By JULIE ASH
A record number of entries will set sail from Auckland for Russell on Friday morning in the annual Labour Weekend sailing event.
The 20th anniversary sailing of the annual Lindauer Coastal Classic has attracted 269 entries, 22 more than the previous record - 247 in 1996.
Entries have
been received from Bay of Plenty, Northland, Auckland, Waikato, Wellington, Southland, Vanuatu, New Caledonia and Australia.
Race director Joyce Talbot said the organisers, the NZ Multihull Yacht Club, were delighted at the record number.
She said most of the fleet came from Auckland, but a high number of entries were from the north.
"It has been fantastic. It will be a spectacular sight at the start line on Friday, particularly if it is a spinnaker start."
She said the weather would obviously determine the fate of many boats.
"It looks like there is going to be a northerly wind which will suit the heavier boats, but there are a couple of fronts on the way.
"We are hoping for a southerly wind so they are not going into the wind."
The size and status of the yachts will vary from race multihulls to cruisers.
New Caledonia trimaran Rogntudjuuu, which won line honours in the Auckland to Noumea race this year, is a favourite in the multihull division if it strike the right conditions.
However, with such a large fleet there are any number of potential line honours and handicap winners.
The first monohull to break Greg Elliott's 1996 race record on Primo of 9h 22m wins $10,000, and a further $10,000 will go to the first multihull to break the record set by Split Enz in the same year of 7h 20m.
The first Coastal Classic started in 1982 with 12 yachts sailing the 119 nautical miles.
This year, a PHRF time-on-distance system of handicapping (that is, seconds a mile) will be used for the monohulls - a handicap system which has proved successful overseas and is being used for the first time in a coastal race in New Zealand.
The race will be started by Team New Zealand skipper Dean Barker at 10 am from Devonport Wharf.
