Frontrunners reach halfway mark in famous coastal yacht race

Frontrunners reach halfway mark in famous coastal yacht race

More than 160 yachts of all shapes and sizes departed Auckland today, bound for Russell in the Bay of Islands.

They were competing in the famous PIC Insurance Brokers Coastal Classic Auckland to Russell Yacht Race - nicknamed ‘the Coastal’ - and the official icebreaker for hundreds of sailors each year.

The weather was fine and sunny, with a good stiff North-Wester to drive them off the startline and to the first corner at North Head, where they trimmed on sails and began the 119 nautical mile upwind beat to Russell in seriousness.

The big multihulls TeamVodafone and Team Australia took an early position at the front of the fleet and at 1.30pm - just 3.5 hours out from the start, they had passed Sail Rock, with the New Zealand based TeamVodafone an estimated six minutes ahead of the Australian entry that arrived in the country six days ago after claiming a new Trans Tasman speed record.

The Volvo 70 Giacomo, in its first major race in New Zealand, was in third position, and the extreme catamaran Taeping, in fourth. The front runners are expected in Russell at about 5pm tonight, and a new record time is unlikely.

Rain is expected for the fleet in the early evening, but once it passes through, the wind should ease and move to the South West, making for a more comfortable ride, at least until Cape Brett.

The boats race in eight race divisions categorised by size and speed. A chance to win an Audi A1 is one of the feature prizes, along with another $30,000 of technological and marine related gear from sponsors that include PIC Insurance Brokers, B&G, Jackson Electrical Industries Limited, Yachting New Zealand, Dirty Dog, Elf Oils, Musto, Mount Gay Rum, Railblaza, and PredictWind.com.

The PIC Insurance Brokers Coastal Classic is organised by the New Zealand Multihull Yacht Club. Boat tracking, commentary, sked times, photos and video will be available from race start on www.coastalclassic.co.nz.

ENDS

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