Time for a day of relaxing and checking out some of the fantastic spots at Kawau island, A short tour of the upper reaches of Bon Accord harbour followed by a quiet lunch on the lawn at Mansion House bay once home of governor George Grey.
Also a chance to try out different vessels and get in some sneaky sailing in Wee Tawera. After lunch the die hards decided to row an extra 3nm to visit Vivian Bay and the splendid white beach before returning to the Kawau Boating Club for dinner
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A short 2 nm row to a snug little man made harbour behind the wreck of the sailing ship Rewa for lunch.
Followed by a 4 nm slog into an afternoon breeze and choppy sea to Kawau island.
It was a good call to send the rowers back to camp on the bus. A very wet rain squall dumped all over us on the tow back.
The Mahurangi river provided the ideal setting for a handful of St Ayles skiffs, destination Warkworth with the incoming tide.
After many attempts by other means a trusty St Ayles oar was put to good use in recovering a soccer ball during the Mahurangi regatta prize giving at Scotts Landing.
Arrival into the Mahurangi regatta in fine style, Five St Ayles skiffs rowing into the harbour abreast each other. what a sight…
Arrival at Sullivans bay
close battle between Bayley Blue and Black Magic in the Masters of Mahurangi
Second place in the Masters of Mahurangi rowing race.
Deep analysis of the days rowing…
Proud winners of the John Cole trophy for aesthetic contribution to the regatta..woohoo!
Well its Day one and after a huge amount of work yesterday getting all the boats to the start and everyone to the start this morning, we are underway. great weather and a great bunch of people and boats.
Nice little welcome pack for all participants.
1st leg only 4nm to lunch.
Boat prep the day before…
All we need is the tide in and some people!
Its only just over two weeks to go and a few people have been asking me what should I bring. So I will attempt to give you a bit of an idea of what to expect…
First a quick disclaimer, theres a famous saying in Auckland that goes “If you don’t like the weather just wait 30 minutes!” Auckland is a narrow isthmus with the west coast and the Tasman sea not far away so the weather can be quite changeable.
At the moment we are having daytime temperatures in the mid twenties and nighttime in the mid teens. So what does that mean clothes wise…
Well for me it means tee shirts and shorts with maybe a light sweatshirt or polar fleece in the evenings, However for Megan it means an extra layer on top or a windbreak as she feels the cold more than I.
Heres an idea of what I will be packing for the Raid,
Really Really Important: We will have to transfer your gear to and from a couple of islands along the way and if its raining then your pack or bag is going to get wet. We will do everything we can to avoid this but we are camping and weather happens. Please pack your clothes and other dry stuff in plastic bags the black rubbish sacks work well and can be a real lifesaver. A small dry bag for the day is a great idea, you can take it with you on whatever boat your on and keep inside your valuables and a windbreak or polar fleece and sunblock, camera etc.
Now if you feel the cold then you will want to add more layers i.e. merino or polypro and probably some more long pants. Often we get a cool breeze so a wind breaker can make all the difference.
Hope this helps, and remember we don’t have a big truck to pack everyones stuff into so please pack small and light it will make life so much easier for everyone.
regards
Steve
The final coats of varnish and finishing touches are nearly done on the new fleet lining up for the Kiwi raid and regatta in a couple of weeks.
flash shiny new skiffs everywhere!
Stand by for some important tips and helpful tidbits about the Raid coming out over the next few days….
Planning for the Kiwi Raid and Regatta 2016 is well advanced now and its only a bit over two months away until the adventure begins. Woohoo!
Here’s an update on whats been happening and the latest in runsheets and maps etc.
The Kiwi Raid and Regatta 2016 is being organised by Raid New Zealand incorporated and we have a new website up and running for this purpose. A link to this new site is available here www.raidnz.org
The team here have been flat out building five more St Ayles skiffs and these are now being painted and fitted out, this will give us a total of seven St Ayles skiffs for the event.
Accommodation is all booked and the Chef is busy working on his menu’s yum yum!
For those of you arriving from overseas we have organised a bus from downtown Auckland to the start at Sanspit on the morning of the 29th January.
Hopefully all those who expressed an interest early on have received their information packs and entry forms.
If you have any questions or need help with your arrangements please don’t hesitate to contact Steve Cranch or Tanya Ankersmit, details on the contacts page above.
here’s the latest map NZ Coastal Rowing Map A
and the latest Runsheet NZ coastal rowing Runsheet A
please make sure you get your entries in asap as spaces are limited.
Entry forms and further details available here www.raidnz.org
New Zealand Coastal Rowing 