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Post by fish on Oct 26, 2023 20:27:06 GMT 12
Postponement of the Altex Yacht & Boat Paint Auckland to Tauranga Yacht Race
It is with a mix of regret and careful consideration that we announce the postponement of the Altex Yacht & Boat Paint Auckland to Tauranga Yacht Race (Altex A2T) to the year 2025. This decision, reached through extensive discussions within the Tauranga Yacht and Power Boat Club (TYPBC), is the result of various critical factors that have influenced our assessment of the 2023 event and its future viability.
Limited entries in 2023 were a significant concern, with the race experiencing a lack of participation from both Tauranga and Auckland. Only 4 entries from Tauranga and 7 from Auckland raised doubts about the likelihood of a significant improvement in these numbers in the coming year.
Competition and scheduling also posed challenges, as numerous competing events created a significant hurdle. Scheduling conflicts with key events like Sail GP, the newly introduced Harbour Classic, and existing races and regattas also limited available dates around March 2024.
The efforts of approximately 60 volunteers from TYPBC were commendable – they cheerfully and willingly invested their time and energy in hosting the event, and it was crucial for them to see reasonable revenue generation for the club.
Sponsor recognition is an important factor, with an acknowledgment of the generous support from Altex A2T sponsors; the decision to postpone aims to provide our sponsors with a more rewarding experience in the future.
Looking forward over the next year, we plan to diligently re-examine options for a spectacular return in 2025. We understand the disappointment this may bring to the yachting community, but we believe this decision is in the best interest of the event's long-term success.
We express our sincere gratitude to all participants, sponsors, and volunteers for their dedication and understanding. Let us collectively prepare for an even more thrilling Altex Yacht & Boat Paint Auckland to Tauranga Yacht Race in 2025.
Fair winds and following seas,
Auckland to Tauranga Race Committee & Tauranga Yacht and Power Boat Club
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Post by GO30 on Oct 27, 2023 11:29:34 GMT 12
Not good news to hear but sadly not super unexpected after the last few years.
Covid has changed the world a lot more than many realise and sailing is far from immune and will be an input for sure.
But a bugger as the lads had this one on the calendar for the season.
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Post by DuckMaster on Oct 27, 2023 18:27:20 GMT 12
Not good news to hear but sadly not super unexpected after the last few years. Covid has changed the world a lot more than many realise and sailing is far from immune and will be an input for sure. But a bugger as the lads had this one on the calendar for the season. I don't understand. They still had 6 months till the start. They have not even put out the 2024 NOR or even opened the entries... Even Coastal is lucky two have 2 boats entered 6 months out... They got stomped on last year by mhyc and their BS harbour classic. |
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Post by fish on Oct 27, 2023 19:06:44 GMT 12
Not good news to hear but sadly not super unexpected after the last few years. Covid has changed the world a lot more than many realise and sailing is far from immune and will be an input for sure. But a bugger as the lads had this one on the calendar for the season. I don't understand. They still had 6 months till the start. They have not even put out the 2024 NOR or even opened the entries... Even Coastal is lucky two have 2 boats entered 6 months out... They got stomped on last year by mhyc and their BS harbour classic. I think the basic problem they've had for a while has been trying to find a date. No one wanted to do easter, cause its the end of the summer, most people have used up all their family brownie points and need / want to do family stuff over a 4 day break. As you rightly point out they got shafted last year by the Harbour Classic. I think for them looking ahead and just tyring to choose a date was hard enough, after getting spanked on that recently, they've rightly made a call early on to not bother with it this year. |
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dp
Full Member
Posts: 135
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Post by dp on Oct 27, 2023 21:34:50 GMT 12
Not good news to hear but sadly not super unexpected after the last few years. Covid has changed the world a lot more than many realise and sailing is far from immune and will be an input for sure. But a bugger as the lads had this one on the calendar for the season. I don't understand. They still had 6 months till the start. They have not even put out the 2024 NOR or even opened the entries... Even Coastal is lucky two have 2 boats entered 6 months out... They got stomped on last year by mhyc and their BS harbour classic. Do you seriously think the Harbour Classic affected tauranga entries in any way? I can't think of one boat in the HC that would have entered A2T |
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Post by GO30 on Oct 28, 2023 8:55:07 GMT 12
Not good news to hear but sadly not super unexpected after the last few years. Covid has changed the world a lot more than many realise and sailing is far from immune and will be an input for sure. But a bugger as the lads had this one on the calendar for the season. I don't understand. They still had 6 months till the start. They have not even put out the 2024 NOR or even opened the entries... Even Coastal is lucky two have 2 boats entered 6 months out... They got stomped on last year by mhyc and their BS harbour classic. It does seem a tad early but then contested like these can require things locked in many months in advance so sort of understandable.
The CC is 'iconic' to use a blaa phrase but then the A2T is equally as so and is also a lot older. So one wonders why the drop off and when you do that next to the CC timing does jump out as one potential significant input.
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Post by em on Oct 28, 2023 9:18:09 GMT 12
I’ve always wanted to do the A2T and seriously considered it last year but the liferaft requirement was the handbrake for me as it would be the only race I would need it for . Plus the timing isn’t great , as fish said about brownie points we do coastal , bay sailing week and Route 66 so my crew have used up their boys weekends allowance already .
I do empathise with the organisers though they had a great event lined up last year which would’ve taken a lot of effort to put together .
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Post by GO30 on Oct 28, 2023 12:20:29 GMT 12
Agree with the raft comment em. The safety crap, which a lot isn't but some sure is, works against participation as well. Then do we go there and raise the dreaded beast that is PHR.....
I entered the RNI to be then made only a entry list filler with an absolute zero chance of a podium by YNZ so I pulled the pin on the race. To put all the time, effort and cost into getting ready only to be shat on by lazy YNZ numpties making bizarre unsupportable assumptions has cost a lot of fleets entries and it still continues to today.
In fact YNZ is a major reason why yachting has lost a lot of it's gloss in my and a few others eyes.
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Post by DuckMaster on Oct 28, 2023 17:08:27 GMT 12
I’ve always wanted to do the A2T and seriously considered it last year but the liferaft requirement was the handbrake for me as it would be the only race I would need it for . Plus the timing isn’t great , as fish said about brownie points we do coastal , bay sailing week and Route 66 so my crew have used up their boys weekends allowance already . I do empathise with the organisers though they had a great event lined up last year which would’ve taken a lot of effort to put together . It's Cat 3. So you can have an inflated dinghy instead of a life raft. That said, the various clubs have muppet rules... There is much inconsistency. MHYC getting to remove liferafts and inflatable dinghies is absurd - it's a question of when, not if a boat is lost. One day it will happen and all the crew will be in the water spread from arse end to arse top and someone will die from drowning. RAYC's bullshit requirement for 50% of the crew to have sea survival for Yates and the 350 is also bollocks, when you consider that RNZYS allowed the 3 Kings races with no requirement for sea survival. Both are Cat 2 races.... seriously wtf!? It's just rediculous there's no actual standard. The biggest mistake for racing was letting coastal have no liferaft. The flow on effect from that means less boats with liferafts which means way less cat 2/3 ready boats. |
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Post by fish on Oct 28, 2023 19:49:16 GMT 12
I’ve always wanted to do the A2T and seriously considered it last year but the liferaft requirement was the handbrake for me as it would be the only race I would need it for . Plus the timing isn’t great , as fish said about brownie points we do coastal , bay sailing week and Route 66 so my crew have used up their boys weekends allowance already . I do empathise with the organisers though they had a great event lined up last year which would’ve taken a lot of effort to put together . It's Cat 3. So you can have an inflated dinghy instead of a life raft. That said, the various clubs have muppet rules... There is much inconsistency. MHYC getting to remove liferafts and inflatable dinghies is absurd - it's a question of when, not if a boat is lost. One day it will happen and all the crew will be in the water spread from arse end to arse top and someone will die from drowning. RAYC's bullshit requirement for 50% of the crew to have sea survival for Yates and the 350 is also bollocks, when you consider that RNZYS allowed the 3 Kings races with no requirement for sea survival. Both are Cat 2 races.... seriously wtf!? It's just rediculous there's no actual standard. The biggest mistake for racing was letting coastal have no liferaft. The flow on effect from that means less boats with liferafts which means way less cat 2/3 ready boats. Accept no one has ever used a lifreraft in a coastal race in NZ. There are so many things to happen before you need a liferaft. That requirement is just arse covering. LR's came about for boats venturing offshore that were completely out of range of rescue, and normally communications. Liferafts are a waste of money and a barrier to participation. |
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Post by DuckMaster on Oct 28, 2023 20:10:46 GMT 12
It's Cat 3. So you can have an inflated dinghy instead of a life raft. That said, the various clubs have muppet rules... There is much inconsistency. MHYC getting to remove liferafts and inflatable dinghies is absurd - it's a question of when, not if a boat is lost. One day it will happen and all the crew will be in the water spread from arse end to arse top and someone will die from drowning. RAYC's bullshit requirement for 50% of the crew to have sea survival for Yates and the 350 is also bollocks, when you consider that RNZYS allowed the 3 Kings races with no requirement for sea survival. Both are Cat 2 races.... seriously wtf!? It's just rediculous there's no actual standard. The biggest mistake for racing was letting coastal have no liferaft. The flow on effect from that means less boats with liferafts which means way less cat 2/3 ready boats. Accept no one has ever used a lifreraft in a coastal race in NZ. There are so many things to happen before you need a liferaft. That requirement is just arse covering. LR's came about for boats venturing offshore that were completely out of range of rescue, and normally communications. Liferafts are a waste of money and a barrier to participation. Duh! Can you read? We've never had a boat sink in a coastal. We've never had a person drown in a coastal. And until this year we'd never had a fatality in a coastal. It's a question of when, not if, we lose a boat in coastal. It will happen... it's just a question of when. Your assumption that so many things happen before you need a life raft is blatently wrong and shows a complete misunderstanding of how fast boats can sink. Just recently we had a typical coastal race boat go to the bottom within 10 seconds right under the harbour bridge. There was no time for anything to happen, the crew literally started swimming... I can think of four examples off the top of my head where a boat went to the bottom within a minute. One the keel fell off in the boi, one collided with the submerged object at night halfway between Tutukaka and the poor knights. Another was doing Melbourne to Osaka, hit by a rogue wave off the nsw coast, the boat was gone in 30 seconds. And the other outside the Squadron! Shit happens, boats can and do go down fast... Anyway my point is make it the same damn rule. Why should A2T need life rafts but CC doesn't? Why should a 350 RAYC race need Sea Survival but a 700km 3Kings race doesn't? I am not arguing for or against life rafts. But one things for sure, participation in Coastal hasn't gone up since the no life raft carrot was dangled. |
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Post by em on Oct 28, 2023 21:35:07 GMT 12
Accept no one has ever used a lifreraft in a coastal race in NZ. There are so many things to happen before you need a liferaft. That requirement is just arse covering. LR's came about for boats venturing offshore that were completely out of range of rescue, and normally communications. Liferafts are a waste of money and a barrier to participation. Duh! Can you read? We've never had a boat sink in a coastal. We've never had a person drown in a coastal. And until this year we'd never had a fatality in a coastal. It's a question of when, not if, we lose a boat in coastal. It will happen... it's just a question of when. Your assumption that so many things happen before you need a life raft is blatently wrong and shows a complete misunderstanding of how fast boats can sink. Just recently we had a typical coastal race boat go to the bottom within 10 seconds right under the harbour bridge. There was no time for anything to happen, the crew literally started swimming... I can think of four examples off the top of my head where a boat went to the bottom within a minute. One the keel fell off in the boi, one collided with the submerged object at night halfway between Tutukaka and the poor knights. Another was doing Melbourne to Osaka, hit by a rogue wave off the nsw coast, the boat was gone in 30 seconds. And the other outside the Squadron! Shit happens, boats can and do go down fast... Anyway my point is make it the same damn rule. Why should A2T need life rafts but CC doesn't? Why should a 350 RAYC race need Sea Survival but a 700km 3Kings race doesn't? I am not arguing for or against life rafts. But one things for sure, participation in Coastal hasn't gone up since the no life raft carrot was dangled. Liferaft requirement was dropped just before Covid . Yacht racing participation has dropped sharply since Covid and its financial ramifications . GO30 said last week quite few boats were asking for free stuff to get to the start line |
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Post by em on Oct 28, 2023 21:36:33 GMT 12
I’ve always wanted to do the A2T and seriously considered it last year but the liferaft requirement was the handbrake for me as it would be the only race I would need it for . Plus the timing isn’t great , as fish said about brownie points we do coastal , bay sailing week and Route 66 so my crew have used up their boys weekends allowance already . I do empathise with the organisers though they had a great event lined up last year which would’ve taken a lot of effort to put together . It's Cat 3. So you can have an inflated dinghy instead of a life raft. That said, the various clubs have muppet rules... There is much inconsistency. MHYC getting to remove liferafts and inflatable dinghies is absurd - it's a question of when, not if a boat is lost. One day it will happen and all the crew will be in the water spread from arse end to arse top and someone will die from drowning. RAYC's bullshit requirement for 50% of the crew to have sea survival for Yates and the 350 is also bollocks, when you consider that RNZYS allowed the 3 Kings races with no requirement for sea survival. Both are Cat 2 races.... seriously wtf!? It's just rediculous there's no actual standard. The biggest mistake for racing was letting coastal have no liferaft. The flow on effect from that means less boats with liferafts which means way less cat 2/3 ready boats. I would take a dinghy but my boats only 26 feet |
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Post by DuckMaster on Oct 29, 2023 8:25:28 GMT 12
I would take a dinghy but my boats only 26 feet I would just like to see consistent requirements across the clubs. |
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Post by Cantab on Oct 29, 2023 8:53:18 GMT 12
Bloody central planning communists popping up everywhere.
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