an individual in colour and manner, some scarred, all sleek, all
happy and I hope good friends to us, Jennifer calling “nice one” and
clapping her hands as well she might.
At sea line squalls on the horizon, light NE astern, eventually with a little
motor sailing in the fjord we arrived 8½ hours later to tie astern onto a
long line between two points, our Danforth ahead in this lovely
anchorage, just below Lake Alice Falls which tumble and jet through great
troughs scored in the rock, terraces of them. Anchor down, one fishline
over, one pull, one cod for tea and all at peace in George Sound – a
series of rainbows to enhance the already grand scene. In most fjords
the fishermen have wire or nylon line on coves, either to tie along in calm
weather or anchor ahead or astern. They are a boon as one usually finds
then nearer the entrances, in George they were deep down as the
anchorage is a popular and sheltered one. In George Sound the sandflies
virulent, and more so as we progressed southward.
Sassy stayed another three days in George Sound always conscious of the
weather and moving on and as usual we shared varied and interesting
hours. The Department of Conservation vessel the ‘Renown’ was moored
across the Bay. The two crew had been joined by 4 park staff and were to
relocate the hut. This was done in spectacular fashion by helicopter, its
rotors brushing the treetops as it manoeuvred various sections of the hut.
We shared some work and a meal or two with them.
Jennifer and I walked one day over the high ridges to the very pretty
Lake Katherine beneath high peaks, Jennifer picking up various colourful
stones on the way.
Home to groper steaks plus veg from Renown, and night fell with some
powerful gusts swishing off the mountains. Enough said as we enjoyed
shared laughter, saw much more before laving George with a good
forecast from Renown for ports south.
At the entrance a large and beautiful ketch passed us, Leonare from
Hamilton, Bermuda. There was too much wind so we retreated for an
hour or so and as the forecast predicted again, sailed on to Caswell,
arriving rather late and actually anchoring in some harpy-like blasts from
the head of the Sound, cold, black, windy, anchor holding extra well as
usual, the Banshee wail as the gusts roar in, healing Sassy over every
which way. An unpleasant night as one would not wish for. We, in fact,
took to the ground in the early morning and had a good lean on, not
unsafe and we didn’t blow around which was some consolation. Yes, I did
look at the chart. Yes, I did check with a lead line, bottom mud and sand,
just a small heap of sand, perhaps.
Dawn, up and away, cold, bare poles, good speed. At the entrance, the

14
wind quite violent, the sea a mass of blown spindrift. Sailed on jib only
towards Secretary Island and Thompson Sound, hopefully Doubtful Sound
to Deep Cove. Well show of Caswell’s welcome which was rather cold and
gloomy with a darkness about the cliffs and forest, a large bull seal on
one of the rocks looked and felt as we did I think, although a shaft of
sunlight must have cheered him – he was a very large fellow.
Doubtful Sound to Dusky Sound (mid-Feb):The approach to Doubtful
Sound and Deep Cove is down Thompson Sound behind Secretary Island,
to a junction with Bradshaw Sound, then Malaspina Reach and Deep
Cove. Doubtful is very long and winding. Tourists come across Lake
Manapouri, then bus over Wilmot Pass to Deep Cove. The tourist launch
then takes them to Halls Arm which is very beautiful and grand – quite
superb – making this Sound one of the most popular for tourists, with
underground power stations etc.
All of the fjords are mantled in green and the forest is to the water’s edge
with the principal trees being beech (I think 3 species), rimu, halls,
totara, with huge numbers and varieties of small trees, shrubs, ferns and
climbing rata crowding the floor so from the water’s edge it is difficult to
penetrate. Rick avalanches take many trees and these areas are soon
covered with lighter new growth. With light and shade the forest never
became monotonous and surprised us on the seaward coast by the
tenacity with which it clung to the rock walls.
The problems of a small yacht are apparent. We, in fact, were unable to
cross the junction into Doubtful Sound because of the wind; poor Sassy
was in fact blown backwards in some gusts (no sails) and we eventually,
under lovely blue skies, made back to near Deas Cove in Thompson
Sound.
Here the fishermen had a large floating diesel tank, and also a wire
between two points in a tiny niche. When tied along the wire Sassy was
nearly two metres away from the rocky outcrop and very snug. Next
morning we exited the Sound and motor sailed as far as Febrero Point.
The wind increased so we ducked into Doubtful and drifted around Bauza
island in the entrance, calm, peaceful and sunny. A trawler gave us a
poor forecast for outside, 30-40 knots, so we tried Doubtful again.
Like all yachting, luck changes and we caught a strong breeze. With a #3
and reefed main we really took off, faster and faster, eating up the long
journey on a calm sea. Outside George in the narrow pass between
Bauza island we passed the liner Coral Princess, the impressive Royal
Viking looking out of this world as she passed us at speed.
We stayed for four days in Deep Cove snugly moored near the wharf, safe
from very strong winds and heavy rain. Incidentally, the wharf and pipes
and walkways are connected to the rock walls and not the bottom – which
is too deep! The rain and high cliffs made the place dark and the nights
long. The weather brought some light snow on the tops and cold on
board. Jennifer was sick for a couple of days, miserable for her. Renown
arrived with the DSIR team studying black coral. The Ranger sold us fuel
and also a much appreciated gift of bread, margarine and vegetables.
Wanganella was moored near the tailrace. A hostel provides school
parties with accommodation. Tourists arrived daily in spite of the poor
weather, so we wanted for nothing by way of entertainment.
Eventually we motored to Secretary Island and anchored snugly behind a
small islet where the fishermen have a small wharf and freezer. All
colours of crayfish pots hung in the trees like fairy lights. Many of the
trawlers were away chasing tunas and unloading them in Milford. A tin

We hope you like the
e format
Doing The Cutlass by email
saves us $300 in printing costs
each month. If you like
reading it on the toilet, like
Theo, you can still pick up a
printed copy in the foyer, or
ring the club manager to get
one sent out to you.
15
trawler arrived and invited us to tea. We eat well, steak, eggs etc, but
not fish. However, we did return to Sassy provided with a bag of cray
legs and these made splendid eating with rice for lunch next day.
The approach to Puysegur Point: We had the constant problem of this
area: strong and often gale force winds which came very quickly – and
also the stores problem! A little yacht supplied in Westport must, in
effect, get to Stewart Island for re-supply. Entering Dusky Sound, the
Pilot Book quotes: ‘A submerged rock awash lies…’. We took care to be
well out, but Sassy clipped the outer edge – BANG! Really frightening.
Almost into Pickersgill a williwaw came foaming across the bay – Sassy
under power was knocked flat, dinghy flipped and oars gone.
Eventually we leave Dusky with the thought of Puysegur Point and
Foveaux Strait hanging over our heads. With a late sunset we approach
Solander Island, some 22 miles from NZ. By now a lovely breeze and
Sassy romping along, but at 0300 a wind change, rain and squalls saw us
hove to. Dawn brought grey misty rain with squalls obscuring the land so
we proceed gingerly until we reach Port Pegasus.
Stewart Island and Oban: Several anchorages on Stewart Island and
then to Oban – 23 miles of mostly pleasant sailing. However the wind
backed and a slog up to Ackers Point.
To Dunedin: The wind dropped - we motorsail in a lumpy sea. Very large
kelp patches dog us all the way along the East coast. The folding prop has
a football of leathery strands, in reverse some unwinds. The little breeze
increases and we sail at last and arrived at Port Chalmers at midnight.
To Lyttleton: Overall we kept up about 4 knots, but had lost our log on
the West Coast so had no firm idea of distance run. Outside Moeraki
Boulders a huge field of kelp which we had to dodge constantly.
Approaching Akaroa at 6pm in high seas with wind funnelling out of the
high cliffs we were attacked by kelp and almost stopped. It took 6 more
hours to cover 7 miles. It then took a full day to reach Lyttleton – glad
we reefed down, its blowing heavens hard and very rough – we beat
round the whole peninsula and arrive at 9pm.
Kaikoura Coast: Motored away at 2.45am, cool, clear, calm and dark.
With a favourable breeze Sassy is soon scampering towards the seaward
mountains, by day company with Hector Dolphins, by night with various
ships en route to Wellington.
Cape Campbell: Abeam at 5.15am sailing easily and with comfort. The
ferry showed us the way to Tory Channel. We had worried about this leg
as we had worried about Puysegur Point – in fact both suited Sassy very
well. Tied up at Picton. We followed Cook’s progress through the Sounds
and weathered two lots of string winds, 30+ knots with two anchors out,
eerie noises from the rigging and rain.
Return home: Romped past Stephen’s Island making good speed. At 3pm
breeze freshened –sea breaking into the bottom of the genoa, pooped by
wave crests. Doused the main as wind suddenly dropped off and motored
across very rough sea, blue skies, not a cloud. Abated four hours later,
but lumpy seas and little wind. Overnight sailed and motored due North
and in the early morning the mountain softly pink. Breeze in favour, we
round Cape Egmont and ease into New Plymouth. Sassy had run the
complete journey, about 1,700 miles in all. Both of us found the constant
motion strenuous and for the next few months felt tired but leaner.