Records remain intact; new boats place 1st and 2nd
20/10/2007

Right from the start the 26th HSBC Coastal Classic, beginning at 10am on Friday 19 October from Devonport Wharf in Auckland, and finishing off Russell Wharf in the Bay of Islands, had all the hallmarks of a legendary race.

Records that had remained intact since 1996 seemed destined to be broken when the official race forecast heralded up to 30 knots from the South East.

But sailing wouldn’t be sailing if the unexpected didn’t happen, and when the forecast drop in windspeed occurred earlier than anticipated, hopes for a new set of records dwindled.

However, it was two new boats who took out the first two top spots: Taeping, which crossed the line at 8pm exactly on Saturday was considered a ‘dark horse’ because the Australian boat is relatively unproven in New Zealand conditions. And for Line 7, sailed by Olympian Dan Slater, Ed Smythe of BMW Oracle, and weatherman Grant Beck, it was a maiden race. Line 7 finished at 2023:23hrs, just 14 seconds ahead of last year’s winner, X-Factor.

“Taeping thoroughly deserved their win,” says Jon Vincent of the New Zealand Multihull Yacht Club and skipper of X-Factor. “From a sailor’s point of view, the race was perfection. We picked up waves off Cape Brett that would accelerate us from 13 to 20 knots in an instant. Conditions were ideal for boats designed to sail downwind.”

Multihulls took eight of the top ten spots over line. V5, a Transpac 52 owned by Simon Hull, was the first keelboat (monohull), arriving at 2150.41hrs, followed by Wired and Upshot. All three are new generation fifty footers, equipped with swing keels. Wired was the first keeler on line in the 2006 race

Their rival, Pussy Galore, is seeking redress as she diverted to successfully rescue the crew of capsized multihull, Silverraider during the race. The crew were transferred to a Coastguard vessel 15 minutes later, and Pussy Galore rejoined the race. Silverraider is owned by Dave Andrews, who also owns Taeping.

One of the key decisions that tacticians face in the HSBC Coastal Classic is whether to stick close to land, or to head further offshore. Those that headed out in the early part of the race but came back in later tended to do the best, but boats in the second half of the fleet faced more south westerlies and tighter conditions than the frontrunners. Lack of wind on Saturday morning frustrated tail-enders.

There were nine major race divisions incorporating around 230 boats in total, plus competitions within competitions created by the IRC rating system, teams event and class divisions, racing for $40,000 in prizes.

The HSBC Coastal Classic is the biggest coastal race in New Zealand, and one of the biggest in the world. It started life 26 years ago as a drag race between Auckland and Russell for just a few boats, and over the years attracted a bigger and more diverse fleet, consisting of grand prix racers, America’s Cup boats, and small family cruisers.

Organised by the New Zealand Multihull Yacht Club, it is a race designed for speed: except for at the beginning and the end of the race, there are few opportunities to use tactics to overtake, and success can often depend on getting a good start.

The race can take as little as seven or eight hours for the very fastest boats, or as long as two days for the slowest boats in light conditions. The overall race record was set back in1996 by Split Enz, for seven hours and twenty minutes.

As well as welcoming back principle sponsor HSBC, the HSBC Coastal Classic has two new divisional sponsors for 2007: Harken and Donaghys Southern Ocean. Other long-standing sponsors of the event are: Masport, Line7, Doyle Sails, Cookson Boats, Steinlager, Takapuna Sailing Center, Duke of Marlborough Hotel and Russell Cottages.

The race website, www.coastalclassic.co.nz features commentary, photographs, radio sked times and GPS positionings from the 2007 race.


ENDS

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