tauranga powerboat and yacht club

Tauranga Yacht and Power Boat Club still flourishing after century of sailing

Sandra Conchie

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Tauranga Yacht & Power Boat Club commodore Delwyn Keyworth holding a photograph taken in 1984 of the site where the second clubrooms were built. Photo / George Novak

It all started when a group of keen sailors and boaties met at a barbershop in Devonport Rd in 1920.

One hundred years on, the Tauranga Yacht and Power Boat Club continues to flourish.

This weekend hundreds of club members are gathering to celebrate the club's centennial, with plenty of sailing and fun times on the programme.

Among its 450 members are a number of national and world champions in all classes of yacht racing, including Peter Burling, who skippered Emirates Team New Zealand to America's Cup victory.

Also members are Rio 2016 49erFX silver medallist Molly Meech and her brother Sam Meech - one of the world's best Laser sailors.

Burling and the Meech siblings, alongside clubmate Jason Saunders, will be part of the 11-strong sailing team representing New Zealand at the Tokyo Olympics.

Another Olympian in the club is up-and-coming windsurfing star Veerle ten Have - also set to compete in Tokyo.

The club also has national sailing judges, race officers and Yachting New Zealand trained sailing and safety instructors.

Nearly 100 people joined the club at the inaugural meeting on October 20, 1920, and in 1933 the first clubrooms were built on the site now occupied by the Harbourside restaurant.

The club continued to flourish with launch racing and yachting racing often combined in the 1930s and lots of classes of racing have been added in the following years.

Since the club's move to its headquarters at Sulphur Point in November 1983, it has hosted many overseas races, coastal races and national championship events.

Club commodore Delwyn Keyworth said the club was a "great breeding ground" for many national and international success stories not just in terms of racing but also those who went on to sail the world.

There were lots of people living overseas who had honed their skills at the club, she said.

"Our centenary is going to be a wonderful celebration for all our members, who we also rely on to help keep the club going and ensure it keeps going from strength to strength."

Keyworth said the club was "unique" because it had a lot of different classes - keelboats, trailer yachts, multihulls, centreboarders, windsurfers and an informal cruising group.

"It's not just about racing but also about people enjoying themselves in and out of the water, and we even have a recreational vehicle group which was established last year.

"We also have a sailing school for newcomers to get a taste of sailing and nearly 100 of our membership are in the younger age group," she said.

"Our club offers everything a new or experienced sailor would ever want."

Keyworth said she took up sailing about 10 years ago after reading an advert in a local newspaper about the club's popular "women on water" division and never looked back.

She rose through the ranks to become the commodore in July.

Keyworth said the club centennial celebrations began last night with a meet and greet at the Sulphur Point clubrooms, followed by racing and other sailing events today and tomorrow.

Today there will be a sail past for all members outside the clubrooms from 10am, then the Centennial Cup racing for keelboats, multihulls and trailer yachts starting at 11am, following by a prizegiving and barbecue.

Tomorrow the keelboats and trailer yacht racing starts at 11am near the Sulphur Point clubrooms and the centreboarders racing begins at noon outside Harbourside Restaurant.

Keyworth said the clubrooms would also be open over the weekend for the public to come to have a chat - new members were always welcome to join.

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Get started in sailing at Tauranga Yacht & Powerboat Club

Tauranga Yacht and Powerboat Club are offering a number of Dinghy Sailing Courses over the coming months and they’re open to children of all sailing levels with beginners welcome.

Christmas Course 

21st - 22nd December 10am - 3pm $135 for both days

Summer Courses 

11th-15th January 10am - 3pm $300 per week

18th-22nd January 10am - 3pm $300 per week

25th-29th January 10am - 3pm $300 per week

Contact Alice on [email protected]

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The Yacht Club

• Conference Facilities
• Dance studio Education space Exhibition space Film space Gallery Music Venue Performing arts centre Studio for hire Training space

The Yacht Club , located within Tauranga Yacht & Power Boat Club (TYPBC) , is the perfect choice for your next function in Tauranga. Located at the end of Sulphur Point, Tauranga, The Yacht Club offers a stunning location for your function with 180-degree views over Tauranga Harbour looking towards Matakana Island, Mauao and the harbour entrance. This unique vista creates a fantastic backdrop to your special occasion with accessible parking, access to venue and bathroom facilities, including showers.

TYPBC, a not for profit organisation, has been serving the sailing community for 100 years, with many of the countries best sailors having come through the TYPBC sailing programme. To support the club’s ongoing success, TYPBC runs The Yacht Club function venue. TYPBC venue also hosts Young Mariners , TS Chatham , BoPSAT and Sailability .

Our function, conference, meeting, workshop, funeral and wedding venue offers a variety of spaces and configurations to suit your event.

Upstairs Function Spaces:

• Our function rooms cater for from 20 to 300 guests with large meet and mingle spaces and plenty of complimentary parking.
• Deck space for mixing, mingling and enjoying the vista of Tauranga Moana
• The venue can be adapted as one large space or divided into two independent spaces to match your requirements.
• Our competitively priced and fully air-conditioned venue provides a spellbinding situation for any event.
• Fully licenced and serviced bar
• Projectors and screens
• Sound system
• Whiteboards and pens
• Complete setup and breakdown included in competitive rates

Onsite Catering:

• Morning and afternoon teas
• grazing table
• Funeral platters
• Tea and Coffee

Other Spaces:

• Includes self-catering kitchen or fully catered
• Tables and Chairs
• Projector and screen
• Sound System
• Direct access to outdoor areas

Relax on our large deck and enjoy a drink while taking in the unobstructed Tauranga Harbour view.

Don’t hesitate to ask if you have any questions.

Interested in

• Collaborations
• Open to creative opportunities
• Meet the Team
• Meet the Trustees
• Arts and Culture Strategy Overview
• Investment Mapping
• Youth Mapping Research
• Arts For Prescription
• Art & Business
• After Dark Urban Light Festival
• State of the Arts Survey 2022
• Interviews with Creatives
• Around The Table Podcast
• Creative People
• Creative Groups
• Creative Spaces
• Submit your profile
• Creative Kōrero
• Creative Communities Scheme
• Western Bay Mini Arts Grants
• Funding Resources
• Christine Tustain Classical Music Award
• Jann Medlicott Creative Arts Scholarship
• Other Scholarships, Awards & Residencies
• Upcoming Workshops
• What’s On
• Sign up to our pānui (newsletter)

• Women on Water at TYPBC
• Paper Tigers
• Centreboard
• Trailer Yachting
• Crew Finder
• RV Division

The Keeler’s are a fun group of sailors with experience levels from beginner to internationally recognised skippers and crews. The keeler ethos is to race hard with and against good friends, develop and enjoy the robust after race social gatherings, and always be helpful and willing to share knowledge to build a strong community of enthusiastic sailors and racers.

Our biggest fleets are for the Summer Series races which are a series of about 20 races through the summer months taking place on a Wednesday evening. Wednesday night racing often draws in excess of 60 boats, ranging from trailer yachts to 40 foot keelers. No Wednesday is complete without a stop back up at the club to swap stories and lies!

On alternate Fridays through the summer we have the Friday Night Fun/Rum rally. This is open to all sizes of Keeler and Trailer Yachts.  A more casual series where the idea is just to enjoy some time out on the water and a good opportunity to take out workmates and introduce people to the art of sailing.  A wonderful way to end the week and leave all thoughts of work behind!

Weekend racing throughout the year comprises of a range of longer races either in the harbour or out into the waters of the Bay of Plenty.  There are races around Motuhoa Island, Motiti Island and Karewa Island, Mayor Island and Whitianga.  There is a popular series of short-handed races through the summer too.

Racing continues through the winter with our Winter Series which is a series of races held on alternate Sundays from May to August. We are often treated to some stunning and beautiful sailing conditions during the winter. Great series for keeping crews sharp during the off season.

We invite keeler sailors of all ages, experience, and boats to join in and enjoy the good times.

For more information, contact  [email protected]

- 2023-24 Summer Season Entry Form (Wednesday's, Karewa, Bluewater, Friday's)  

- 2023-24 short handed series entry form, - 2024 gold cup nor  here  enter  here.

-  Sign up to our Email regarding all Race info and Keeler News, 

Upcoming dates...

• Tauranga Marina Society Karewa Race 4 – Sunday 10 th March 10:00am start
• Altex Yacht & Boat Paint Gold Cup Race – Saturday 16 th March 08:00am start.  Join the reinvigoration of this prestigious mile long haul race.
• Closing Day Mills Reef WOW Karewa Race – WOW invite all keelers for a Mark Foy start.

-  Click here for Results

-  click here to fill out a finish declaration .

- Link for Running Finish times (Results People Only) 

With RaceQ’s people at home can watch the racing live (5 mins delayed) or you can re-live the action and analyse your race afterwards.

Information on how to set up the RaceQs tracker -  Click here 

Season race links:

Summer Series 1 2021

Summer Series 2 2022

Bluewater Series 2021/2022

Karewa Series 2021/2022

Shorthanded Series 2021/2022

• [email protected]
• 90 Keith Allen Drive Otumoetai Tauranga, New Zealand