Started my trip in Auckland for the Classic yacht Assoc. Regatta. Some fantastic old boats! Many of them over a hundred years old built by the famous yards of Bailey or Logan.
Anyway if you decide to come down here and look around, you won't be disappointed for the amazing emphasis on sailing boats! Everyone sails it seems. But make sure you have an onward flight or they won't let you in. There I was at midnight in the airport with my laptop, zipping on the internet to find a OW ticket back out to Australia, so they would give me back my passport, and let me get to the hostel to sleep!! Eventually got to the Brown Kiwi Backpackers in Ponsonby, good friendly place and close enough to city to walk to the regatta area in the Viaduct Harbor.
This year the harbour was taken up by the Louis Vuitton Pacific Series, as in the pre-races to the America's Cup. So bit crowded on the docks. Rubbing shoulders with the big boys. Amazing to see the progress evident in sailing technology on that one wharf, from 1880 boat the Jessie Logan owned by NZ yachting historian, Harold Kidd to the massive Cup challenger boats both Swiss Alinghi and NZ Emirites also docked there. Quite the raucous party when NZ won.
In the Classics regatta, crazy winds the first day. And still they raced. (The LV Cup shut down.) Great to see the Kiwi built Ragtime, now homeport in Hawaii, come to compete in the race. And many Australian sailors coming over just to be crew aboard the historic boats. Spent last day zipping around in a historic launch, Lady Gay taking photos of the sailboats. Gorgeous.
Then off to northland...
Anyway if you decide to come down here and look around, you won't be disappointed for the amazing emphasis on sailing boats! Everyone sails it seems. But make sure you have an onward flight or they won't let you in. There I was at midnight in the airport with my laptop, zipping on the internet to find a OW ticket back out to Australia, so they would give me back my passport, and let me get to the hostel to sleep!! Eventually got to the Brown Kiwi Backpackers in Ponsonby, good friendly place and close enough to city to walk to the regatta area in the Viaduct Harbor.
This year the harbour was taken up by the Louis Vuitton Pacific Series, as in the pre-races to the America's Cup. So bit crowded on the docks. Rubbing shoulders with the big boys. Amazing to see the progress evident in sailing technology on that one wharf, from 1880 boat the Jessie Logan owned by NZ yachting historian, Harold Kidd to the massive Cup challenger boats both Swiss Alinghi and NZ Emirites also docked there. Quite the raucous party when NZ won.
In the Classics regatta, crazy winds the first day. And still they raced. (The LV Cup shut down.) Great to see the Kiwi built Ragtime, now homeport in Hawaii, come to compete in the race. And many Australian sailors coming over just to be crew aboard the historic boats. Spent last day zipping around in a historic launch, Lady Gay taking photos of the sailboats. Gorgeous.
Then off to northland...
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