A Bluffer’s Guide to Yachting

It's not called the City of Sails for nothing. With more than 135,000 yachts registered in Auckland and plenty out in the harbour on a breezy day there is certainly a lot of sailing enthusiasts around. But where does that leave the average Joe - someone who didn’t grow up dinghy racing every Saturday, doesn’t know the first thing about the crazy new America’s Cup yachts and thinks a tack is either a drawing pin or a small pill-like mint?

Contrary to popular belief, yachting isn’t just for the elite. Embracing sailing is surprisingly easy in Auckland. Whether you want to be unfurling a jib out on the water, eating and drinking like a sailor or just want to support Emirates Team New Zealand's (ETNZ) attempt to win the World’s most prestigious yachting accolade, the following is a run down about how to embrace your inner salty sea dog in the City of Sails.

Yachting 101

Just to brush up on the basics, the term yachting refers to using water vessels, called yachts, for sporting purposes. Yachting encompasses the use of both sailboats and motorboats (often referred to as super yachts).

There are plenty of varieties of sailing boats. Monohulls are boats with one hull (which is the body of the boat). Naturally then a multihull is a vessel with more than one hull – introducing cats and tris (catamarans and trimarans). If you’ve been wondering, yes, it is appropriate to refer to ETNZ’s 72-foot wing-powered catamaran as the ‘big cat.’

Back in the world of monohulls there are various qualities that set yachts apart including whether or not they have a keel (the part of the boat that sticks out of the bottom of its centre to provide stability) i.e. big sailing yachts have a keel, small dinghies don’t (they’ll have a centerboard), and how many masts and sails they have – introducing sloops, schooners, ketches and so on. Don’t let the weird names and excessive jargon put you off. All varieties are pretty fun to be out and about on.

Learning

Keen to take to the water but don’t know the first thing about sailing? Fear not, there are a number of options when it comes to learning to sail in Auckland and they don’t require you to be filthy rich either.

The Ponsonby Cruising Club (PCC) Sailing School

Not to be confused with the Ponsonby Social Club, the Ponsonby Cruising Club is nestled at the far end of Westhaven Marina just next to the Harbour Bridge.

The PCC has been teaching sailing for yonks and has a number of graduates who are well known for their various yachting exploits. The Club’s sailing school offers dinghy lessons on Optimists (for young-ins) and Splashes and Sunbursts for adults and are happy to tailor classes to meet your needs and can even set up classes for private groups.

The best thing about learning to sail on a dinghy is learning why things happen. Unlike a large yacht (with a crew) you’ll be entirely responsible for keeping your boat on the water and not “in the drink.” Rest assured you’re likely to learn the hard way with multiple capsizes but it’s all good fun and provides great chat material when you’re spinning yarns post sailing in the club rooms.

Courses are typically run over four weeks, with each class lasting five hours. You’ll walk away with an internationally recognized Yachting New Zealand Certificate too.

Penny Whiting Sailing School

Penny seems to be pretty clued up on sailing – she’s only taught 33,000 people how to sail over the last 44 years. Her courses are 15 hours long – most of which are spent out on the water on a 47-foot long single mast and single hull keeler. You’ll learn the basics of sailing a big yacht including rigging, setting the sails and of course putting the boat through its paces. Penny says you’ll complete the course as a competent and confident sailor and capable of sailing with anyone as crew or even chartering a yacht on your own. Expect to pay a little more to learn on a keel boat like Penny’s but also expect the thrill of sailing a big boat out on the harbour.

Royal New Zealand Yacht Squadron (RNZYS)

The Royal New Zealand Yacht Squadron (RNZYS) is casually the largest and most prestigious yacht club in New Zealand so it’s unlikely they offer any kind of ‘in’ to a yachting novice right? Wrong. The RNZYS has a couple of great options for those new to sailing.

If you are keen to give sailing a go, but you’re not up for becoming a member just yet, the Club is happy to arrange a spot for you on a boat in a Friday Rum Race. You get to experience all the fun of being involved in a yacht race on a boat of experienced recreational sailors without being expected to know everything.

And if you give that a go and love it then you’d probably be up for getting yourself a ‘Crew Membership’ – the cheapest membership type on offer at the Squadron designed for people starting out in sailing or those just want to crew rather than owning or skippering a boat. By signing up as a Crew Member you’ll get all the perks of being a member at the RNZYS (yes, clubroom priced beers), plus they’ll find a boat for you to go out and crew on so you can continue to learn the ropes.

Eating and drinking

A day out on the water certainly gets your appetite going and that salty sea air is bound to make you a touch thirsty too so it’s worth knowing some solid ‘go to’ stops for yachting folk before and after a spot of sailing.

The Sitting Duck Café

Anyone who thinks yachting is just for the super elite should head down to the Sitting Duck Café, housed in the Ponsonby Cruising Club building in Westhaven Marina. This seaside café is about as unassuming as you get. No one will be whipping out the white tablecloths here, but you can expect good coffee along with tasty sandwiches (the retro egg sandwich is well worth a try), delicious brunch and lunch options and yummy baked treats. You can take away if you’re late for the boat or sit yourself down inside or outside and soak up the marina atmosphere.

The Oyster Inn, Waiheke Island

All that salt air has probably got your hankering for some good old fish and chips right? Why not make it a classy affair – it is yachting after all - and take yourself out to Waiheke for dinner at The Oyster Inn? Here you can enjoy tasty seafood classics that are made under the expert eye of head chef Cristian Hossack (formerly head chef at London's Providores). You’re bound to be delighted by a menu boasting things like a half a dozen freshly shucked TeMatuku oysters, served with lemon, chardonnay vinegar & shallots ($22), the Oyster Inn Clam Chowder with bacon, onion, cream served with grilled sourdough ($17), and the Fish ‘inn’ chips – line-caught fish with triple cooked chips ($24.5).

When it comes to choosing a drop to have with dinner you’ll have no shortage of choices from their extensive wine list that offers a wide range of Island-grown favorites.

Swashbucklers

If you are still wondering if yachting is for you, here’s something that might twist your arm. Sailors love to drink. Having multiple cold, refreshing bevvies post sailing is very appropriate but if you really want to drink like a sailor it is worth knowing where to go and what to drink.

Swashbucklers aka “Swashies” has been something of institution for yachting folk. Located in Westhaven Marina the restaurant and pub (the Boatshed Bar) offers both a chilled-out pub feed yet, and can cater for a bunch of merry post-regatta sailors.

Decorated with about as much sailing paraphernalia as you can fit into a bar, this is a real sailors' pub. They’ve got a brilliant deck that looks out over the marina and the friendly staff and enticing menu make it quite an agreeable place to spend some time.

As for your order - I suggest you make it one of two choices; beer (Steinlarger or Lion Red are appropriate) or dark rum – Captain Morgan’s, Mount Gay, Stolen Rum… if you are drinking where the sailors drink, rum is definitely on the menu.

Watching

Fancy yourself as more of a yachting spectator? Well this happens to be an excellent time for a spot of boat watching. Unless you’ve been living under a rock for the last couple of months, chances are you’re pretty pumped about New Zealand making it into the 34th America’s Cup.

While there’s not much action at the end of Halsey St at the moment, rest assured the race village in San Francisco is positively pumping as ETNZ pulls multiple all-nighters to get their boat into top condition before the real test against Oracle – race one kicks off Sunday, September 8 at 8:00am NZ time.

But how can a yachting enthusiast – like yourself – soak up the action when the live races are on a Sunday morning? Fortunately none other than ETNZ’s home yacht club has come to the rescue.

The Royal New Zealand Yacht Squadron (RNZYS), usually a ‘members only’ type place, has been something of a haven for yachting aficionados over the Louis Vuttion Challenger Series. They showed race seven live at the club and for a mere $10 you got a bacon and egg roll, a fresh espresso and were able to watch the race live with 120 equally passionate fans at the club.

The Squadron has confirmed they will be screening every Americas Cup race live in their Ball Room/Dinghy Locker Bar with the same kind of food/coffee deal. Usually these events are strictly ‘members only’ but the club has generously extended “an invitation from the commodore” to members of the public. You’ll just have to call ahead and book your spot (and be over 18). Don’t rock up on the day without making a booking and risk making yourself look like a right Wally (it’s a private club remember.) To book, email [email protected].

If you do forget to register in time to catch the races at the RNZYS, you can always head down to Swashbucklers who have also confirmed they’ll be open for the AC races.