Heritage Race Day – A Centenary Celebration on the Water
Heritage Race Day was held on Saturday, 28th Feb 2026 - a real highlight of the Wakatere Centenary Regatta Weekend.
Racing was run by members of the Salthouse and Brooke families, along with a few willing helpers, giving everyone else the rare treat of simply turning up, launching, and joining the fleet. Our founding members would have loved it - especially seeing some of their great-grandchildren out there running the races. A pretty special reminder that while boats and sails may change, Wakatere’s family spirit hasn’t.
Wakatere has been home to some iconic designs over the decades - the original Wakatere, followed by the Frostbite and the Sunburst. It was fantastic to have seven Frostbites make the trip from Taikata Sailing Club to be part of the celebrations. They joined a colourful and varied fleet of Optis, Starlings, P Class, Sunbursts, ILCAs, OKs, 3.7s, Fevas and 29ers - a great snapshot of the range of ages, classes and experience that make up our club today.
Commodore Greg Salthouse and son Jake opened the day in style by firing the cannon - clearing a few cobwebs out of the Memorial Starting Tower in the process. In an 8–12 knot easterly, the fleet paraded along the beach in front of the club to a very appreciative deck-side audience, before heading out to the course for racing.
Two lively 40‑minute races were sailed on a simple triangle course, with the VHF crackling with plenty of good-natured banter from race management. The sun stayed away, but the smiles didn’t. Sailors were welcomed ashore with hot sausages and a relaxed prizegiving on the deck - a perfect finish to a great day on the water before 110 guests returned that evening for our formal Centenary Dinner.
A day full of history, heart, and the unmistakable Wakatere spirit.
Photos: thanks to Richard Gladwell
