Centenary Pittwater Regatta by Peter Campbell

Yacht, motor yacht, sailing and aquatic clubs that enjoy racing and cruising, or paddling on the magnificent waters of Pittwater have combined to revive to the once famous Pittwater Regatta at the end of the summer sailing season, over the weekend of 21-22 April 2007.
  The Centenary Pittwater Regatta will be a spectacular commemoration of the inaugural Pittwater Regatta held in March 1907.
  At least 2,000 sailors, paddlers and rowers are expected to compete in events for offshore and inshore racing yachts, onedesign yachts, sports boats, heritage skiffs, historic 18-footers and classic yachts, multi-hull yachts, dinghies, motor boats, dragon boats, surfboats, kayaks and canoes.
  In keeping with the early traditions of the Pittwater Regatta, organisers are aiming at creating a picnic atmosphere and a happy reunion for followers of aquatic sport who enjoy the pleasure of racing or cruising on this truly magnificent waterway to the north of Sydney. 
 Centenary Pittwater Regatta by Peter Campbell  In 1770, Captain James Cook RN, from the deck of the bark Endeavour, sighted an inlet north of Port Jackson and named it Broken Bay. In 1788, Captain Arthur Phillip RN sailed from Port Jackson in the long boat of Sirius, the flagship of the First Fleet. Entering Broken Bay, he landed on the Pittwater side of Palm Beach.
  Later, in a despatch to the English Government, Captain Phillip described this southern arm of Broken Bay, to use his own words, “the finest piece of water I ever saw.” Reporting that it would it contain the ships of the Royal Navy, he named it Pittwater, after William Pitt the younger, at that time Prime Minister of England.
  To quote from The Australian Boating Annual magazine of 1936, “Captain Phillip’s description of Pittwater, through the intervening years, has been re-echoed by innumerable thousands of aquatic enthusiasts and tourists.”
  Pittwater forms the southern arm of Broken Bay and extends southwards from inside the Barrenjoey Peninsula to Newport. Its western shoreline is largely enclosed by the Ku-ring-gai National Park, highlighted by wonderful bays and inlets such as The Basin.
  According to The Australian Boating Annual, Pittwater has been the mecca of yachtsmen since the early 1860s, particularly during the Christmas and New Year holidays. Today, of course, it is a wonderful waterway for hundreds of yachts, sailing dinghies and catamarans to race each weekend and on weekdays, too, summer and winter.
  Regattas were held at Pittwater at infrequent intervals between 1880 and 1900. A novel prize at the regatta on 26 December, 1887 was a pair of fowls for the rowing race for youths under the age of 18. The report does not say whether they came live or dressed for dinner! 
 Centenary Pittwater Regatta by Peter Campbell  The genesis of the annual Pittwater Regatta was due to a challenge race in two locally built 16ft sailing skiffs, held in November 1906. The contestants were Jim and E. Crouch from Queensland and of interstate sailing fame, and two well-known local sailing enthusiasts, D.M. (Don) Taylor and John Roche.
  The race started from the upper reaches of Pittwater, with the two skiffs racing around Lion Island in Broken Bay, and back to finish at the starting line, a distance of 16 nautical miles of smooth water and open sea. At Lion Island the skiffs were close together, according to contemporary reports, but under the lee of the island, the Crouch brothers gained the lead, eventually winning by 16 seconds.
  In a re-enactment of this challenge, it is planned for a fleet of historic 18-foot skiffs to compete in the Centenary Pittwater Regatta with a race again around Lion Island. Local boat builder Ian Perdriau is building a replica of the 1925 skiff Yendys and has set the Centenary Pittwater Regatta as the target date for Yendys first race.
  The skiff challenge of 1906 apparently generated a wave of enthusiasm among the residents and users of Pittwater and a public meeting was held at which it was decided to stage a regatta. March 16, 1907, was chosen as the date, and a program of five sailing races, six rowing races in heavy skiffs, and a race for motor launches was arranged (six launches competed over a course of seven miles; the highest speed achieved was seven miles per hour!)
  All the races were restricted to residents of the Manly and Pittwater districts – something that, of course, won’t apply to the Centenary Pittwater Regatta 2007.
  Such was the success of the inaugural Pittwater Regatta that the local residents decided it should be an annual event. The regatta quickly grew in popularity and for the fifth regatta in 1911, a race for big yachts was added to the program, starting from Fort Denison in Sydney Harbour, thence up the coast to Broken Bay and Pittwater, a distance of 30 nautical miles.
  It was a very slow race, with the fleet becalmed off the south head of Broken Bay for many hours. Line honours eventually went to the famous Sydney yacht Culwalla III, with her owner Walter Marks at the helm, just before midnight. Other starters were another famous yacht of that era, Rawhiti (F. Albert) along with Petrel (C. Trebeck), Aoma (C. Fleming) and Meteor (O.B. Dibbs).
  Interest in the Pittwater Regatta was quick to revive after World War I and 1922 marked a new era in its history with the committee chartering the Newcastle and Hunter Steam Ship Co’s steamer Namoifor the regatta flagship. A three-day excursion was organised, the accommodation fully booked with regatta patrons and competitors and deck space taken up with sailing and rowing craft from Newcastle and the Hunter regions.
  Pioneer Wireless broadcasts were also made from the flagship at the 1922 Regatta to the Burwood Wireless Club.
  Small steamers continued to be flagships into the 1930s, with excursions organised from Newcastle and Sydney for the Pittwater Regatta, then ranking second only to the older Anniversary Regatta (now the Australia Day Regatta) which began in 1837.
  Activities expanded, and for the 1934 Regatta, the Royal Aero Club of New Wales organised an aerial derby from Mascot Aerodrome to Goddard’s Wharf, Palm Beach, thence to a finish above the Flagship, a distance of 28 air miles.
  There was also a simulated air attack on a motor speedboat.
  The Regatta was held over the Christmas-New Year holiday period for many years. However, over time many yachtsmen found this an otherwise busy period, with major ocean racing events such as the Sydney Hobart and Pittwater to Coffs Harbour races, and National class championships, consequently the regatta lost some support.
  Following World War II, the Pittwater Regatta was revived and held regularly from 1945 to 1979. The Regatta Committee decided not to conduct the 1980 regatta, despite the expansion of sailing clubs for off-the-beach boats on Pittwater. 
 Centenary Pittwater Regatta by Peter Campbell  In the early 1990s, Wal Wardle, a flag officer and then Commodore of the Royal Prince Alfred Yacht Club, the major club on Pittwater and, at the time a member of Sydney Harbour’s Australia Day Regatta management committee, was asked by that committee to form a steering committee to re-establish the Pittwater Regatta as an Australia Day event. Close links were maintained with the Australia Day Regatta, including the provision of Australia Day medallions as prizes.
  In this context, a Community Regatta was held on Pittwater on Australia Day from 1993 to 1998, with Avalon Sailing Club, Bayview Yacht Racing Association (BYRA), Palm Beach Catamaran Club, Palm Beach Yacht Club, Royal Motor Yacht Club (Broken Bay) and The Royal Prince Alfred Yacht Club all actively involved. All were member clubs of the Yachting Association of NSW, while other clubs invited to participate included Pittwater Aquatic Club, the Wooden Boat Club and the Woody Point Club.
  Support also came from Pittwater Council, NSW Waterways (now NSW Maritime), NSW Water Police, the Royal Volunteer Coastal Patrol, Manly- Warringah Kayak Club, and the Warringah Rugby Club and Manly Rugby Club with Dragon boats.
  It is expected that many of these clubs and organisations will again participate in the Centenary Pittwater Regatta and that its success will lead to the continuation and growth of a great event on a waterway described in 1778 by Captain Arthur Phillip RN as “the finest piece of water I ever saw.”