Family times at the Mahurangi Regatta

As we’ve done every summer for last thirty-odd years, my family headed up to Mahurangi on the Saturday of Auckland Anniversary Weekend for the annual regatta. This day stands out as honestly possibly my favourite day of the year. When I was a kid I loved going up with my wider family to swim, play, enter the running races and sandcastle competitions, and generally have an amazing time with my brothers and cousins. We introduced Hayden to the regatta some years ago, and he loves it too – and now we get to watch Amelie starting to really enjoy the day as well! This year was her third regatta, but it was also kind of her fourth – Hayden and I found out I was pregnant with Amelie the evening before regatta day in 2016. It’s a very special place and time of the year for us!

Amelie was very keen on entering a running race but by the early afternoon, when they started, she was exhausted, so we chose not to enter her this year. Maybe next! I think she’d love the sand sculpture competition also, although I rather suspect she’d rope us all in to ‘helping’ her and we’d be promptly disqualified. We will see next year..

We arrived in the morning in time for the boat parade (a whole lot of older boats sail around the bay – it’s great), then Amelie and I wandered round admiring the boats with my dad. We warmed up in the sun (it’s always sunny on regatta day!), swam, had a shared picnic lunch of salad and sandwiches and cheese and fruit – oh, and there were two cakes, Amelie was impressed – then swam again. My dad entered a kayak race, my brother took the kayak out too, and we watched the yacht races. As always, we ran into a whole heap of people my parents know from sailing and kayaking.

Such a beautiful spot and such an amazing day! I’m very grateful for having this wonderful family tradition, and that Hayden and I now get to share it with Amelie. Let me know if you go to the regatta as well – or what traditions you do have that are special (family or otherwise)!