Burling enjoys chance to sail down memory lane
volunteers and how passionate some people are about the yacht club.”
The club was one of the few to have a strong keeler division through to centreboards for sailors to learn, which Burling said was one of the reasons it propelled people towards success.
“It’s pretty amazing to have such great talent coming from one club.
“It’s having that overlap where you can learn different skills and be a lot more diverse with your sailing. It’s definitely a pretty cool thing we have here in Tauranga.”
He said it was neat to see the young, aspiring sailors honing their skills in the sport, just as he did.
His advice to them was for them to “make sure they keep enjoying the sport and what they do.”
Asked if there was anything he learned about sailing as a youngster in Tauranga that he still used at the helm today, he said everything he learned as a young sailor he continued to improve on.
“I think one of the cool things Tauranga has is our pretty diverse range of conditions and our weather. It definitely makes you be pretty creative with how you go about racing.
“I definitely enjoyed growing up in Tauranga and try to get back down wherever I can.”
Keyworth said the natural features of Tauranga Harbour forced sailors to learn to navigate many different conditions.
There were strong currents coming in and out, sand banks, and winds that could shift dramatically.
“There are 45 to 180 degree wind changes so you have to learn to cope with those. You have to be aware of the tides and the depth of the water.”
She agreed Burling’s ability to read the wind had served him well, especially well in the Hauraki Gulf in Team New Zealand’s AC75, Te Rehutai — though on foils an understanding of water depth was less of a concern.
Keyworth said the centennial represented a “real true achievement” and one not many clubs could claim.
She said the club — formed in 1920 in a Devonport Rd barbershop — was “extremely proud” to watch one of their own bring home the America’s Cup.
She said Friday’s event had been also been about thanking life members and patrons for their contributions. The rest of the celebrations had also gone well.
The club’s membership stands at about 400, including some families with multiple generations enjoying a shared love of boating.
Club’s success due to ‘parents of the day’
Longest active club member Wayne Eaton put the club’s success down to the “parents of the day”.
“Peter Burling’s parents [Heather and Richard] committed big time to support him. That is obviously the pinnacle of young people out of our time.
“Tauranga has been pretty lucky producing some very good sailors and national champions.”
Eaton has been a member for about 60 years.
He joined because he thought sailing looked like a good sport to get into.
Eaton said being out on the water was what he enjoyed most.
“I used to say if I go sailing by the time you got out on the open water you didn’t think about work any more. You really did tune out from shore-based problems.”
‘It inspires me to push myself’
Aspiring Olympic sailor Teaghan Denney, 16, said she and her brother got into sailing at the same time and “loved it”.
“No matter the weather, wind, rain, or storm you can always go sailing.”
Denney said it was “pretty cool” to be part of the centennial celebrations.
“We’ve had so many good sailors come out of our club. It really inspires me to push myself to my goals and dreams of getting to the Olympics.” — Additional reporting:
Samantha Motion