Issue date
At 1300 hours today, Saturday 7 June 2014, Royal Akarana Yacht Club will star their 22nd race to Fiji, ANZ Sail Fiji.
The 20 strong keelboat fleet will begin their 1,100 nautical mile journey between the traditional area off Orakei Wharf with the start boat being the HMNZS Manawanui.
Bob McDavitt, local weather guru, once again said to the fleet that they should "except everything, and nothing." He did however provide the following observations for the next few days.
SATURDAY 7: There is expected to be a HIGH over 1028hPa out to east of NZ and a TROUGH in the mid Tasman Sea with a NE flow over northern NZ and a warm front approaching from the west. Forecast for start at 1pm is wind from NE easing to 20 gust 30 knots. A few showers. Waves 1 to 2 metres from NE.
SUNDAY 8: Warm front is expected to travel east across the track. Forecast is for NE wind to rise to 25 gust 40 knots then wind turning to Northerly 20 gust 30 knots then NW 15 knots. Periods of rain. Waves 1.5 to 2.5m from NE.
MONDAY 9: TROUGH is expected to travel east across the track. Forecast is for wind variable less than 10 knots turning to be from the south. Some large calm areas. Cloudy. Waves 1 to 1.5m from N becoming mixed and choppy
TUESDAY 10: TROUGH should be east of track. Forecast is for wind from south growing to 10 then 15 knots. Cloudy. Mixed and choppy swells around 1.5 to 2 metres becoming from east.
WEDNESDAY 11: May be a new LOW forming over Vanuatu/New Caledonia. Forecast is for wind from SW to S to SE 10 to 15 knots. Fine to Fair. Southsoutheast swell 2 to 3 metres.
The front end of the fleet is expected to be Karl Kwok's Botin 80 Beau Geste, and Jim Delegat's Volvo 70 Giacomo. The ETA for these boats is looking anywhere from four to five days to reach the Navula Passage where the finishing line will be located.
The current race record, held by Konica Minolta from 2005 of (3d, 10h, 47m, 40s) is expected to stay intact for this race. However nothing can be assumed at this stage.
FOLLOW THE RACE
All updates for the race will be posted on the official website - www.sailfiji.co.nz
You can also follow the race via our Facebook page - www.facebook.com/sailfiji
Use the official hashtag of #anzsailfiji on Facebook, Twitter and Instragram to post your messages of support
TRACKER
The fleet is fitted with yellowbrick trackers
http://yb.tl/A2F2014
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The main naming-rights sponsor for the race is the Australia & New Zealand Banking Group Limited (ANZ). ANZ is a committed sponsor, partnering with a number of major sporting affiliated events in Fiji and across the 33 markets in which the Bank operates globally.
ANZ CEO Pacific & CEO Fiji, Vishnu Mohan, said: “ANZ Sail Fiji strategically aligns with our priority of supporting tourism growth in some of our Pacific markets, including Fiji. As a Bank with a proud history spanning over 130 years in Fiji and the Pacific, we clearly have a vested interest in the industry’s continued growth and appreciate that tourism is a very important part of building a prosperous Fiji.”
