Stirring the blood

Nostalgia, passion, history and tradition – all were on parade at this year’s Mahurangi Cruising Club Regatta which drew a record number of classic racing yachts: 111 vessels, a 23 percent increase over last year’s fleet.

The regatta – staged annually since 1990 on the Mahurangi Harbour – is held in January during Auckland Anniversary Weekend. It’s widely considered the largest gathering of classic wooden boats in the Southern Hemisphere, and this year, as in previous events, it drew a spectator fleet numbering an estimated 1000-plus boats.

Organising authorities attribute the record entries to an improved (online) registration system, combined with the first-time involvement of the H28 and Reactor 25 Associations. And as always, the event was well attended by members of the Stuart 34 and Mullet Boat Associations.

The regatta now comprises eight divisions. Gypsy – a 9m Logan built in 1939 – took handicap honours in the main division.

A signature component of the regatta is the Classic Launch Parade, organised in collaboration with the Classic Yacht Association, where the vintage vessels steam their way through the spectator fleet.

The Mahurangi Cruising Club was formed in 1988, with the aim to encourage ownership, use and restoration of classic wooden boats. BNZ