Flag Officers and Committee Members 2024-25
Commodore
Richard Dodd
Vice Commodore
Hugh Gladwell
Rear Commodore
Victor Hopwood
Club Captain/Publicity
Hugh Gladwell (Interim)
Secretary/Treasurer
Safety Officer
John Caukwell
Technical Advisor
James Buttle
Yearbook Editor/Design
Stephen Horsley
Club Historian
Helen Johnson
Committee Members
Martin Farrand, Jill Hetherington, Chris Farrand, Svetlana and Boris
Penchev, Selene Buttle, Dorothy Gladwell, Carolyn Caukwell, Martin
Howson, Margaret Howson
The Founding of the Club
The
Mahurangi
Cruising
Club
was
formed
in
1988.
The
story
told
is
that
a
small
group
of
friends,
sitting
around
on
a
beach
in
the
Mahurangi
Harbour,
decided
to
create
a
home
for
disaffected
sailors
who
did
not
want
to
belong
to
a
proper
yacht
club.
Rather,
what
was
needed
was
a
something
less
formal,
very
inclusive
and
definitely
without
a
club
house
with
all
the
complications
and
costs
that
property
entails.
A
committee
was
thought
to
be
essential,
though
–
one
that
had
a
lot
of
fancy
titles,
could
organise
a
programme
of
events
and
compete
for
lots
of
lovely
trophies.
A
very
large
tree
stump
outside
the
heritage
Scott
house
at
Scott’s
Landing
on
the
Mahurangi
Peninsula
was
claimed
as
the
new
club
HQ
and
the
vision
of
the
club
was
formalised
as
‘Encouraging
the
ownership,
use
and
restoration of classic wooden boats’.
The Mahurangi Regatta
On
Anniversary
weekend
of
1990,
the
new
club
held
its
first
classic
yacht
race
in
the
Mahurangi
Regatta.
This
was
the
perfect
fit
for
the
traditional
spirit
of
the
new
club,
as
the
regatta,
brought
back
to
life
a
decade
before
by
the
Friends
of
the
Mahurangi
group,
was
modelled
on
the
old
Mahurangi
Settlers
Regatta
that
had
been
held
annually
in
the
harbour
from
the
late
nineteenth
century
until
the
outbreak
of
the
second
world
war.
The
race,
at
first
rather
small
and
gathered
together
by
personal
invitation,
soon
grew
and
has
continued
to
grow,
attracting
a
large
number
of
visitors
to
the
harbour
every
Anniversary
Weekend.
Over
a
hundred
boats
now
take
part
in
the
racing
and
upwards
of
600
boats
anchor
in
the
Mahurangi
to
enjoy
what
is
now
recognised
as
the
southern
hemisphere’s
largest
meet
of
classic
wooden
boats
–
yachts
of
all
sizes
as
well
as
classic
launches.
While
the
regatta
race
remains
the
club’s
premier
event,
there
are
also
club
races
held
around
Kawau
Bay
at
Easter
and
in
again
in
early
spring.
The
club
was
keen
to
see,
and
welcome
into
the
regatta,
newly
built
replicas
of
the
old
Mahurangi
punt
–
tenders
that
were
used
around
the
harbour
as
early
as
1860.
In
2009
following
a
major
reconstruction
project
supported
by
members
of
the
club,
the
trading
scow
Jane
Gifford
was
re-launched.
The
Jane
is
now
permanently
berthed
in
the
Warkworth
river
basin
and
provides
excursions
in
and
around
her
old
sailing
grounds
in
the
Maurangi
Harbour.
She
has
a
regular
outing
at
the
regatta
acting
as
the
Club
Start/Finish
Boat.
In
2010,
the
club
was
dealt
a
blow
when
its
club
HQ
and
sometime
trophy
cabinet
was
destroyed
in
a
covert
operation
by
Parks
Management.
The
stump
was
cleared
away.
Committee
members
spent
some
months
meandering
haplessly
from
pub
to
pub
in
search
of
a
suitable
venue
for
meetings.
At
last,
two
club
members
offered
their
magnificent
shed
in
Warkworth
as
a
base.
Admiralty
House
on
Bertram
Street
now provides us, our trophies and other odds and sods, a permanent home.
The Yearbook
In
1999,
the
Club
launched
its
first
Yearbook
and
this
continues
to
grow
both
in
size
and
appeal.
Initially
providing
information
about
the
club
and
its
boats,
the
magazine
now
features
articles
about
their
builders,
their
sailors
and
their
adventures
around
New
Zealand
and
in
distant
waters.
The
profiles
of
New
Zealand
boat
designers
–
especially
the
wooden
boat
designers
and
wooden
boat
restoration projects – remain a central focus of the magazine.
Future Direction
Unfortunately, as the years go by, boats made of wood are less visible. But every year we are
approached
by
more
sailors
wishing
to
take
part
in
the
regatta
and
we
respond
by
creating
additional
classifications
to
enable
them
to
take
part.
In
the
spirit
of
inclusivity
in
which
it
was
founded,
the
club
continues
to
encourage
and
celebrate
any
boat
that
reflects
the
traditional
spirit
of
classic
boats.
As
a
result,
in
2018
the
committee
decided
to
make
a
change
to
the
objectives
of
the
club
to
include
‘Cruising’ - it seemed obvious as it is in the name of the club.