Sailing and yachting as a New Zealand sport dates from 1841 when a regatta was held on Wellington Harbour (Port Nicholson) to celebrate the first anniversary of the settlement. The report in the New Zealand Gazette and Wellington Spectator was as follows:
The Wellington Anniversary Regatta was a regular annual fixture organised by a committee of prominent citizens under the patronage of the Governor, but in 1883 the newly founded Port Nicholson Yacht Club took over its management. Auckland, now the largest yachting centre of the colony, did not hold its first regatta until 1850. These events were repeated at irregular intervals until 1880 when the now famous Auckland Anniversary Regatta became an annual fixture. It has been reliably estimated that no other yachting regatta in the world draws a larger fleet. Today, Auckland accounts for over 80 per cent of New Zealand's total yachting population.
A factor which afforded considerable stimulus to the growth of the sport in the Auckland area was the large number of small sailing vessels which were engaged in the local and Pacific Islands trade. Trading vessels participated in the anniversary regatta until the turn of the century and, even after the arrival of steam, their influence was carried on. The popular Mullet Boat class is a direct descendant of one type of commercial vessel well known on the Hauraki Gulf in the past.
Two notable Auckland boatbuilding families, those of Robert Logan and Charles Bailey, were responsible for much of the development in design and construction methods which took place in the late nineteenth century. To them is the credit largely due for the fact that, at the turn of the century, New Zealand yacht design was on a par with that of contemporary British and Naval architects and boatbuilders, while New Zealand construction was superior. Logan pioneered the three-skin diagonal method of construction which is now generally recognised throughout the world. Many of the yachts built by Logan between 60 and 70 years ago using this method are still in active use throughout the country. The Rona, built for A. H. Turnbull to the design of the famous British architect, G. L. Watson, in 1893, is still winning races in Wellington. Eight of the yachts racing in the Auckland first-division fleet today are over 60 years old, Rainbow, Ariki, and Iorangi being the most notable.
The great majority of yachts sailing in New Zealand waters are of the small centreboard classes of which there are over 37. Most of these sail both in club and in provincial competition, and for some classes there are annual national championships sailed on an interport or provincial representation basis. The most notable national championship up until recent years has been the Sanders Cup series for 14-ft X-class boats. The championship was named after Lieutenant W. E. Sanders, V.C., D.S.O., a New Zealand naval hero of the First World War. These boats were originally known as the Rona-Jellicoe class after the then Governor, Earl Jellicoe, who was a prominent founder member of the class during his term of office (1920–24). Lord Jellicoe was a contestant in several national contests and represented Auckland in the first Sanders Cup series in 1921 which was won by Heather, of Otago.
The Moffat Cup for 12 ft 8 in. Idle Along yachts is contested annually between provincial representatives. Since the first national contest, sailed in 1935, this class has become one of the most widely known in New Zealand. Although it has entered into a rapid decline in popularity since 1950, at its peak it numbered over 1,300 boats in regular competition. As late as the 1953–54 season, when decline had set in this class, the Auckland area alone had 239 boats on its provincial register.
The 12 ft 6 in. Takapuna Z class competes annually for the Cornwell Cup. Participation in the national contest is limited to youths under 19 years of age, as this class is regarded as a training class. For the same reason, all boats must conform to the one-design rule, only ⅜ in. tolerance on any measurement being permitted. The Cornwell contest is one of New Zealand's most successful training classes, and in 1960 the construction and rig were modified to bring the class into line with modern developments.
The most popular training class for boys up to the age of 16 years is the 7 ft Tauranga P class. Provincial representatives compete annually in a national series for the Tauranga and Tanner Cups.
The rise of lighter and faster class boats since 1945 has tended to attract the younger element in the sport away from such classes as the Z class and Idle Along, boats locally designed to meet specifically New Zealand conditions. Newer types of boat, such as the Cherub, Moth, and Leander R classes are the result of modern developments in hull and rig design. New Zealand participation in international yachting competition since 1945 has strongly influenced the development of centreboard racing classes. The introduction of International class boats in New Zealand, such as the Flying Dutchman, Finn, and Flying Fifteen classes was the direct result of international contact and competition.
In recent years there has been a decline of interest among yachtsmen in the Sanders, Cornwell, and Moffat Cups, as these represent classes of boats which are rapidly becoming obsolete. Skippers who once would have sailed in the Sanders Cup will now be found in the Finn and Flying Dutchman Olympic classes; the Junior Cherub class skippers would once have raced for the Cornwell Cup, while the R and Cherub classes have caused the decline of the Idle Along class and its Moffat Cup.
An annual Christmas ocean race across Cook Strait for keel yachts has been held under the auspices of the Royal Port Nicholson Yacht Club since 1928. An annual race is also held from Lyttelton to Akaroa by the Banks Peninsula Cruising Club. In 1951 an ocean race was sailed from Wellington to Lyttelton in connection with the Canterbury centennial. Leaving Wellington on 21 January in bad conditions, the 22 yachts faced a severe southerly gale, which resulted in the withdrawal of nearly the whole fleet. The Wellington cutter Astral was dismasted; the 26 ft Nelson cutter Husky and the 30 ft Wellington cutter Argo were lost with all hands. The toll of 10 lives in this race constitutes the worst disaster in New Zealand yachting history. The winner, and only boat to finish, was the cutter Tawhiri, of Nelson.
The 100-mile race sailed by Auckland yachts for the Balokovic Cup is an annual event controlled by the Royal Akarana Yacht Club. The above club, whenever a sufficient number of entries is forthcoming, holds a race to Australia for the Trans-Tasman Cup. The first race, from Auckland to Sydney, was sailed in 1931 and was won by the visiting Norwegian cutter Teddy. In 1934 the cup was contested by the German yawl Te Rapunga and the New Zealand cutter Ngataki in a race to Melbourne, a distance of 1,630 miles, the former winning in the slowest time to date, 19 days. On the third occasion (1938) of the race, the two contestants withdrew, the schooner Aurora Star proceeding to Lord Howe Island and the disabled 36 ft cutter Wayfarer making her way back to the New Zealand coast, reaching Whangaroa Harbour in a sinking condition. The cup has been contested four times since 1945, the last race being held from Auckland to Sydney in 1961. The fleet of 15 yachts was the largest to date.
In 1956 a race was sailed from Auckland to Suva, Fiji, in which there was one Australian entrant. The New Zealand yacht Wanderer won the 1,250-mile event.
In April 1964 a race was sailed from Whangarei to Noumea, New Caledonia. The ketch Tarau, Whangarei, won on corrected time from a fleet of 36 boats.
| Winners of Trans-Tasman Ocean Race, 1931-61 | |||
| Year | Course | Yacht | Country |
| 1931 | Auckland-Sydney | Teddy | Norway |
| 1934 | Auckland-Melbourne | Te Rapunga | Germany |
| 1938 | Auckland-Hobart | Race abandoned | |
| 1951 | Auckland-Sydney | Solveig | Australia |
| 1952 | Hobart-Auckland | Ladybird | New Zealand |
| 1954 | Auckland-Sydney | Taihoa | New Zealand |
| 1961 | Auckland-Sydney | Norla | Australia |
The bulk of overseas yachting competition until 1956 has been with Australia. In earlier years this consisted in the participation by individual New Zealand yachts in Australian regattas. In 1888 Logan built the notable 5-ton yacht Akarana to race at the Melbourne Centennial Regatta. In Australia she was rated at 6½ tons and was forced to sail in the 10-ton-and-under class. Despite this, she won the first prize of £140 and was later taken to Sydney, where she was again successful. The Logan cutter Rainbow, launched in 1898 and regarded, with the modern Auckland yacht Ranger, as the most successful racing craft built in New Zealand, was shipped to Sydney in 1900. The yacht competed in several Australian regattas and won some very notable victories. The cutter Waitangl also had a successful racing career in Australian waters.
As this was a form of competition too expensive for the average yachtsman to undertake, it was not until the end of the Second World War and the rapid development in New Zealand of small centreboard classes capable of competing overseas that the race series against Australia began to grow in popularity. In 1938 four Auckland V class unrestricted 18-ft yachts, Riptide, Vaalele, Irena, and Manane, were shipped to Australia to compete against the world-famous Sydney 18-footers. In mostly light winds the New Zealand team was soundly beaten. In a return contest in 1939, sailed on Auckland harbour, the New Zealand team took first and second places. This series developed into the World 18-ft Championship for the Giltinian Trophy. This trophy has been contested regularly since 1945 and has been sailed in Auckland, Sydney, and Fiji.
Inter-Dominion championships between Australia and New Zealand are sailed annually in unrestricted 12 ft dinghies for the Silasec Trophy.
At the 1956 Olympic Games held in Melbourne, New Zealand competed in Olympic yachting for the first time. P. Mander and J. Cropp won the gold medal in the 12-sq.-metre Sharpie class, the two-man boat for the games. New Zealand was second to Australia, but, after the disqualification of the Australian boat, was placed first. New Zealand competed in the keel-boat class at the same games. R. L. Stewart, sailing a Dragon-class yacht, was placed twelfth. As New Zealand had no competitive background of racing in these classes, the team's success was significant.
New Zealand competed in the 1960 Olympic Games yachting sailed on the Bay of Naples. R. Roberts was placed sixth in a fleet of 35 in the monotype Finn-class. In the two-man centreboard series sailed in Flying Dutchman class boats, R. Watson, of New Zealand, was placed eighth in a fleet of 31.
At the 1964 Olympic Games, sailed at Sagami Bay, near Tokyo, New Zealand entrants H. O. L. Pedersen and E. L. Wells won the gold medal for the Flying Dutchman class while P. Mander was placed fourth in the Finn-class.
Between 1958 and 1960 the New Zealand Finn-class yachtsman, R. Roberts, sailed in class championships in Australia, Belgium, Holland, Spain, Denmark, Germany, and the United Kingdom. In the World Finn-class Championships at Zeebrugge in 1958 he was placed thirtieth in a seven-race series of 82 competitors. In the Inter-Dominion Finn-class Championships sailed in Sydney in 1962, New Zealand gained the first three places in a five-race series of 27 competitors. The placings were: R. Watson, first; R. Roberts, second; and P. Mander, third.
New Zealand competed in the 1958 International Flying Dutchman Class World Championships in Austria. Calypso (I. Pryde, R. Simich) was placed fifteenth in a fleet of 46. At the 1962 World Series held in Florida, U.S.A., the New Zealand Duchess(B. Skinner, D. Brook) finished twelfth in a 19-boat fleet. In a championship held in Florida in the same year New Zealand was placed third overall. In 1962 an inter-Dominion contest in Flying Dutchman class boats was sailed at Sydney. The placings were:
First: Huybers, Australia, 5,113 points
Second: Pandora, New Zealand, 4,511 points
Third: Calpreta, New Zealand, 4,379 points
Fourth: Haurere, New Zealand, 4,192 points
The New Zealand international 14 ft class team sailing in England in 1958 was placed second to Canada in a sail off for the International Teams Race. The coveted Prince of Wales Cup was won by Atua Hau (G. Smale, R. Roberts), of New Zealand. The other New Zealand boat, Calypso (I. Pryde, R. Simich), won the Weymouth Town Cup in the same year.
Olympic and overseas competition in International-class boats caused a rapid growth in the number of boats in these classes in New Zealand. Although this has been to the detriment of established New Zealand classes, local centreboard boats are being developed as training classes for yachtsmen seeking international competition. An important development in small-boat racing overseas which has had a widespread impact in New Zealand in recent years is the growth of multihulled craft, such as the catamaran and trimaran. This type of yacht, capable of reaching sustained speeds of 30 knots, has proved popular in New Zealand, and national championships are held annually in one-design 12 ft catamarans. To date, New Zealand has not competed internationally in this class of boat.
A large proportion of New Zealand keel yachts, particularly in Auckland, Wellington, and Lyttelton, seldom compete in races. Many of these vessels are specifically designed for cruising on the New Zealand coastline and sheltered sounds. The Hauraki Gulf is generally regarded as the finest of these cruising grounds, containing many fine stretches of open water and anchorages. Wellington yachtsmen, wishing to cruise in the Marlborough Sounds area, have first to make the difficult and often dangerous Cook Strait crossing. The Banks Peninsula offers a wide choice to the cruising yachts of the Lyttelton fleet. Few yachtsmen cruise in the Fiordland Sounds because of the weather conditions in that area and the dangerous nature of the west coast of the South Island. Many ocean cruises are undertaken by New Zealand yachts, mostly to Australia and the Pacific Islands. In 1953, 19 cruising yachts left Auckland on ocean voyages. In 1957 Marco Polo (A. Armit, B. Lowe) became the first New Zealand yacht to circumnavigate the world.
The total yachting population of New Zealand, approximately 15,000, is formed into 85 yacht clubs, most of which are based on the four major ports and 51 of which are in the Auckland area.
by Stephen Gerard O'Regan, formerly Secretary, Evans Bay Yacht Club, Wellington.