Kapiti Radio Yacht Club Inc

Kapiti Radio Yacht Club Inc Kapiti Radio Yacht Club - home of radio control sailing on the Kapiti Coast. Any class of radio control yacht is welcome.

We primarily sail the EC12, IOM, DF65 & DF95 but all are welcome. Weekdays the team can be found at Awatea Reserve, Mazengarb Rd, Racing Friday afternoons from 1pm

Heavy rain and thunderstorms forecast all day today so racing is cancelled.It is not looking good for tomorrow either.
04/06/2026

Heavy rain and thunderstorms forecast all day today so racing is cancelled.
It is not looking good for tomorrow either.

27/05/2026

An epic race report from the new scribe John Emmerson.

The Awatere Lake DF95 Regatta Report
This is the truth, until it isn't.

The great DF95 showdown upon the shimmering puddle they call Awatere Lake.

A fine autumn day it was too — blue skies overhead, enough sunshine to warm the ale barrels, and absolutely bugger-all wind.

The lake looked less like a race course and more like a mirror somebody forgot to break.

The fleet arrived early, full of confidence, tactical genius, and sandwiches wrapped in yesterday’s racing form guide.

Skippers crouched at the shoreline with transmitters in hand, staring at the sails as though hard enough concentration might summon a breeze from Wellington. It did not.

Mr A Brown Boat 110, may have come 3rd but before the day started, he had to fetch his boat from the other side of the lake due to not turning it on...........

There were moments during Race 3 when a duck overtook half the fleet.

Boat 257, however, sailed like a barmaid heading for the last taxi home — determined, elegant, and somehow always finding the only puff of wind on the lake. While the others drifted about like pensioners hunting for a park bench, 257 sliced through the calm with the confidence of a man who knows his tab’s already paid.

A mighty performance indeed.

Boat 16 showed flashes of brilliance too, though at one stage appeared to be navigating by horoscope rather than wind direction. Boat 110 spent much of the afternoon engaged in what experts later described as “aggressive wandering.” Meanwhile 153 displayed admirable persistence, proving beyond all doubt that even slow sailing counts if you eventually cross the line before sunset.

There was controversy near the leeward mark during Race
5 when two skippers accused each other of stealing wind. Given there wasn’t any, the protest committee wisely settled the matter over biscuits.

By day’s end the standings were clear:

🥇 First Place — Boat 257
Masterful sailing. Calm under pressure. Magnificent tactics. Probably witchcraft.

🥈 Second Place — Boat 16
Fast when pointed in the correct direction, which was most of the time.

🥉 Third Place — Boat 110
A heroic effort held together by luck, optimism, and questionable mathematics.

Champagne sailing with a 3-5 knots westerly made for a perfect afternoon – and it was even warm!There were 5 x DF95 and ...
24/05/2026

Champagne sailing with a 3-5 knots westerly made for a perfect afternoon – and it was even warm!

There were 5 x DF95 and 4 x EC12 all sharing the same race track with only a couple of relatively minor skirmishes between the classes – in reality mistakes as are made usually amongst one class anyway with simple turn the wrong way and basic port/starboard stuff. No damage to anyone.

These 2 classes are relatively well matched for speed in the lighter breezes but the 95’s scoot faster downwind when the breeze gets up (unlike today)

10 races were completed by 3.00pm followed by an around the lake (well ½ of it) which I measured at around 900m without tacks – it took the lead boat around 15 mins to complete and the 2 classes were mixed up at the end with a couple of 12’s edging out the 95’s.

In the 95 fleet 4 of the 5 earned a gold sticker for 1st placings with Neil Gibbo taking out the day convincingly with John E sneaking 2nd by 1 point over Neil” the 1 armed bandit” Harwood.

Over in the 12’s Chris Harmer had a runaway day with 8 x 1sts and a couple of discards for luck. 2nd place was Brian Hogg x 1 point over Chris Hargreaves.

Next weekend is a long one with Monday being the holiday – long range forecast looking gold for another delightful Sunday @ Winstones.

See ya next week

Well that was a surprise – after all the weather models showed Sunday being a blow out the weatherman played a different...
10/05/2026

Well that was a surprise – after all the weather models showed Sunday being a blow out the weatherman played a different tune.

4 DF95’s and 3 EC12’s arrived at Otaki to be greeted with moderately blustery conditions which soon died away to the point racing had to stop by 2.30 due to no wind.

With the small fleet of 7 all boats racing together on the same course, starting at the same time – no different to multi keeler fleets really - Any concerns about collisions/damage to DFs by EC12s were put to bed early with a quick prestart discussion to ensure all knew that as long as everyone understood the basic rules we would all get along fine – and that was 100% true with no inter-class issues or collisions at all. It was interesting that when the breeze was up a little the DF95’s were 1 for 1 with the EC12’s (albeit sailing B / C rigs) and downwind definitely faster. When the breeze dropped away the 12’s waterline length then became a factor and they stretched out a bit upwind.

Results are posted in the usual place on the website - Race Results | kapitiradioyachtclub

03/05/2026

Video of jetty being flipped over

A GREAT day after the rains with 16 starters.
24/04/2026

A GREAT day after the rains with 16 starters.

RO Report for EC12 Nats last weekend:Eleven skippers entered the 2026 EC12 National Champs; four representing the Ruahin...
01/04/2026

RO Report for EC12 Nats last weekend:

Eleven skippers entered the 2026 EC12 National Champs; four representing the Ruahine Radio Yacht Squadron (RRYS) with Kapiti Radio Yacht Club (KRYC) making up the remainder. The forecast offered north westerlies for most of Saturday, but light and shifty north to northeasterly breezes on Sunday. Both days were expected to be overcast.

Contrary to the forecast, Saturday morning started with a fairly consistent NE breeze which didn’t look like it was going away any time soon. A course was set and a practice race kicked off to warm up the skippers and check out the course. Two competition races were then completed before the expected change to the north westerly arrived. A break in proceedings while a new course was set and the competition got under way again. By the time the breeze began to fade, the fleet had sixteen races on the score sheet and were happy to retire to the BBQ and a beer.

Back to the lake on Sunday morning and we were greeted with a beautiful sailing breeze from the east. This is not unusual at this venue when cold air from the Tararuas flows down the river valley early in the day. Saturday’s course had been left out overnight, so with a small tweak to a couple of marks, we sailed the same course in the opposite direction. Eventually the easterly did fade, and the expected northeasterly began to build. A new course was set where we had started the previous morning, and we squeezed out another four races to give eight for the day and an overall total of twenty-four for the event.

Mike Garden (Kapiti) was the standout skipper on Saturday, with a string of wins putting him at the top of the podium by the end of the day. A closer competition was being fought out between Karl Banks (Ruahine) and Chris Harmer (Kapiti) for the next two podium spots with only a couple of points separating them overnight. Sunday was a slightly different story, with Chris dominating in the lighter airs. Six wins out of the eight races on day two saw him overtake Karl for second place overall.

In addition to NZRYA medals and perpetual trophies for 1st, 2nd and 3rd place-getters, the Brent Charman Trophy was up for grabs for the first time in seventeen years. The trophy, for North Island inter-club competition was carried off by the Kapiti club for 2026. Final podium places:

• First - Mike Garden (KRYC)
• Second - Chris Harmer (KRYC)
• Third - Karl Banks (RRYS)
• Brent Charman trophy for top club went to KRYC

Congratulations to the prize winners – some great racing and close finishes in very mixed conditions – and to the EC12 NCA and Kapiti Club for a very well organised event.

Graeme Perry
Race Officer

Hi All,Eight boats sailed today.The forecast was for light showers and northerlies but no one told us that it was going ...
27/03/2026

Hi All,
Eight boats sailed today.
The forecast was for light showers and northerlies but no one told us that it was going to be 27 degrees and super humid.
The light & puffy wind was up to its usual tricks to keep us all frustrated but at least it wasn't boring and there was a good mix of boats in the top placings. A special mention to Dick, boat 414 who had a consistent day mostly at the top of the fleet for a well deserved second overall after 8x races.
It was great to see Jim Gordon come down for a look.
Jim has done a lot of sailing at RPNYC on various keelboats and was also involved in race management.
He appears keen to get a boat & Vaughan has invited him to come down on Tuesday to have a go to see how he likes it.
Results are here; https://kapitradioyachtclub.wixsite.com/kapiti-radio-y-club/race-results
Photo of what the best dressed radio yachtie wears to keep his transmitter dry and hands free. Not sure how it would fare in a gale.
(Mary Poppins comes to mind)
image

What a cracker day at Winstones. Light warm breeze and 12 boats hit the water on 2 courses. EC12 had 5 getting some pre ...
22/03/2026

What a cracker day at Winstones. Light warm breeze and 12 boats hit the water on 2 courses. EC12 had 5 getting some pre Nationals work in - EC12 Nationals are next weekend here. And the DF fleet with 6 x 95 and 1 x 65 seen.
2 courses laid and no racing conflict between the fleets with more than enough room for a 3rd course if needed.
EC 12 results in pics - not sure of DF results.

Address

Winstones Lake
Otaki
5512

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