nz model yacht association

Pegasus Radio Sailing Club

model yacht radio sailing on Lake Pegasus Canterbury New Zealand

2024 PRSC Sailing Calendar

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Pegasus Radio Sailing Club formed in 2018 and is based on Lake Pegasus in Waimakariri District, north of Kaiapoi, South Island, New Zealand. Lake Pegasus covers 18 hectares, is 500 metres long and varies between 100 and 200 metres wide providing 3.5 km of foreshore with five areas we can sail from, depending on the wind. Nearly 50 members are friends enjoying the challenges and satisfaction of radio sailing. They are always keen to share their knowledge and respond to interest shown by passers-by or enquiries through the website.  

Our Club and members own over 70 radio yachts across 14 designs – Canterbury J; IOM; EC12; DF95 and 65; Laser RC; Marblehead; Ten Rater and A Class; Mini 40; Fairwind and Sailwind and 6 Pegasus 880 yachts for public, school and business “Have a Go” events as well as challenges within the club and against other radio yachting clubs.

The annual Activities Program operates mainly for IOMs and DF 95 class racing on Sundays for the Club’s Championship Series, Medal Days, a Founders Day and the Members’ Memorial Day with prizes to recognise performance and improvement. In-between are Club Sailing Days for which members can create their own focus.

During the week, DF 95 owners enjoy Wednesday Twilight Racing, and Tuesday and Thursday Sailing is offered to members and prospective members for – getting to know radio sailing – building confidence in boat handling (on and off the water), – gaining knowledge and experience of the rules, – or simply experiencing the pure joy of sailing a radio-controlled yacht.

Another special feature of the club is the Impromptu Sailing that happens any day when members look out over the lake, at any time of the week, check the weather, and WhatsApp other members to put a few buoys out and test each other’s wit and wisdom. Aspiring competitive skippers often create opportunities together to tune their yachts and improve their yacht handling skills.

With our distinctive trailer , well managed resources and capable administration, we offer all skippers support and fellowship : for those new to radio sailing, to those aiming for competitive success, and for all interests in between. The Club encourages its skippers of all abilities to reach for their aspirations, and to get the most out of their time with each other as well as their boat. At the same time, the wellbeing and progress of PRSC is enhanced by the special and varied skills and knowledge which every member brings to the Club.

On the continuum , members can take up opportunities to learn to sail and enjoy their boats, to whatever level they wish. It might be to simply launch their boat from the peaceful shores of Lake Pegasus and relax away from life’s pressures by themselves, or in the company of friends, or to compete locally, nationally and internationally.

PRSC has also gained a reputation for excellence in running events on our home water. These might be to bring radio sailors together from other clubs socially, or for workshops, or for full blown championship regattas attracting accomplished radio yachties from New Zealand, and overseas.

In celebration of each year, in December , our Club closes with a Prize Giving to acknowledge our members’ achievement and excellence through the year.

• Frostbite Regatta Blenheim 31 July – 1 August 2021
• Radio Marlborough Challenge 2021 – Blenheim
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Upcoming events

• November 3, 2024 National Club Day
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© 2017 New Zealand Model Power Boat Association

New Zealand Radio Yachting Association Inc.

The home of Radio Sailing in New Zealand

Canterbury J Class

The Canterbury J is a project that lets existing or newcomers to the sport of radio sailing, get started quickly with a good handling model yacht that is easy to build and cost effective. Additionally it has ease of transport and a good resale potential. The Canterbury J is a 1.22 metre (48″) yacht with a main and foresail rigged to a 1.6 metre mast. 350 hulls have been sold and they are to be found in all areas of New Zealand and some as far afield as the USA, Canada and the UK. It is a one-design yacht and all hulls come from official molds approved by the Canterbury J Owners Association. Each hull has a unique identification number molded into the hull.

The Canterbury J is registered with the NZ Radio Yachting Association as a nationally recognised class.

It is not uncommon to see groups of Canterbury J’s approaching the finish line together, particularly in calm conditions, when their ability to sail in the lightest of airs poses a challenge to other classes of yachts. A great Canterbury J attribute is the ability to negotiate weed and shallows because of the integrated keel / rudder profile; and it is this characteristic that has boosted our membership, making Canterbury J’s the predominant class of yacht sailed in Christchurch.

Another benefit is that within the basic parameters of the rules there is a great deal of freedom for the average builder to reflect ingenuity and skill, with the rigging, hatches, internal layout of components and deck layouts and composition.

The Canterbury J class history

In 1998 weed was the scourge of the Christchurch Model Yacht Club at Lake Victoria, making sailing long fin boats almost impossible. At this time Dave Heanly had purchased a commercial glass fibre hull of a traditional long keel yacht. This model, 48″ long was based on a MAP plan of the famous J Class Ranger, the last of the pre W.W.II defenders of the Cup, designed by Olin Stephens. Dave discussed with Hugh Hobden ideas for developing a rig for the boat with the idea of retaining some of the traditional form with model practicality. The resulting rig worked well and with two smaller ones for higher winds, it coped with a wide range of weather. The possibilities of this design seemed ideal for Lake Victoria

Peter Vincent and Hugh Hobden, after some protracted negotiations, purchased hulls and built up boats. With three boats sailing, others saw the potential and the rest is history – and an active Owners’ Association has been formed, a set of class rules drawn up and Championships sailed.

The basic philosophy was to have an easily sailed and economically built RC yacht based on a one design principles to provide good resale value, and with racing dependant more on the skipper rather than designer/builder skill. These objects have been attained and the Class has attracted many first time sailors, mostly from the retired ranks who share the common creed, “it sure beats gardening!”

The boat can be transported easily in the average car or station wagon usually fully rigged. Many boats have features of the original J Class in the form of deck layouts, hatches and names like Shamrock (No 1), Thistle, Endeavour etc.

In Christchurch it is not unusual to see “The Wednesday Windlers” muster fleets of 25 plus for their around-the-lake sailing on Lake Victoria.

A rapidly growing fleet also meet at various venues and days in the Bay of Plenty area thanks to the Tauranga Radio Sailing Club.

Why not visit the venues?    Members turn out, except in the most atrocious weather, and are usually pleased to “turn over the controls” to interested spectators.

• J Class Contacts
• J Class News
• J Class Rules
• J Class Videos and Photos

Visit our website here: https://canterbury-j-class.nz

© The Canterbury “J” Class (One Design) Owners Association Incorporated.

Ranking Regatta

Event Location

Anzac Bay - Waiheke Island Radio Yacht Club

Awatea Lake, Paraparaumu - Kapiti Radio Yacht Club

Best Island - Nelson Radio Sailing Club Inc

Kai Iwi Lakes

Lake Dunstan - Cromwell Radio Yacht Squadron

Lake Manuwai - Kerikeri Radio Yacht Squadron

Lake Pegasus - Pegasus Radio Sailing Club

Lake Rotomanu - New Plymouth Radio Control Yacht Club

Lake Rotoroa, Hamilton - Waikato Radio Yacht Club

Lake Rua, Harewood - Christchurch Model Yacht Club

Lake Taurikura - Tauranga Radio Sailing Club

Orakei Basin - Oarakei Yacht Club

Quarry Lake - North Shore Radio Yacht Squadron

Regency Lake - Gulf Harbour Radio Yacht Club

Southern Reservoir - Otago Radio Yacht Club

St Mary's Bay, Westhaven, Auckland

Vauxhall Yacht Club

Victoria Lake, Hagley Park - Christchurch Model Yacht Club

Wattle Farm - Northern Marine Model Society

Whitby Lower Lakes - Wellington Radio Yacht Club

Winstones Lake, Otaki - Kapiti Radio Yacht Club

Event Organizer

Christchurch Model Yacht Club

Cromwell Radio Yacht Squadron

Gulf Harbour Radio Yacht Club

Kapiti Radio Yacht Club

Kerikeri Radio Yacht Squadron

Nelson Radio Sailing Club

New Plymouth Radio Control Yacht Club

North Shore Radio Yacht Squadron

Orakei Yacht Club

Otago Radio Yacht Club

Pegasus Radio Sailing Club

Tauranga Radio Sailing Club

Waiheke Island Radio Yacht Club

Waikato Radio Yacht Club

Wellington Radio Yacht Club

Westhaven Radio Sailing

Past and Future Events

Only Past Events

Only Future Events

Events Status

Moved Online

Rescheduled

Wellington Radio Yacht Club

Home of IOM and AC15 Model Yacht Sailing for Wellngton New Zealand

The Wellington Radio Yacht Club is a friendly Club that exists to encourage members to race radio-controlled model yachts. The Club races two recognised classes of yacht – the International One Metre and the AC 15.

If you are interested in radio-controlled yacht racing come and have a sail with us. No experience is required and we will lend you a boat and show you how to sail it.

Where we sail, these are:

Whitby Lower Lake (behind the Whitby New World Supermarket):

Seaview Marina (next to the boat launching ramp):

Sailing Photos

Electron Owners Association of New Zealand

WHAT IS AN ELECTRON?

The Electron radio controlled yacht is an authentic sailing model yacht. It is suitable for beginners to sail as well as producing exciting and challenging racing for the most experienced yachtsman. The Electron is not a toy boat, but a miniature version of a real yacht. Designed by well-known New Zealand yacht designer, Des Townson.

Christchurch Model Yacht Club Inc.

radio sailing on Lake Victoria Christchurch New Zealand

IT ALL BEGAN..

Model boating started in Hagley Park, Christchurch when Lake Victoria was formed in 1897. A swampy depression – the rim of which was used for penny-farthing cycle racing – was graded, lined with clay and pugged by draught horses, then filled with water from artesian bores. The club was then formed and opened the next year.

Such was the enthusiasm of the gentlemen who formed the CMYC at their special meeting held in Warners Hotel, Christchurch, on 17 June 1898, that they went on to have fifteen more meetings in the remainder of that year. Not only did racing get started on Victoria Water but priority was given to building ‘…a Pavilion for club rooms and the storing of model yachts.’

The First Officers of the club were: Mr. George Humphries (President) Messrs. W. Reece, Professor Scott (Vice Presidents) Commodore: Mr. S.B. Seymour Vice Commodore: Mr. P.B. Blakesley Secretary: Mr. C.A. Oakes Treasurer: Mn Humphries Stewards: Messrs. Seymour and Blakesley.

At their 1898 July Meeting the committee formulated the set of sailing rules reproduced here and in August of that year a Measurement Rule:

‘That the Load line measurement be the rule for sailing all yachts and three seconds per inch be the time allowance, a fraction of an inch to be counted as one inch for every course, once up and down.’This system lasted for some time with the rules being amended in December 1898 to include:-

All races started on the wind when possible. All boats running before the wind touching either bank, must tighten sheet or alter rudder and trim so as to sail off shore. There are to be two classes only, over 2′ 6″ waterline and less. No boat shall exceed 4′ 6 ” The shifting of ballast is not allowed (Weighted rudders accepted). The next year saw another addition to the rules – that there be no advertising on boats under any circumstances. This is not a modern problem of yachting after all !

Having a club house was a very early priority but proved to be quite a hurdle because of lack of funds. The eminent Christchurch architect of the time, Hurst Seager, was commissioned by George Humphries to …’design’ a shed, 24 x 1 2 x 8 feet with a 4 foot rise in the roof, weather boards, iron roof (lining under iron) and floored, a single sash in each gable and a double door 7 x 5 feet’.To these specifications Seager added fancy barge boards, a veranda, an increase in the roof rise and diagonal boards. The plans were presented to the committee in September 1898. In the meantime temporary use was made of the Christchurch Football Club’s shed for storage of boats, presumably only for the summer period

The club then set about raising the £47/10/0 price tendered by the builder, Mr. Calder. Entertainments were organised by George Humphries who engaged a pianist, C.H. Fox, for a fund raising venture. Four local brass bands were also invited to play by the lake on four Sundays and subscriptions or donations were obtained while they played. But it seems this scheme was very slow in creating funds and the architect and builder were ‘waited on by the committee’ on several occasions to negotiate a lower price for the building. However by April 1899 the modified building (minus veranda) was under way and there were observations by the members – refuted by the architect and the builder – that the piles were not to specification!

The Minutes have much discussion on how the lockers and boat space were to be allocated with preference to debenture holders and a charge of one shilling per month for others. ‘The lockers were to be of oiled rimu; a boat space of 5’ was also allocated.

Another essential of a model yacht club is to have a small craft of some kind to be used for clearing fouled yachts. At first the club had the use of a large canoe for this purpose while trying to raise money for a dinghy but this too was unsuccessful. Eventually the canoe was replaced in 1902 by a punt and later a dinghy was constructed by one of the members, Mr.W. Schenkel, in 1921 .

SAILING AND OPENING DAYS.

Races were usually sweepstakes with prizes for the first three place getters. A very early special event was the President’s Prize, a sweepstake series over the season with heats drawn each time. For this event,in January 1899, the first heat was between:, Kiaora, Olga, Mona, Anemone, Nada and Hinemoa; the second heat: Lively, Gem, Valkyrie, Skipper and Ripple. In all there were twenty-four entries, twenty 1 st class and four 2nd class.The minutes record – ‘Considering this was the club’s first race and while it was a means of discerning many weak points in the working details,on the whole it was satisfactory.’

The results were:- I st: Skipper. 2nd: Allis. 3rd: Albatross

Also recorded are free racing days for boys, with prizes of 3/-, 2/- and 1/-, there was:- ‘…great interest, altogether…great satisfaction.’ Boys’ Races were held on other occasions and were obviously important in encouraging younger members. Model yachtsmen from Otago approached the club in the first year of operation to arrange a sailing meeting between the provinces of Canterbury and Otago. On 20 February 1899, the CMYC extended an invitation to stage an ‘Inter provincial Handicap’ to The Otago and Ashburton Model Yacht Clubs.

This was eventually sailed at Easter 1899 at two venues, Lyttelton Harbour and Victoria Water.The Otago yachts were dominant with Moonbeam, Meteor, Surprise, Toy and Petrel being the victors. Perhaps the refreshments purchased and recorded in the club minutes had something to do with it :- 5 gallons of beer 2 bottles of whisky 2 dozen soft drinks Bread, cheese and ham for sandwiches.

The Otago visitors expressed delight at the results and the hospitality provided and invited a re-match in Otago the following year which the Christchurch members took up. Eventually an Inter provincial Shield was donated by Jones and Sons in 1903. There is no record of the Ashburton enthusiasts attending.

At the July 1899 AGM of the club, held in the Clarendon Hotel, ‘The meeting closed…half an hour’s recreation in conversation and music was indulged in, when the meeting finally broke up with cheers for the President.’The Lyttelton New Year’s Day Regatta was another occasion for the Otago and Canterbury model yachtsmen to compete. Handsome prize money was a feature not only of the full size but also the model racing and the club’s minutes record considerable discussion about the purse.

The Opening Day for the 1899 season was another social occasion for the people of Christchurch with many novelty events on the Lake as well as model sailing. For the October 21 Opening the programme included:Sports

A Procession of Boats Canoe Race Greasy Boom event A Tub Race

… and Master Berry would give an exhibition of tightrope walking…’ ( For which the club paid him 5/-).

Victoria Water being part of Hagley Park it was administered by The Domain Board with whom the club battled to retain sailing rights, weed clearance, bank improvement and the payment of a ground rent. A letter to the club years later in 1917 set out the club’s position firmly in the eyes of the Domain

Board as follows:-

Your Club has no monopoly of the lake but only an annual licence…’

This correspondence related to an application to allow canoes on the lake during the summer. The club vigorously opposed this move and the Domain Board rescinded a previous decision to allow this to happen.

Weed control then, as now, was a constant problem. Experiments with chemicals such as lime and oxide of iron were tried without success. Payments were made to many individuals over the years to cut the weed.Water in the lake was another battle with the Domain Board, there was either too little in the summer or too much in the winter In 1903 the club financed a three foot deep well (sunk by a Mr Horne) by subscriptions from members. The Domain Board constructed the flood gates at the river end of the lake for overflows and draining the lake.

THE INTERNATIONAL EXHIBITION AND LATE 1920s.

The International Exhibition of 1906 saw the construction of a large pavilion and fairground in the park at the edge of the lake.The lake was dug out and a large water chute was built at the eastern end. Sailing was put on hold but resumed when the Exhibition was over. At this time new names that were to endure for many years first appeared on the club committee; they included the Beanland family, and Messrs. l. Eckenstein, W. Sarelius, Schenkel, Ruxton and Matthews. Many members served for long periods and were often rewarded by the club – on two occasions committee members were given tobacco pipes – and another member a new pair of reading glasses!

The minutes do not record any effects of the Great War but presumably there were many. Post-war can best be described as the age of the 4′ 6″ class with boats such as Dolphin and Sans Atout dominating the racing. There are surviving members of the next period, before and after World War II, such as Brian Wall, Malcolm Scott, Dave Henley and Keith Stamler who have recorded their stories elsewhere.

For twenty-three years the President had been George Humphries, a generous benefactor and responsible for forming the first committee. He became the first life member of the club in 1921 , followed later by Mr. C.A. Oakes, the founding secretary, (who appears to have had his ups and downs as a club member being asked to leave the club in the early period only to reappear in the 1920s).

SINCE THE 1920s. The period of the Great Depression leading up to World War II is not recorded in the surviving club minute books. The second book begins in 1950, a time when many of the older members were finding the physical activity of keeping up with a free-sailing yacht too difficult.There was a decline in the sailing of the 4’6″ class. Gradually many of these very old members passed away leaving quite a void but there was still a core of members who kept the club going, such as Bert George, James Matthews, Bill Schenkel, Jack Spencer and Brian Wall.

Much wrangling over rules and handicaps with protests and counter protests were recorded.The Kiwi ‘do it yourself attitude was prevalent and members did much of the bank, weed control and lake maintenance themselves. The reward was that the Christchurch City Council deferred payment of ground rents. Opening Days were still a combination of public involvement and sailing, with the Mayor invited to open the season, a band playing, and afternoon teas provided by the ladies. At the 54th AGM special floral tributes were made to the ladies for the effort they made with this important part of the club day.

After the death in 1960 of James Matthews, the long serving Secretary, club minutes were not kept and there was some difficulty recovering and sorting out club records from his estate.A decline in activity continued through the 1960s until Gavin Britt appeared and led the club through the Marblehead revival in 1967. This was a remarkable period in the club’s history with not only a new, radical smaller type of model yacht being introduced but a surge in membership, new clubrooms and the formation of the New Zealand Model Yacht Association as well as holding the New Zealand Vane Marblehead Championships on the lake.

Without a doubt the introduction of the International Marblehead Class was the basis of this renaissance of model yachting, not only in New Zealand but world wide as the portability and well structured rules allowed international competition. American and English model yachtsmen developed this class and made plans available for others to build with the result that models such as the Witchcraft was adopted by the CMYC after a plug was made and the hulls produced commercially to be sold for $14.00.

The vane-controlled Marbleheads raced in pairs on a round robin basis each competing against the other both beating and running. Some boats retained the earlier developed Braine control which is basically two systems, the boat balanced to sail up wind with a close hauled sheet and using tiller lines connected to a self centring quadrant for down wind sailing.The vane system became more widely used because it is more sensitive to changes in wind direction, is easily adjustable and has self-tacking potential.

However this free-sailing system was about to be ousted by a technological revolution – radio control. The advent of the transistor, printed circuits and miniaturisation saw the development of a practical remote control system for models in the 1960s. Initially very expensive and difficult to obtain in import controlled New Zealand, these units have now become very reliable and commonplace.

A typical basic two-function radio unit consists of a low output transmitter and receiver.The boat has two servos, one to control steering and the other to sheet in the sails. Rechargeable batteries provide the power and separate crystal control of the frequency for each boat. It is possible to have fleets of thirty racing at one time. Large fleets are not really practicable so systems of fleet racing have been devised and after initial seeding races to decide the level of racing between competitors, competition takes place with promotion or relegation between fleets according to placings.

Model yachts are now almost exclusively radio controlled allowing the models to duplicate all the sailing qualities, racing tactics and science of full sized yachts; in fact it is easier to use a model than a full sized craft to develop a new idea and test it. Typically many modern designs owe much to hull, sail and appendage development from a miniature counterpart.The International America’s Cup Class is an example of this. Some model yachtsmen push new technology boundaries developing new hull shapes, multi-hulls, surface piercing foils and off-wind sails such as gennaker and spinnaker.

Victoria Water has hosted many radio controlled series in the last two decades, first Marbleheads and now One Metre, East Coast One design and the local J Class.

A new international movement for preserving and promoting older free sailing craft has had its expression in the CMYC, too. Victoria Water is one of the few venues in the world where free-sailing models can be accessed at any point around the lake.

THE LAST TWENTY YEARS.

In this period the club’s history is dominated by radio controlled classes, in particular the Marblehead and later the One Metre then J Class. The formation of other model yacht clubs at other venues in Canterbury has seen inter-club racing but sadly these clubs have fallen by the way leaving the oldest club, the CMYC to continue. The CMYC kept the Marblehead tradition alive and members competed at national level, often travelling to the North Island. It is not easy to forget the Easter gales in Wellington for the 1983 National Marblehead Champs!

The Christchurch clubs took over the stewardship of the New Zealand Model Yachting Association over this period, an important time, as New Zealanders were now competing on the world scene at International Marblehead championships. These competitions have been important in keeping up contacts with other model yachtsmen and new trends and information.

Another decline in membership at the CMYC took place in the late 1980s and the Waimairi Club prospered. Many National and International competitions with One Metre and EC12 classes were hosted by the Waimairi Club during this time. Today model yachting in Christchurch has come full circle with the Waimairi club in turn facing a dwindling membership and amalgamating with the CMYC.The club shares the assets and Groynes sailing waters ofthe former Waimairi club with a now strong, combined membership.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

Design and Photography – Euan Sarginson Graphics – Renzie Hanham Text – Hugh Hobden Editor – Don Donovan Scanning & PrePress – Colortronics, Christchurch New Zealand Printed by the Tablet Colour Print Press, Dunedin, New Zealand. Additional Photographs – P24 Pat Dolan, P47 Min Sarginson Canterbury Museum:VV A Taylor Collection PI I Bishop Collection – PI 6, 1 7, 1 8, 1 9 C Beken P72 Project funded by Community Trust and Christchurch Model Yacht Club Project Underwritten by David Close Robin Alborn Min Sarginson Real Estate Ltd Victoria Water Painting – Painting owned by Brendon Luxon Photographs kindly loaned by friends of the CMYC Malcolm Scott – A Day at Victoria Water First Published 2002

© 2002 Euan Sarginson, Hugh Hobden