Seawind Racing at Onepoto Basin

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NZRYS Presidents Cup Regatta – 4 October 2026

Numbers were a little down this year, with a few skippers unable to make it along due to various reasons, including a broken leg, a hip replacement and a conference. Nevertheless, eight skippers turned out for this year’s NZRYS Presidents Cup Regatta at Onepoto Lagoon, with racing getting underway just after 2pm.

Following the standard Presidents Cup format, four teams of two were formed by drawing coloured blocks – Yellow, Green, Blue and White, with matching coloured ribbons adorning each boat’s mast. With the course expertly plotted on the whiteboard by Dan, the stage was set for an afternoon of competitive sailing.

Unfortunately, the lagoon had other ideas!

Small patches of floating algae were already present, but as the afternoon progressed, things deteriorated considerably, possibly helped along by the warmer temperatures. The dreaded floating w**d played havoc with racing, with every boat falling victim multiple times in each race.

It became a familiar routine: sail to the edge, remove the w**d, relaunch, and watch in disbelief as another clump immediately wrapped itself around the keel and/or rudder. To say this was frustrating would be something of an understatement!

With conditions for algal growth only likely to improve as we head into the warmer months, it looks increasingly possible that Onepoto sailing may be on hold for some time. Not exactly the news we wanted, but at least we managed to get the Presidents Cup completed before the lagoon finally declared itself the winner!

The Battle for the Cup

After three races, the points were tied at the top between Mike Gardiner sailing boat 185 and Dave sailing boat 3, setting up a deciding sail-off between the two.

The final showdown proved to be a close affair, with both boats staying in close proximity over much of the two-lap race.

However, while negotiating a mark rounding in the fickle breeze, boat 3 managed to slip underneath the mark, requiring a 360-degree turn before having another go at it. This gave 185 the opportunity to accelerate away and establish a healthy lead with only one and a half legs remaining.

Having finally negotiated the missed mark, boat 3 then managed to collect a substantial load of w**d, requiring a slow trek across the pond and back to shore for removal.

By this stage, 185 had rounded the final mark and was heading for the finish, only to succumb to yet more w**d, offering a glimmer of hope to boat 3.

With a final burst of determination, boat 3 made a last-ditch attempt to close the gap. Mike held his nerve, cleared the w**d, and 185 crossed the finish line to claim victory, with boat 3 just a few metres behind after all the drama.

Congratulations to Mike on a well-deserved win, particularly in such challenging conditions!

It was great to see prospective new skipper Adam come along to watch the event. Dave offered Adam the use of his spare Seawind, boat 13, which he eagerly accepted. Adam chose to enjoy some fun sailing and wisely stayed clear of the racing fleet. Adam’s partner Mauricey arrived a little later and is also keen to get into RC sailing. There was some talk of a couple of DF65s being on order, so we may not see them amongst the Seawinds just yet, but hopefully they can join the fleet at some stage.

Mike R, sailing boat 85, experienced some electrical gremlins during his final race, eventually ending up parked on the far bank. The exact cause wasn't established, but we're confident boat 85 will be back in action and sorted before the next event.

Despite the algae, fickle breeze and mechanical dramas, it was great to get the Presidents Cup completed and enjoy another afternoon of camaraderie on the water.

Congratulations again to Mike Gardiner, our 2026 NZRYS Presidents Cup Champion!

And to Onepoto Lagoon – we really need to have a serious chat about your w**d problem!

Our next event will be Spring Series fleet racing next weekend Oct 11, once again at Onepoto Lagoon.

The algae will no doubt continue to provide its usual challenges, but we have something a little different to look forward to this time around!

Suzy Cato and her crew will be joining us to film our boats in action while shooting an item for her kids’ television show.

Feel free to invite along any kids or grandkids who might like to be part of the filming.

Hopefully the weather gods will be kind and deliver some sunshine and a decent breeze for the occasion. It should make for a fun and slightly different day on the water!

So, bring your boats, bring the family, and let's put on a good show – algae and all!

With the weather gods lining up a 23-knot westerly for tomorrow, we’ve decided to cancel our scheduled match racing event.
Instead, we’ll meet for a coffee and a catch-up at Constellation Cafe at 11:00am. ☕️

With the forecast of 20+kts, the Spring #2 fleet racing event scheduled for tomorrow, Sept 20, has been cancelled. Meeting for coffee, brunch, lunch at Constellation Cafe, 11am.

Spring Series #1 – Onepoto Lagoon

13 September 2026

Spring racing got underway at Onepoto today, and the SW wind brought with it all the usual Onepoto ingredients — up and down, left and right, and generally doing whatever it felt like! Conditions were certainly varied, keeping everyone on their toes throughout the afternoon.

We started with 10 skippers, but as the racing progressed the fleet gradually reduced to six, with boats 9, 18, 47 and 800 all retiring for various reasons.

Bruce arrived a little late and joined the fleet for Race 3 and taking the fleet to seven boats. He wasted no time getting into business, taking the win in both Race 3 and Race 4.

There was a little drama for Mikey G, who suffered a broken mainsheet line. After tying the loose ends back together, he discovered that he had neglected to run the line through the bridle. This meant his next move was a rather more drastic one — cut the line and tie it again properly! Sometimes the quickest repair is the one you have to do twice.

Noel retired after Race 4 after experiencing problems with water ballast entering the boat, along with a few other gremlins that had Boat 47 ignoring his commands and seemingly deciding to do its own thing. Hopefully, a dive into the bilge will reveal the culprit, and Noel will be back on the race course next week.

The w**d situation was actually not as bad as expected, although a few boats did manage to pick up the occasional keel or rudder rider. I gave the launch area a good rake before racing, which seemed to work well and made launching considerably easier.

Rick has added a new bow bumper to Boat 234. As you can see from the photo, it certainly looks like a “bumper” bow bumper!

Rick guided Boat 234 to a well-deserved victory, taking the top spot with an impressive 11 points.

Brian, steering Boat 23, seemed to be in the right place at the right time throughout the afternoon, securing a very solid 2nd place with 18 points.

Dave took out 3rd place.

A good start to the Spring Series, with plenty of close racing, a few mechanical dramas, and thankfully, less w**d than we were expecting!

Next week is Spring Series #2 — same time, same place.

See you on the water! ⛵

Onepoto Lagoon Update
As you can see, the algae is very thick in places around the lagoon and is now impacting our sailing.
However, I am pleased to report that with the recent increase in both outflow and inflow, which we have been managing via the weir and water-control flaps, water clarity has improved considerably. I can now clearly see the bottom in areas of the lagoon, as there is significantly less fine suspended matter in the water.
Our current focus is on controlling the Pithophora (filamentous “horsehair”) algae by increasing the salinity of the lagoon, as Pithophora is known to be less tolerant of saltwater conditions.
Early indications suggest this may be having a positive effect, particularly with water clarity, but time will tell whether increased salinity provides a sustainable means of controlling the dreaded algae.
We intend to operate the weir and water-control flaps during weekdays. With the weir boards removed, the pond can get quite low; however, with one flap open, the water level quickly returns to normal with each tide.
The aim will be to have the pond water level returned to normal over the weekends so that we can continue our sailing activities..... however the algae may stop us.
We will continue to monitor the lagoon closely and assess how the algae responds over the coming weeks.

The scheduled match racing event for today, 30 Aug, has been cancelled due to a less than favourable forecast of high winds.

Winter Series – Event Cancelled

With a forecast of 16kt winds for today’s event, conditions were looking reasonably promising. Unfortunately, the 12 skippers were dealt much higher winds, making sailing — let alone fleet racing — extremely difficult.

After battling through the potentially boat-breaking conditions in the first race, with a couple of boats actually suffering breakdowns, we decided it was best to call the event off. A few hardy skippers elected to stay on and have some so-called “fun sailing”, while most of the fleet sensibly packed up and headed home.

Our Winter Series has certainly been challenging, with three of the scheduled seven events cancelled — two due to a lack of wind and one due to having far too much!

Dan’s friend Jordan joined us for racing today, sailing one of Dan’s spare boats. Jordan who sails full-size yachts, took well to RC sailing and looks to be well on his way to becoming a competitive Seawind skipper. Hopefully, he’ll become a regular competitor at our weekly events.

With the Winter Series now complete, the standings remain as posted last week. Congratulations to Bruce Watson for taking gold, with Rick Royden just one point behind claiming silver, and Dave Larsen taking bronze. 🥇🥈🥉

Hopefully, we’ll have better luck with the weather for our next event which is:

🏁 Match Racing #7
📅 Sunday, August 30
⏰ 10am–midday
📍 Quarry Lake, Takapuna

Onepoto Lagoon Algae Update.
The nasty stuff continues to grow and is now appearing throughout the pond. It is still mostly concentrated on the pond floor, although clumps of floating algae can be seen on the surface when conditions are calm.
The wind tends to break up this floating algae, so with 17 knots forecast, I don't expect it to be a significant problem for our fleet racing event tomorrow. That said, we will probably encounter the stringy Pithophora algae catching on our keels and bulbs, particularly when sailing through the shallower parts of the pond.
As mentioned in previous updates, and I know I keep going on about it, my concern is that the algae will really take off once the warmer weather arrives, as it has done in previous years. It has that familiar feeling of a ticking time bomb!

Hi everyone. Just confirming that we will hold our final winter event this coming weekend, Aug 23, Onepoto, 1-3pm. Winter Series standings and an AI generated report attached.

NZRYS Winter Series 2026 – Final Raceday Preview

With 4 races now completed, there is just one Raceday remaining in the 2026 NZRYS Winter Series.

The final event on 23 August will be particularly important because the championship is being decided on the best five Raceday scores. There is still plenty of opportunity for positions to change.

🏆 The championship is still wide open

Bruce Watson currently leads on 52 points, just one point ahead of Rick Royden on 53.

This is the closest possible battle at the top. Because only the final Raceday score will be added to their current Best 4 totals, the difference of just one point means either skipper can still take the Winter Series.

A strong final result from Rick could see him overturn Bruce's lead, while Bruce will be looking to finish ahead of Rick and secure the championship.

🥉 Third and fourth could change

Dave Larsen is currently third on 76 points, with Mike Gardiner fourth on 87.

The 11-point gap looks reasonably comfortable, but it is still possible for Mike to close it.

If Mike has a very strong final Raceday and Dave has a poor one, the two could swap positions.

So while Dave is currently favourite for third, third place is not yet guaranteed.

The battle for fifth to seventh

There is another close group involving Mike Renner, Chris Yates and Daniel Leech.

Current standings:

Mike Renner – 108
Chris Yates – 116
Daniel Leech – 126
Mike Renner has an eight-point advantage over Chris, while Chris is only ten points ahead of Daniel.

All three can therefore still change positions.

Mike Renner could finish as high as 5th or drop to 6th.

Chris has the greatest opportunity for movement and could finish anywhere from 5th to 7th.

Daniel can still move ahead of Chris and finish 6th, although he cannot catch Mike Renner if Mike has a reasonable final result.

This makes the final Raceday particularly important for this group.

Tom Clark looks safe in eighth

Tom Clark currently sits eighth on 144 points.

The gap to Daniel in seventh is 18 points, while Tom has a 36-point advantage over Noel Heerdegen in ninth.

Even the best or worst possible final Raceday result cannot bridge either of those gaps.

Tom is therefore guaranteed to finish eighth overall.

A big battle from ninth down

The positions from 9th to 14th could see some significant movement.

Noel Heerdegen currently occupies ninth place on 180 points, but Laurie Glover and Brian Christensen are both on 189.

That nine-point gap means Noel can still be overtaken.

Laurie and Brian can both move up to 9th, while Noel could potentially drop as far as 11th.

Peter, Andrew and Lance could all move

The lower end of the table is also far from settled.

Peter Newfield – 198
Andrew Hunter – 203
Lance Allen – 215

Only five points separate Peter and Andrew, while Lance is just 12 points behind Andrew.

Peter could finish anywhere from 10th to 13th.

Andrew could finish between 12th and 14th.

Lance could still move up to 13th, meaning even the final two positions are not guaranteed.