KEY POINTS:
Due back in Auckland aboard the Hawke Bay tomorrow is the classic 1897 Logan-built 60-footer Thelma. The yacht had a great career racing here until the 1940s when she went offshore, eventually finishing up in the United States. After a restoration there the yacht went to the Mediterranean where she was bought last year by the Auckland Classic Yacht Charitable Trust. The yacht will be unloaded at Bledisloe Wharf tomorrow morning then go to the Team New Zealand base in Halsey Street for a welcome home function before undergoing a complete restoration that will have her back in original racing trim.
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Called 'Fit to Float', a new campaign has been launched in the United States to raise awareness of the need to wear lifejackets to prevent boating fatalities.
The US Coastguard auxiliary, an outdoor supply company and a national lifejacket manufacturer have joined forces to mount the campaign. "It's not just about wearing a lifejacket, it's about wearing the right lifejacket," says campaign organiser Peter Urgola. "Old, faded, waterlogged, leaky or ill-fitting lifejackets can be deadly."
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It's almost all cruising on the water this weekend. Main activity:
* Today: Easter cruise to Leigh, including mullet boats (Ponsonby CC); keelboat cruising (RAYC); Easter cruise, meeting at Islington Bay (Waitemata TYS); cruising (Weiti BC); Ponui cruising race (Devonport YC).
* Today and tomorrow: Easter Rally (RNZYS).
* Organisations planning events on or in the Waitemata and Manukau harbours should register in advance with the Auckland Regional Council on (09) 366-2000. The 24-hour response number for the ARC Maritime Unit is (09) 362 0397.
