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ePaper created 2014-06-11, 13:05:34 | version 1.30.01
145 Thursday Rum Races. Turner started sailing dinghies when he was eleven years old and has continued to sail, whenever there was water, during his military and engineering careers that have taken him all over the world, including Nigeria, Indonesia, Saudi Arabia and Lagos, where he served as Commodore of the Lagos Yacht Club. Mark Farrell wrote about his experience in the 2001 Coastal Classic: “As we smoked up the coast, we crossed larger but lighter displacement boats one or two divisions higher, who were finding the short steep chop more difficult to deal with – a Stewart goes well to windward in heavy conditions. We changed back to the no. 2 genoa off Cape Rodney when the breeze surprisingly appeared to weaken but at dusk we reduced to the no. 3 as the breeze increased again and shortly after reefed the main as darkness descended. The rain started about 10pm and the gusts increased. We were still going like the clappers as we approached Bream Head at approximately 11:15pm, when we tacked onto port to clear the headland in pouring rain, 40kt gusts and short steep waves. Whamo! We got laid over and the forestay parted company with the forward deck. The foil, genoa, deck fittings and furler drum were thrashing around attached to the boat only by the genoa halyard and foil at the top of the mast. We immediately started the engine to bear away and save the mast, while other crew grabbed the twisted foil, lowered the genoa, lashed the foil to the mast and cut the genoa away, dropped the main and rand the spinnaker halyard out to the pulpit to support the mast. Our bowman,Chris Sandison,worked for more than 20 minutes in driving rain,pitch black and a big swell to secure everything, but in our haste to start the engine and save the rig, the genoa sheet went around the prop. Great. No sails, no engine. We were doing 4kts bare poled, surfing with the breaking waves heading south and trying to thread the boat around Bream Trail, preferably avoiding Sail Rock. Unless we hoisted some canvas we would land up on Waipu Beach in about five hours. We were reluctant to hoist sail in case the mast was damaged and bullets were still coming through. An emergency board meeting decreed we call Whangarei Coastguard, which we did at 11:45pm. Coastguard estimated it would take three hours to reach us. No problem, it was actually pleasant to finally travel with the elements after beating against them for 13 hours. About 3 am,Cara J,a big grunty launch,emerged from the darkness pitching and rolling towards us and so began a two-hour slog under tow back into the chop, averaging three knots, toward Urquhart Bay at the mouth of Whangarei estuary. Every few seconds all would go black ahead of us as a wave between Cara J and Playtime blocked out Cara J’s lights. We eventually anchored in Urquhart Bay at 4am and handed a 40oz bottle of rum to Cara J, before they went to save some more lives. The morning weather update said thee was a 10-15kt northerly window for the next 30 hours; it was a good opportunity to limp back to Auckland. Chris jumped over the side to untangle the prop but the damage to the shaft and bearings meant we couldn’t run the engine in gear. After his swim, we hoisted Chris to the top of the mast to free the forestay. This was unsuccessful, but he inspected the rig and tidied things up so we could run the mainsail up the mast track. We set off under reefed main, at 3-4 kts on a broad reach in warm sunshine spotting several whales on the way.” In October of 2003 Farrell and his partner Amanda Church sold their Auckland furniture business and“punched out.” He sold his interest in Playtime to another keen yachtie, school teacher Tony Knight. Knight had sailed in small boats for most of his life, and was introduced to the Stewarts at the Ponsonby Cruising Club Thursday Rum Races. Knight and Turner continue to actively race and cruise on Playtime. They are racing in the Stewart Championships as well as regularly participating in Ponsonby Cruising Club Rum Races. Playtime is also a regular starter in the Coastal Classic, the annual race from Auckland to Russell, with one podium finish under her keel. She also had a podium finish in the Stewart Championships, second division, in 2005/06.