Thirteen monohulls crossed the start line at 12:06, one minute after the scheduled noon start, in sunshine and a freshening northeast breeze. Leading the way was Malcolm Dickson, who timed his start to perfection and shot clear of the fleet before the rest had found their lanes.
Standing on the dock to watch him go was his wife Joan.
“Good start, great start, timed that perfect,” she said. “I guess he’s watched enough yachting over the years to know how to start.”
At 79, Dickson is the oldest competitor in the fleet, and this is his fourth Solo Trans-Tasman. The first was a learning experience. He will be doing his best on this one, though as he put it himself before leaving the dock, with such a diverse fleet, anything could happen.
It didn’t look that way at the start. He was out front and pulling clear as 12 boats chased him north.
The wind filled in at Opua a couple of hours before the start, the sun came out, and both fleets got away cleanly. The entire 15-boat fleet is now at sea.
Follow every position live at boatingnz.co.nz/sttc.
