The sky is overcast and the breeze is close to what PredictWind’s Nick Olson has been forecasting all week. There’s enough to get the fleet over the line and heading north. Few skippers expect it to hold all the way.
At Thursday’s briefing, Olson’s forecast was a reasonable start, a soft patch past Cape Rodney and a long night for most of the fleet. Mike Sanderson had already given crews his own advice for these conditions: travel light, clean the hull and leave the moaners on the dock.
Out on the water, the forecast hasn’t put anyone off. Plenty of crews look like they’ve come out to enjoy the day, wherever the breeze runs out.
Following the fleet
Roger Mills is photographing the start from Bastion Point. Kirsten and Chris are on the Whangaparāoa Peninsula, looking across to Tiritiri Matangi, where the leaders should have broken away by the time they pass.
Later in the day we move north for shots along the coast, then on to Russell. The way the wind reports look, the first finishers may arrive just before breakfast tomorrow.
Boats to watch
No one is defending line honours this year. Last year’s line honours winner Lucky, runner-up Callisto and CAT+ION are all missing from the entry list. Dougall Love’s Rapido 60 trimaran Romanza won line honours in 2024 and starts as the favourite. Charles Brown’s Davidson 66 Antaeus is the biggest monohull in the fleet. On a light day, though, results will probably be decided on handicap.
Malcolm Dickson is also on the start line. He has won the Solo Trans-Tasman twice, and today he starts his first Coastal Classic, sailing Sarau two-handed with his 16-year-old granddaughter Lily. There are 63 years between them.
The gun fires at 10am. Follow the race in Go Boating’s Coastal Classic coverage.
