As more and more canoes appeared, by February 1927 some of them were fitted with lee boards, masts and sails, so that when the First Annual Regatta was held in March 1927, in a lively northeaster, the main event was a sailing race, which drew nine starters. The end of this first season was celebrated with a picnic at Rangitoto, a tradition which continues to this day.

In 1932, the Club and it's members were in the grips of the Great Depression. A number of it's keen racing members got together and talked about starting a new class that could be built...at the optimistic figure of ten NZ pounds a boat. This resulted in the design of the Wakatere Class by John Brooke. We are fortunate to have the original blue prints framed and hanging at the club today.

Then five years later, the Wakatere one-design Skimmer was introduced, from this the Frostbite. The Brooke Frostbite immediately took off as a class. By June 1939 thirty six boats had been built at Wakatere’s clubrooms on the beach at Narrow Neck. 

Over the subsequent early years, the club became a stronghold of the Sabot, Frostbite and Sunburst classes - the backbone of club racing. Some of New Zealand top sailors started their sailing at Wakatere in these classes.

From the early 2000s, the Optimist class increased in popularity to replace the Sabot and become the main junior class at the club, along with the Starling, 420 and Techno Board. In 2002 Wakatere celebrated its 75th anniversary with a weekend of events including a formal dinner. Overall it was one of the busiest and most exciting seasons, hosting the NZ Optimist Nationals.

In 2004 Paul Snow-Hansen was 2nd at the Optimist Worlds, 1st in team and three years later Chris Steele took out the 2007 Optimist Worlds title in Sardinia, Italy. Top achievements from NZ sailors overseas, set a high bench mark at home and national regattas were fiercely competitive.    

Thanks to generous funding from a number of trusts, the clubrooms underwent a complete renovation in 2007, with a new race office and bathroom configuration, as well as a new kitchen. We were also able to upgrade our training room facilities downstairs which enabled coaching to continue around other club events.

Foiling

In 2017 a small group of keen windsurfers at Wakatere took up Windfoiling. They became addicted to the feeling of flying across the water and racing started at the club. The class has continued to grow with a great sense of camaraderie amongst the fleet. Buoyed on by the America's Cup on our doorstep and advances in technology, foiling continues to inspire the next generation of club sailors. 

OK World Champs
The hosting of the OK Dinghy World Championship in Feb 2019 was a milestone. The largest OK regatta ever held outside of Europe with entries from Germany, UK, Sweden, Australia and the US. OK Dinghy Worlds report - Sail World news

Many of those racing an OK have come to the class later in life whether that was for family reasons, racing in other classes, sailing keelboats, or for some, managing an Olympic campaign. They enjoy a banter and beer at the club and like the Mob, its been said of the OK Dinghy sailors - once you're in, you can't get out. 

2020 Onwards 
The hosting of national regattas continues to be a highlight of the club calendar every season and balances the Sunday club racing and coaching programmes bringing the whole club together in support. 

With thanks to the continuing voluntary efforts of its club members, Wakatere is a extremely valuable resource to the local community and wider sailing community.