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| ANZAC DAY - WHAT DOES IT MEAN? |
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| WEDNESDAY, APRIL 25, 2001 |
| From NZ350 Mervyn Hurley |
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What a great day Tuesday was. Got damn tired legs and sore muscles, particulary the leg ones. All as a result of a day out at the beach!
Yesterday was a public holiday here - every April 25th New Zealand honours all those NZ soldiers and service personnel who fell at the many wars but in particular the First and Second World Wars and the latter engagements in Korea and Vietnam. The day, referred to as ANZAC Day (ANZAC standing for Australia and New Zealand Army Corp), is significant in New Zealand and many of the population attend dawn ceremonies at the many cenotaphs and monuments in each of the country's towns and cities as well as church services and other memorial tributes. The whole country closes till midday, only essential industries like hospitals etc are open plus dairies [I think overseas landsailors would call them corner stores or grocery stores and int he US "five and dimes"] and petrol stations are allowed open in the morning. [ more on ANZAC DAY below ] Yesterday, as the past fortnight has been for me, was another full-on work day. I had a stack of work, notwithstanding attempting to get on top of a 48-page home and garden magazine I have been working on for the past three weeks and which had to be at the printers by. With the prospect of some sandsailing at the Auckland Land Yacht Club's east coast venue Orewa down for Tuesday I knew if I didn't work solid on the magazine on Tuesday I would have had to work on ANZAC Day afternoon so I pressed on into the night - Cherrill bought me down tea so I didn't have to stop - and managed to finish up just on 3.00am. Was home, showered and tucked up in bed by 3.30 but awoke at 6.58 (I remember the time well looking at the bleedin' alarm clock). Snoozed through till 8.30 then got up and cooked a hearty semi-English breakfast - scrambled eggs, baked beans, hash browns and orange juice. Then it was race into my neatly-packed garage which has looked rather spiffing since Easter when I spent three solid days adding shelving and re-sorting the conglomeration of boxes and assorted items and dross collected over the past 25 years, among it axles, diff, gearbox, engine block and a variety of items from my 1936 MG TA which is in the process of being restored. Well, I can now say that all my Easter deeds have been undone, the garage doesn't look pretty anymore after the whirlwind I created whilst looking for all the landsailing bits and pieces which I had failed to stack in close proximity to each other - I'll remember next time! After throwing as much landsailing-associated gear I could find into the back of the Muso, I tied down the sails and masts on the trailer - the yachts were racked on the trailer and were well weathered and looking rustic... well ferrous coloured anyhow. Matthew helped me put Courtenay's Class 6 up on the roof rack and it was hi-ho silver, and away we go (Matthew, Courtenay and I) at around 12.30 Arrived at Orewa which is about 15-20 mins north of where I live at Albany - ain't the new motorway extension grand. Drove onto the beach and there were yachts galore. 26 in all arrived for the day, the biggest turnout since... hell years! There were all manner of craft, a sprinkling of c3s (Colin Palmer, Bill Nairn and Alan Elliott with Phil and Chris Augustin arrive with their machines a little later); some c5s being a YOTT (Colin Palmer's), three Fed 5s two of which were ours, two Wingers and a Seagull plus, Courtenay's Class 6 and some homebuilts. Also was a bunch of "WindThrills" which are recently launched commercial mini-yacht much like the Blokart but far more sturdier. Peter who's making them has put together a pretty smart yacht and is using carbon fibre masts and axles. Very clever and looks the part - solid, well thought out and constructed and the craft has the feel of longevity about them. Very nifty steering mechanism although, unfortunately, still handsteering but that's my personal observation.  Peter and Darryl with the WindThrill mini-yacht. Darryl, one of the WindThrill owners at the beach, is rapt with the craft and has been involved in the sail development of the sporty wee craft. Anzac Day was a gorgeous day all round. Brilliant fine and warm, deep blue skies, dead flat and a DRY beach (highly unusual for Orewa) but one ingredient had failed to materialise... you guessed it, the wind. There was a tantalising teaser every now and then, enough to get the c3s running down the beach then it'd peter out and everyone would be left standing about like stranded whales all over the beach.  Class 3s ready to get a race underway with Colin Palmer and Bill Nairn on the line. Ken Teeboon's blue monster is partially obscured and Ken is nowhere to be seen! And, where is the PACRIM champion Alan Elliott... not even in the frame. Camera shy? The c3s, in fact, even started a race and completed one or two laps then the c5s lined up on the line - I wasn't there, still rigging Matthew, Courtenay and my yachts. Starters flag dropped and they ran like stink, jumped in and trundled down to the first mark, turned and whoa! Where'd the wind go? By that time I'd joined them and I managed to sail up to the top pair of John O'Donnell and Kevin Lord who were out near the waterline halfway back up the track before I putt putt'd, We stood about talking for about 1/2 an hour then went to move our yachts and found they'd sunk about 2 to 3 inches into the watery sand out. Had to push and shove to extricate them. Went back to the start line and from puddled about. Did some starting practice - much needed - and every now and then I'd run like the billy-oh and manage to get going, sail down the beach aways before the wind would die right off again. On any other day I would've been totally frustrated but this time I was just happy to be out on the beach getting some much needed fresh air. Most of us gave up around 4pm and started packing up. I had, with Matthew's help, all the yachts back on the trailer and roof rack and was standing about around 4.45pm talking to Bill Nairn and Alan Elliott and blow me down, a beautiful sea breeze kicked in. Phil and Chris Augustin had still not de-rigged their c3s and went out and had a ball and Geoff Hall collared John O'Donnell's "Hawk" and had it fair flying. Needless to say I was green with envy and was almost tempted to take at least one of the yachts off and rig up again. But Cherrill, who'd come up the beach later in the day, had left along with Courtenay and they were expecting Matt and I home for tea. We were already late having hung around jawing. So, as the sun started to throw shadows over the beach as it disappeared behind the big Norfolk Pines which line the Orewa beachfront, we drove up the exit ramp and joined the ANZAC Day holiday traffic back home. Once home it took a while to unload and clear the sand out of everything including the Muso but I got it all stowed away in time for a pleasant shower and a nice tea. With a good 15 knots from the east which were predicted the day would've been a landsailing day made in heaven but unfortunately, like most things, you can't have it all. It's a bit like an adage I use for my clients when it comes to explaining why they can't have everything their way when having things printed. I tell them there are three things but you always have forsake one - price, quality or quick delivery. In landsailing it's Tide, Wind or Sun. When I think back our best days are when it's bl**dy wet and miserable on the beach... we always seem to have wind then but we're so chilled to the bone we really don't enjoy or appreciate the sailing. Mervyn Hurley NZ350 |
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| GEOFF HALL'S IMAGES Wednesday, April 25, 2001 Click on photo for larger image. | ||
 Yachts in all a pretty row...Orewa on a windless day. |
 Signs up but no wind... and a bit of seaweed along the tide line. |
 The Hurley family doing a bit of maintenance on Courtenay's Class 6. |
 Kevin Lord managed to squeeze a few klicks out of the light airs. |
 A good showing of WindThrills, a new mini-yacht on the scene. |
 A close-up of the sturdy little WindThrill. |
 Colin Palmer taking the mark with a c5 in behind. |
 Ken Teeboon giving a visitor a go in his Class 3. |
 Phil Augustin in the pretty boy stakes... nice colours Phil! |
 Chris Augustin in his mean green machine, the former Tony Clark c3. |
 The Augustin's Class 3s way out near the waterline at the end of the day. |
 They're off! The Class 3s roaring off down the 3km beach. |
 Courtenay Hurley waiting for some wind so she can get her c6 going. |
 John O'Donnell... watching the waistline or is he taking on ballast? |
 Where's Project Jonah? A beached whale... nah, it's an oversize Merv Hurley. |
 A decidedly ungainly start Merv... what's it called "The Flop" or let's fall backwards? |
 Well beggar me, he's actually sailing it. Anyhow it's not your yacht Merv that's why it's going okay. |
 Merv Hurley in son Matthew's NZ384. Matt had dislocated a finger so wasn't sailing. |
 With no wind about everyone packs up to go home... well nearly everyone. |
 End of the day play for Phil Augustin... the wind came up when most had packed up. |
 Geoff Hall getting a good run in John O'Donnell's "Hawk" as the sun sets. |
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| MAP of OREWA BEACH AREA |
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 ANZAC DAY ANZAC DAY is held on 25 April each year to commemorate New Zealanders killed in war and to honour returned servicemen and women. The ceremony itself has been continually adapted to the times, but has also steadily acquired extra layers of symbolism and meaning.
The Dawn Service A typical commemoration begins with a march by returned service personnel before dawn to the local war memorial. Military personnel and returned servicemen and women form up about the memorial, joined by other members of the community, with pride of place going to the war veterans. A short service follows with a prayer, hymns (including Rudyard Kipling's "Recessional" or "Lest We Forget"), and a dedication which concludes with the last verse of Laurence Binyon's "For the Fallen":
They shall not grow old, as we that are left grow old: Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn. At the going down of the sun and in the morning We will remember them. The Last Post is then played, followed by a minute's silence and Reveille. A brief address follows, after which the hymn "Recessional" is sung. The service concludes with a closing prayer and the singing of New Zealand's National Anthem. "God of Nations".
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