Summer sailing is officially underway in New Zealand. Someone just needs to let the wind know.
Just under 100 boats lined up for the PIC Coastal Classic at 9.30am on Friday 23 October, with a light southwesterly of around 6–8 knots helping the fleet around North Head and on their way towards Russell.
From there, it was pretty much dead downwind towards Tiri Channel, with crews trying to squeeze every last bit of speed out of a breeze that was already losing enthusiasm.
As the wind softened further, the question of making the race cutoff was already creeping into conversations. There is a chance a sizeable chunk of the fleet could struggle to get there in time, but there is plenty of racing still to come. Nobody entered this one expecting to get to Russell by sitting at home.
For now, it is far too early to get excited about results. There are plenty of miles, decisions and opportunities for the leaderboard to shuffle before anyone can start clearing space for a trophy.
Boats are required to check in at various points throughout the race, so we will keep you updated as those reports come through. In the meantime, keep the PredictWind tracker handy to follow your favourite boat and watch the overall and divisional leaderboards evolve.
For more than 40 years, this iconic race has signalled the start of the New Zealand summer sailing season. This edition is underway, even if the wind is easing itself into the occasion.
More to come. Hopefully including a little more breeze.
If you’re watching the PredictWind tracker and notice a few boats apparently taking a shortcut across land, don’t panic. This is likely down to the tracking device being below deck rather than up on deck. Nobody has fitted wheels.
The updated app now shows each boat’s speed, heading, distance to finish, distance raced and average speed, with a leaderboard to help you keep tabs on the fleet. It’s a massive step up for a free app available to race organisers around the world.
PredictWind is the official tracking and weather partner for The Ocean Race and the official weather partner for the America’s Cup.
By Suellen Hurling
For all the latest, visit www.coastalclassic.co.nz.
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