Land yachting revival

Press, 25 May 1977, Page 24

Land yachting revival

Land yachting, which, participants claim, has thrills to match any sport, is building a following in Christchurch.

The sport is only in its infancy, with two working yachts in Christchurch, but there are five others under construction and before next summer the club hopes to build that figure to 10 or more. Several enthusiasts have formed the Pegasus Bay Yacht Club and a public meeting will be he|d in the Burwood Hall on June 1, at 8.00 p.m. to which all persons interested in the sport are welcome.

Come next summer and visitors to the beach between Spencer Park and the Waimakariri River will be able to, see land yachts speeding up and down the beach at between 65 and 110 km.p.h.

The club has been granted permission to use the stretch of beach for its activities, which will include regular competitions, and it has another stretch of beach at Greenpark, on the shores of Lake Ellesmere, which it will also use.

Between now and August the club will have a number of displays at shopping centres around the city to promote the sport. The first will be at Northlands on Friday and there will be another at Barrington Park Mall on June 1,2 and 3. The Christchurch club was the fourth to be established in New Zealand. The others are at Auckland, Hamilton and Nelson, and another was started recently in Dunedin.

The Pegasus club is promoting the areo class yacht, which costs between $3OO and $4OO to construct. It has a sail area of 10 sq. m. and a width of three metres across the back axle.

The yacht carries two people and by promoting it the club hopes to make

the sport a family affair involving two or more members of a family. Because of the speeds which can be reached, the yachts are subject to stringent safety requirements, and the International Landsailing regulations require that safety helmets are worn. The beach between Spencer Park and the Waimakariri is considered ideal for land yachting. The easterly wind enables the craft to travel both up and down the beach. North-westerlies are not as good, however. Gusty conditions tend to tilt the yachts on to two wheels. The sport is not new to Canterbury. It was very popular in the 19305. The yachts were much larger then; they had four wheels — modern craft have three — and a sail area of 24 sq. m. However, these early yachts were said to pose a danger to bathers because of their silent approach, and a by-law was eventually passed prohibiting them from certain parts of the foreshore.