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Maybe Next Year ......

Disappointed but still keen certainly wraps up the feel of the boats and crew sitting dockside in Opua in New Zealand's Bay of Islands.

Three boats that had set out on the Auckland to Noumea Yacht Race are now settled comfortably (minus a few bits of vital equipment), getting a well deserved rest. The general consensus is that the waves weren't that big, but that the sea was a mess and it was hard to maintain steady progress when you couldn't see which way t... Read More

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Storming along!

In an earlier blog I referred to the fog as an ominous symbol of the calm before the storm, an omen tha appears to have come true.With seas of 8 metres reported, winds in excess of 40 knots and a spectacular electrical storm it's no wonder there have been breakdowns in the radio schedules and sat phone calls we were expecting.

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Bare Essentials has decided to seek shelter behind the Karikari Peninsula due to the strong wind and swell running, they will resume the race when they are ready.

Mustang Sally had turned around and is heading for Opua in the Bay of Islands. She has steering problems, and they plan to rejoin the race as soon as repairs are made

The weather is pretty bad with 40 - 45 knot winds and 2 meter swells, these conditions definitely favour the bigger boats.

At this s... Read More

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Off into a Sea of Fog!

We woke this morning to a sea of fog that everyone thought was sure to lift by start time at 2pm. The boats seemed strangely quiet as they sat berthed in the Auckland Viaduct completing final preparations. By Eleven O'clock when the first boats set off conditions had not improved. The masts could barely be seen as the fleet slipped q... Read More

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Yeeha - Let's Go!

Looks like it's all go for the start of the 2009 Auckland to Noumea Yacht Race. The fleet was nestled quietly in the Auckland Viaduct in a flat sea with very little wind and a light drizzle. The calm before the storm? Perhaps - it certainly looked that way earlier in the week with predictions of 40 to 50 knot winds. The weather pattern causing... Read More

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