Earthquake damages Yacht and Rowing clubs in Christchurch

by Richard Gladwell and Rowing on 7 Sep 2010 Sail-World understands that a meeting was being being held tonight (Tuesday) to discuss the fate of the Pleasant Point Yacht Club after the destruction caused by the earthquake which hit Christchurch, NZ early Saturday morning.

Located on the Christchurch Estuary, the club is located in reclaimed land, which has become badly cracked and has sunk in places, as a result of the 7.1 Richter scale earthquake which has caused widespread damage in one of New Zealand's major cities.

Outwardly the building does not seem to be too badly affected, however internally it is badly twisted and the meeting is expected to decide its future, as to start the decision process as to whether it will be repaired, or demolished, and whether a new club can be built on the site.

All major items of club property and memorabilia have been removed.

From inquiries made by Sail-World it is believed that the other 10 yacht clubs in the Canterbury Yachting Association area have escaped largely unscathed from the earthquake which was the most serious in terms of property damage, in New Zealand, for eighty years.

In fact at one of them, Naval Point Yacht Club, an instructor's course which started on the Friday was continued on the Saturday after the earthquake struck, before being wound up around noon.

After shocks and smaller earthquakes have continued to be felt in the area with some of these being well above 5 on the Richter scale. One yachting coach spoken to by Sail-World said that the longest time between quakes was two hours, and that he had been thrown flat on the floor while trying to move within his house on Saturday morning.

Damage t o some sports facilities in the Christchurch area has been considerable with Porritt Park, home of Canterbury hockey suffering damage of several million dollars to its artificial turf surfaces, and again it is questionable as to whether the facility can in fact be rebuilt on the site.

Four rowing clubs in the Christchurch region have been badly damaged, as the Rowingnz.com website reports: Saturday morning's devastating earthquake in Christchurch has hit the rowing community with yet-to-be assessed, but almost certainly major damage to four clubs - Union, Avon, Canterbury and Christ's College - but key figures in the sport in Canterbury are insisting the show will go on, despite fears that rowing at Kerrs Reach could be halted for some time.

'You can look at it as either the biggest disaster ever for the sport in Christchurch or the biggest opportunity,'explained John Wylie. (Mr South Island Rowing)

'We have damaged boathouses and there will definitely be extensive repairing and building work going on during the summer and possibly beyond, but that we can work around as the sore of the sheds are still accessible and we are permitted to access them.The Avon club core seems OK but the extension on the riverside, balcony and CRA office are condemned. On the Leander building the Union annex on the riverside has collapsed and is also beyond repair.

'We currently have no power, water or sewerage but that will be returned in due course and we have plans in place already to provide specific and hygienic cleaning for the athletes and the boats, given that it is likely the water itself is going to be pretty dirty for a while.'

The rowing stock didn't escape the quake either, with many boats damaged and several written off in the violent movements. There is also extensive damage in the immediate areas around the clubs,with huge cracks in the ground and extensive damage to footbridges. Even the famous Kerrs Reach sign has sunken and is now only partly visible.

The quake effectively moved the river bank 30cm out towards the water's edge and about 40cm down, with resulting huge damage to anything that was within the area 'dragged' down towards the riverside. As you can see from the pictures in the story, there has been extensive damage. The more modern boathouses have, however, survived relatively intact.

Thanks to John Wylie, Nicky Coles and Todd Petherick for the rowing club pictures: