Worser Bay
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Worser Bay in Wellington, New Zealand is located along the beach from Seatoun and over the hill from Miramar on the Miramar Peninsula, Worser Bay is a calm sandy beach with a single road running along the base of the Seatoun Heights hill. Houses run all along the hill side of the road, with only carparks and beach facilities opposite. The beach is subject to the windy conditions of Wellington with gusty northelies often changing to cold, consistent southerlies. The waters are calm as the beach is within the natural harbour and in summer it is a popular destination for families, much like the nearby Scorching Bay.
Named after James Heberly's frequent predictions of "worser" weather, the beach still has the original Pilot's cottage that housed James and other pilots from 1866 (thanks Stellamaris.org.nz).
In addition to the Pilot's cottage, Worser Bay is also home to Worser Bay Primary School, which sits on top of the hill between Seatoun Heights and Miramar Heights. It celebrated it's centenary in 1997. It is also the site of an old Māori Pā, Whetukairangi (Star Gazer).
Other notable locations are the yacht club, scout hall and surf club buildings at the northern end of the beach.
The Worser Bay Boating Club was founded in 1926 and has become a leader in the New Zealand-specific Sunburst class dinghy yacht. There is also a strong emphasis on youth sailing in Optomist, P-Class and Starling dinghies. Of late, 420's and Skiffs have become increasing popular. Along with a number of national champions, there has also been a World Champion in 2002, with Greg Wilcox winning the World OK dinghy champs at Napier, New Zealand.
The Sea Scouts hall was built in 1967 directly on top of a wartime Mine Control Building, which has since been converted to hold the dinghy yachts and rowing boats. As with many scout halls, numbers dwindled in the 1990s, but the Cub Scouts are currently enjoying a resurgence.
The Worser Bay Surf Lifesaving Club has been around for many decades, competing in the many surf lifesaving events around the country. While it lasted many years beyond that of the Scorching Bay Lifesaving Club, the numbers at Worser Bay also dwindled until the 1990s when official functions at the club ceased (the complete lack of surf didn't help). Near the end of the decade, a windsurf school began using the facilities. This would seem to have stirred the club and it reopened as a lifesaving club in the 2000s, focusing on youth.
