Rush Of Colour And Excitement On Land And Sea For Auckland Anniversary Day Regatta

The courses are set, the trophies are ready for the winning and the excitement is building as Auckland prepares for one of the biggest days in the sailing calendar - the Auckland Anniversary Day Regatta, first held 167 years ago.

Regatta Organising Committee Chairman, Eric Henry, says about 500 craft ranging from waka to powerful vintage tugboats and little centreboards will all be on the Waitemata Harbour on Monday, January 29 to put on a glorious spectacle of colour, speed and seamanship.

“There’s still time to enter the Regatta. Just go to www.regatta.org.nz or phone 0800 Regatta (0800 734 2882),” Mr Henry said.Â

The Parade of Sail which heralds the beginning of the Auckland Anniversary Day Regatta leaves Viaduct Harbour at 9:00am and will feature a wide range of classic yachts, launches and tugboats - many of them over 100 years old.

Look out for the black hull and long bowsprit and boom of ‘Waitangi’, a very famous ‘gaff-rigged’ or gaffer, launched in 1894, skippered by Tony Blake and his crew of ‘old salts’.

Joining in the parade will be 26 vintage tugboats, lined up in order of age, and several Tall Ships, instantly recognisable by their sheer size and square rig. Watch out for ‘Soren Larsen’, the biggest of them all.

The tugboat race starts off North Head at 10:15am.

The main `races, which start off Orakei Wharf, will feature large and spectacular keel boats, the most commonly seen boat on the Waitemata Harbour. Keelers are monohulls, generally with one mast.

A special feature of this year’s Regatta will be the race for historic Classic Yachts which starts at 11.05am from Orakei Wharf. Stars in the line up include not only “Waitangi’ but also ‘Tawera’ (1936), recognisable by her cream coloured sails and sleek hull. At 11.10am, the smaller classics set sail. Among the starters will be gaffers, ‘Jonquil’, ‘Loloma’ (1913) and ‘Thelma’ (1895), the latest addition to the classic yacht fleet, recently acquired by a group of sailing enthusiasts from its previous home in the Mediterranean. For a close up look, the classic yacht fleet will be moored in Viaduct Harbour on Sunday night and will be lit up that evening.

At 11.45am the ‘Harbour Blast’ will sprint from the start line and do two circuits of the inner harbour. This start features the smaller faster craft with a variety of one and two hulled boats manned by 2-3 crew, who appear to spend much of their time defying gravity.Â

The Multihull fleet should come scorching into the harbour in a blaze of colour from Kawau Island anytime from about 2:00pm onwards. The multihulls are easily identified by their speed and coloured spinnakers.  Also arriving will be the trailer sailors from Rakino Island, which as their name suggests are small craft which can be easily transported from home to sailing venue.

Flagship for the day will be the Royal New Zealand Navy frigate ‘Te Kaha’ which will be moored to the west of Bean Rock.

Best vantage points for Regatta spectators will be Bastion Point, North Head, East Coast Bays, Tamaki Drive, Orakei Wharf and Viaduct Harbour where the vintage tugboats will be parading, this time in order of placings, after their race at around noon.

On land, there will be free family entertainment around the Viaduct on the Sunday and Anniversary Day itself with kids rides, food stalls, buskers and roving performers and the Emirates Team New Zealand base will be open to the public from 12:30 pm to 5:30pm so supporters can bid them farewell and good luck to bring the America’s Cup home.

ENDS

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