Finally ready to face the most gruelling ocean race

The  Sydney to Hobart yacht race is an event Whangarei's Chris McAsey has always wanted compete in, and this year his wish has come true.
Not only will McAsey be racing in the infamous annual Boxing Day regatta, now in its 65th year, but he will be on board the race favourite, supermaxi Alfa Romeo II, which recently smashed the New Zealand Coastal Classic record by 35 minutes.
McAsey, a crew member for Team New Zealand during the last two America's Cup campaigns, said the opportunity to sail in the regatta could not have come at a better time.
"It's a race I've always wanted to do but because it's on Boxing Day it means you miss Christmas, which is the main reason I haven't done it before. However, I have spent a fair bit of time at home in Whangarei this year, so I decided if I'm going to do it, I might as well do it this year," he said.
Alfa Romeo's Kiwi owner Neville Crichton asked the sailor to join the 23-strong crew for the Sydney to Hobart crossing on the 30.5-metre yacht, after McAsey helped crew Crichton's smaller minimaxi Alfa Romeo III earlier this year during the Rolex Race Series in Europe.
McAsey's role is as the sewerman and he is in charge of packing the 100kg sails away and preparing them to be hoisted when needed, which can be a sweaty and arduous job, he said.
The crew Crichton has gathered for the December 26 race is made up of Kiwi and Australian sailors, who have huge amount of experience between them. This is somewhat reassuring for McAsey, who has heard some horror stories about the 630 nautical mile (1170km) race, often described as the most gruelling ocean race around.
"I'm feeling a fair bit of apprehension. I've heard some of the stories about a few of the bad races, where the rough weather once you hit the Bass Strait has caused some terrible consequences ... but there are about seven guys on board who have sailed around the world in the Volvo Ocean Race at least once, and the crew has spent some time together now."
On Monday, McAsey returned to Whangarei after spending time with the crew in Sydney, training and testing sail combinations, with a bit of racing also.
Alfa Romeo II's build up has been impressive - the Kiwi boat dominated the Big Boat Challenge two weeks ago, pipping their main challenger on Boxing Day, the Australian 30.5-metre yacht Wild Oats XI, adding to its total of 140-plusline honours victories.
There is also a Northland connection to Wild Oats, with Whangarei sailors Matthew Mason and Robbie Naismith helping to crew the Aussie supermaxi on Boxing Day.
The other main challenger from the big boats contesting the race will be the British boat Leopard, McAsey reckoned.
"Each boat has different strengths, based on the wind, its direction and strength - for Alfa Romeo, the ideal conditions would be to have wind on the lighter side of things with anything downwind, however it's usually right on the nose for this race."
After a short break at home with his wife and daughter, McAsey will head to Sydney later this week for the start of the race alongside the 100-plus fleet at 1pm (EST) on Saturday.