Some sailors race around amphitheatre harbours, before an audience of thousands, with boats bedecked with sponsors’ labels. But in New Plymouth on April 9, another breed of sailors will round the harbour breakwaters and head for Southport, Queensland, about 2270km northwest.
Most of the 10 sailors are self-funded and some have built their own boats. They will be sailing what is often the family yacht, so there will be a diverse range of vessels, though all have to meet exacting safety standards.
The Solo Trans-Tasman Yacht Challenge, the only single-handed ocean race within the Southern Hemisphere, has set out at Easter from New Plymouth roughly every four years since 1970. The city faces the Tasman Sea, with no offshore islands or reefs to protect it from prevailing westerly winds driving great swells that often pound its rocky foreshore. It’s hardly an inviting scene for the launch of a yacht race. Yet, over the past 53 years, 14 races have been run.
Plans for a single-handed race to Australia were first presented to the New Plymouth Yacht Club by three keen sailors and amateur boatbuilders in 1967. One was Howard Vosper. “I’d never been offshore in a yacht,” Vosper recalled, “but I could see what a great idea, what a challenge and an adventure, it would be.”
The men expected an enthusiastic response but were disappointed. “[The club’s] attitude was that they were into teaching kids to sail dinghies around the harbour,” he says, “and if a bunch of lunatics wanted to sail across the Tasman – good luck to them.”
Bu hikaye New Zealand Listener dergisinin April 08-14 2023 sayısından alınmıştır.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber ? Giriş Yap
Bu hikaye New Zealand Listener dergisinin April 08-14 2023 sayısından alınmıştır.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Giriş Yap
First-world problem
Harrowing tales of migrants attempting to enter the US highlight the political failure to fully tackle the problem.
Applying intelligence to AI
I call it the 'Terminator Effect', based on the premise that thinking machines took over the world.
Nazism rears its head
Smirky Höcke, with his penchant for waving with a suspiciously straight elbow and an open palm, won't get to be boss of either state.
Staying ahead of the game
Will the brave new world of bipartisanship that seems to be on offer with an Infrastructure Commission come to fruition?
Grasping the nettle
Broccoli is horrible. It smells, when being cooked, like cat pee.
Hangry? Eat breakfast
People who don't break their fast first thing in the morning report the least life satisfaction.
Chemical reaction
Nitrates in processed meats are well known to cause harm, but consumed from plant sources, their effect is quite different.
Me and my guitar
Australian guitarist Karin Schaupp sticks to the familiar for her Dunedin concerts.
Time is on my side
Age does not weary some of our much-loved musicians but what keeps them on the road?
The kids are not alright
Nuanced account details how China's blessed generation has been replaced by one consumed by fear and hopelessness.