Tuesday 1st June 1.30pm
Farrago II finished at 4.30 this morning. All the boats have now finished what has been one of the longer Offshore races in recent years. The lighter headwinds made for some challenging tactical decisions and most boats were watching their food supplies very carefully over the last few days racing.
Congratulations to all the boats who competed in the race and well done to Dan Slater and crew who took line honors sailing the Open 60 O Canada. A special mention must be made to Bretten Holland sailing single handed for winning the PHRF division. Bretten took just over nine days to complete the race. Some of the boats will be staying on to enjoy the Fijian hospitality and warmer weather while some have already left for the return trip to NZ and others to Australia.
Below, photos from the Premier Division start, 22nd May.
Click here for a list of race entrants and boat profiles.
If you find this format hard to read, then another is available. Please scroll to the bottom of this page, and download 'Boat pix and Profiles'
The temporary 'Yacht Club' base (as Denarau Yacht Club do not have any clubrooms!) is Cardo's Resturant. Information will be updated here daily, and ALSO at the Denarau Marina office. There will also be a number of RAYC race support staff in Denarau. Fred Price (Race officer) and Janine Robinson (RAYC offshore committe and also Bullrush) will be there as of Wednesday 26th, and can be contacted on 0274 99 00 75 if need be. Nigel Skeggs is the Denarau marina manager (and MAJOR sponsor), and can be located via the Marina office. The marina office will also have a notice board with event updates. Computers are available in the marina office.
As in previous years we are running an on boat/online yacht tracking system. Each yacht will be fitted with a transponder unit, which emits a position report to an online site. This is a fantastic resource for supporters back home. The tracking units are kindly provided and sponsored by Navitec, New Caledonia and Denarau Marina. We will provide a link from our homepage, closer to the start date, which will also be able to be accessed from www.denaraumarina.com.
As a backup (as on occasionally the trackers do go offline) we will also provide additional position reports, showing GPS position at sched report, ETA, distance to finish, average speeds etc.
The tracking site can be accessed from our main home page.
ISAF (international sailing federation) rules state that 75% of crew on board are required to have completed an advanced safety and survival course, prior to the race. Two full courses and one refresher course were held at RAYC earlier in the year. They were held over two days, and included in pool liferaft training at the Orakei Dive Centre. A highly recommended course for anyone contemplating ocean or passage racing.
Below: Ian Jones, from Bullrush attempts to 'right' the raft, and getting comfy in the raft.
Special race accomodation packages are out now!! Phone Kevin at RAYC on 5249945, or download Fiji Accomodation PDF file below for full details.
We have organized berthing in the Auckland Viaduct pre-race. We have berthage available the night before the Premier Race Start, and for the morning of the race, as customs will need to board each vessel for final customs clearance. Supporters are most welcome to come into the viaduct on Saturday morning pre race to farewell the boats.
Berthage will be free to all competitors for approximately a week after arrival, thanks to our kind sponsor, Denarau Marina - a big thank you to Nigel Skeggs!! Please scroll to the bottom of this page to download more information on Denarau Marina.
Some great airfares are available thanks to our friends at Air Pacific. Here is the link to the site for enquiries and bookings:
www.airpacific.com/home/affiliate/aid/oceanrace
Any 'newbies' needing help/advice? If you require advice or 'handholding' in the lead up to the race, please call the office (Kevin 524 9945) for help, or Ant Robinson (Bullrush, 021 99 00 75)
Auckland to Denarau Ocean Race Entrants: 2010
| Boat | Design | Skipper | Division |
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| Wired | Bakewell-white | Rob Bassett | Premier |
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| Bird on the Wing | Benetau First 50 | Brent Marshall | Premier |
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| Bare Essentials | Open 54 Turbo | Boyd Smith | Premier |
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| Farrago | Farr 11.6 | Cameron Maher | Corinthian |
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| Bullrush | Elliot 12 | Ant Robinson | Premier |
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| General Lee | Bakewell-white | Scott Disley | Premier |
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| Lion NZ | Ron Holland Maxi | Alastair Moore | Premier |
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| Pretty Boy Floyd | Colin Clarke | Ross 40 | Premier |
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| Ran Tan II | John Meade | Elliot 15.3 | Premier |
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| O Canada | Dan Slater | Open 60 | Premier |
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| Skiddy II | Bretten Holland | Muir 9.8m | Premier | Single handed |
| Cheetah II | Michael Potter | Chico 30 | Corinthian |
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| Revs | Chris Hornell | Ross 40 | Premier |
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| Starlight Express | Mike Wilson | Davidson 16.6 | Premier |
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| O'Sinnerman | Tony Bierre | Davidson 17m | Premier |
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Thanks to our Fijian and New Zealand sponsors for their support
