SAILING - Racing as a result of a dare

After four rums it sounded like a pretty good challenge and surprise, surprise, Dave remembered it the next morning - Leo McCulloughYachtsmanDave Watson and Leo McCullough have known each other since primary school but if the weather turns against them for the HSBC Coastal Classic next week, the consequences of a dare may test the limits of their friendship.
The pair of Whangarei yachties have raced in the Classic at least 10 times between them but this year they decided to race double-handed for the first time.
The idea was to look for a bigger challenge.
"Actually it was a dare," McCullough said.
"After four rums it sounded like a pretty good challenge and surprise, surprise, Dave remembered it the next morning," he said.
The pair sail as they do everything together with banter, taunts and jokes flying back and forth between them.
"We've been good friends for quite a while and we often put stress on that relationship by going sailing together," McCullough adds.
The former Whau Valley Primary School students will crew Watson's boat Assassin - he bought the boat with the name, and no it hasn't killed anyone.
The boat was designed by Ray Beale and raced competitively in Auckland in the early 1980s.
"He tended to give his boats aggressive names in those days, and it was one of his early designs that did well and got him on the road to doing other boats," Watson said.
The optimum finish for the cruising boat would be to complete the 119 nautical mile race in between 20 and 24 hours.
"We want to be there for breakfast basically," Watson said.
The opposite is what they are dreading - a stiff northerly breeze that will turn a pleasurable jaunt into a bit of a nightmare.
The pair are mindful of a 36 hour journey - with a larger crew - a few years ago that left them exhausted and irritable upon their arrival in Russell.
They don't want to make too many turns on the trip North, knowing that even with swapping the helm regularly they will get plenty of exercise.
They will be happy trailing along in the wake of the expensive race boats at the head of the field competing for line honours - preferably in a south-westerly of about 15 knots - but they will be trying their best to beat what they see as their competition.
"We want to do well in the division, maybe finish top five and try and beat the other two-handed boats but who we really want to beat is the other Beale boat of the same design in the race (racing with a full crew), that would be a big achievement," Watson reckons.
"It'll be good entertainment if nothing else," he said.
The pair will be out on the waves again in November in the Onerahi Yacht Club's 50-miler - this time on Leo's more aptly named boat, Delinquent.
"That's if we're still talking to each other after doing this race," Leo quips.
The way they carry on, it's odds on they will be.