Race plans are ship-shape for 29th year
26/07/2010

The 29th edition of the HSBC Premier Coastal Classic is in preparation mode and as well as a great looking fleet that includes several new boats, sponsors have contributed a prize pool worth $40,000.

2010 marks seven years of involvement for HSBC Premier in this iconic yacht race.

David Griffiths, CEO, at HSBC New Zealand says: “We’re pleased to again get behind one New Zealand’s largest and most exciting coastal yacht races. We hope that this year’s HSBC Premier Coastal Classic results in plenty of good competition, a strong breeze for the skippers and more records for the history books.”

Joining HSBC Premier, which is also sponsor of Division 1, are eight divisional sponsors, each contributing prizes to its line honours winners and handicap placegetters: Musto (Division 2), Safety at Sea (Division 3), Mt Gay Rum (Division 4), Steinlager (Division 5), Duke of Marlborough Hotel (Division 6), RAILBLAZA Ltd (Division 7), Jucy Rentals (Division 8), PredictWind.com (IRC), and SailNZ (Classic Division).

“The party in Russell on Saturday night is followed by a cooked breakfast and prizegiving on Sunday morning,” says race spokesperson Jon Vincent. “The prizegiving starts at 9am sharp and we encourage all competitors to be there for the opportunity to win spot prizes from Southern Pacific Inflatables, Yamaha Motor NZ, and Dirty Dog Sunglasses.”

Snitch GPS will provide real-time GPS tracking of ten members of the race fleet, and Sunday Star Times and Trade-A-Boat Magazine are official media partners to the race.

Predictwind.com will issue an official, detailed race forecast on the eve of the race.

New members at the front end of the race fleet will include Roger Pagani’s new fifty foot catamaran, Triple 8 and Simon Hull’s Open 60 trimaran, TeamVodafoneSailing, which is capable of cruising at speeds of thirty knots. The old Murray Ross designed campaigner M1 is due to be relaunched by Northland boatbuilder Craig Partridge after a turbo refit, and the hot off the blocks Flying Tiger 10 new to the country this winter is also a potential starter.

In the multihull world a new generation of innovation is making an appearance. The small but stunning multihull, Frantic Drift, owned by Olympic sailor Dan Slater, has been modified with a new BMWOracle-style mast and curved lifting foils, and two other boats – Dragon and Timberwolf - will feature similar technology.

The supermaxi Alfa Romeo broke a thirteen-year record drought when it set a new overall record last year, completing the race in 6 hours and 43 minutes, but Split Enz remains the fastest multihull to ever finish the race with a record set in 1996 of 7 hours and 20 minutes.

The HSBC Premier Coastal Classic starts from 10am on Friday 22 October off Devonport Wharf in Auckland, and finishes off Russell Wharf in the Bay of Islands.

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www.coastalclassic.co.nz