This never-ending summer has provided opportunities to grab brilliant sunny days for a little cruise or so. Three trailer yachts took to the waters of Lyttelton Harbour on a hot sunny Tuesday this February.

There was a beautifully restored Hartley 16 owned by Wes Purves and crewed by Ian Scott, aptly named Staying Alive, a Welsford Houdini of Ian Kington, crew Hugh Hobden and a younger Farr 5000 with solo sailor Mike Inns. Ian Scott was the senior member of the crew who had not been out in a trailer yacht for many years, he thoroughly enjoyed the day, a very accomplished sailor.
 
We launched from the Naval Point slipway mid-morning, dodging the freedom camper vans (mostly pairs of young women!), the aim was to sail around Quail Island on the high tide. It was a slow start with fitful puffs of wind from the East, but pleasant enough. Eventually we made our way to the SW end of the island, motors used occasionally. Mike had the best of it, the Farr gliding along ahead of the other two boats. We made it through the gap between King Billy Island and Quail Island. By midday the temperature had shot up to 30 degrees and the crews were sweating it out – relief would be the shade under the trees by the barracks on the island and a dip in the sea.
 
The three craft were nosed into the beach and after a short swim we settled for lunch at a picnic table, the usual sailing talk to accompany lunch. Lunch done, Ian and Hugh in Wally decided to head out into the harbour. A quick look up wind saw little white caps on the horizon, a taste of what was to come! A long board to Charteris Bay was achieved in the building NE. Tacking onto starboard with full sail and the chop of the out going tide made life interesting. Getting further up the harbour it became too much for Wally so the jib was dropped, the crew having a precarious time on the bowsprit,
a hand for yourself and a hand for the ship was applied! Wally sailed much easier as wind and sea built even more – back to the slip to haul out, dodging old mooring piles and a work barge. The other two boats made a great sight heaving over the chop and storming into the launching ramp.
 
Over coffee, we reflected on a great day's sailing that had a little bit of everything, all a little bit weary with the effort, but was worth it.

Kaiapoi Boat Show & River Carnival
Saturday 17th February
 
Our members have been invited to participate in the upcoming Kaiapoi Boat Show.
Unfortunately, this date coincides with the Pleasant Point Yacht Club’s Classic Boats Race that will also attract some of us.  However, the Kaiapoi Boat Show and River Carnival will be a great event and it will appeal to many classic boat owners.
Please give this invitation your support if you are able and complete the registration form attached.
 
The carnival is going to show off the new developments along the town centre riverbanks with several hours of activity on the water. It will make use of the Red Zone to the north of the river, next to the New World Supermarket,
The Classic boats will form the Eastern side of the show area with a strip ten metres deep and 80 to 90 metres long, so there will be room for a good number of boats.

River Carnival Parade.
The organisers are particularly keen to have Classic boats participating in this. Unfortunately, the confined space of the river is not that good for sailing, and it’s impossible in a NW wind.
 
There is space to accommodate boats up to the largest trailerable sizes. A 40m x 6m marquee will be central to the Boat Show area and will have space for at least 12 display areas  (3m x 5m) under cover. 
 
Please follow THIS LINK to register your boat or boats.

I was very pleased last year to acquire a John Welsford designed boat. It is 12’ long and around 4’5” in the beam. The builder, Leon Paterson, bought the plans and build it beautifully in 1995 - light, but durable. He had named the boat “Phaedirean” and he assured me it was a ‘Janette.’  Phaedirean was his family name and was Welsh for Paterson. The boat plans had been lost in the Christchurch earthquakes after Leon had to abandon his house and move to Rangiora.  Because of this it was a bit up in the air as to whether it was actually a Janette or the earlier Welsford design, the Jane.

I had been sailing at Pleasant Point Yacht club for about three years and took notice of the boat, admiring the lines and performance. I said to Leon that if he ever wanted to sell her to let me know. Sometime last year he said he had decided to retire from sailing (84’s not a bad age) and would I like her. Well of course I would! But with a stable of three boats already I didn’t think I would stand a hope in heck of sneaking another one into the barn.

I’m getting a bit older myself and the ‘Finn’ was more than a handful to get in and out of the water. How things turn out as someone came to my house right at that time and said they must have the ‘Finn’. Who was I to argue, so now being down to only two in the stable the ‘Janette’ must take its new place? The (Chancellor of Exchequer) wouldn’t know the difference between a Finn or a Janette?

The main reason I’m putting pen to paper is that in our Group, Canterbury Classic Yachts there are now three of these boats. The picture (left) shows the Janette as I got it.  The rig is a slightly cut down “Europe” sail with a Sunburst mast. It’s a handful, but it goes very well in the right conditions. It out-points other similar boats and leaves the shellback fleet well in its wake. 

Being a fan of the classic nature of a boat (as well as enjoying the cruising aspects of such craft) I thought I would try my Shellback (SB) rig on the Janette. It was nowhere near as quick with this rig and doesn’t point as high, but I found it held its own with the other SB’s and it wasn’t as demanding with the reduced rig.  It has a nice classic look. I can now call it my “B” rig and I can swap the rig between my SB and the Janette. The Europe sail (L) is around 75 sq ft and the shellback is 54. With the SB rig it is so easy to set up as it is free standing. I did break a mask in a blow one race-day but it was my fault as I hadn’t made a good job of the mast laminations - I hope to have cured this with another mast rebuild. 

John Welsford designed the original boat in 1985 and called it “Jane”. Four years later he made some adjustments to the plan and then called it the ‘Janette’. If you have a boat with a beam less than 4’5” (1.34m) you have a ‘Jane. The design plan calls for 76 sq ft of sail. So if you’re not a (wooss.) Like me you may want to persevere with the larger sail. I quite like the option of both and may choose the larger rig on a 5k sunny warm day. Otherwise I’m out there whenever.....

Regards, Ian Kington