Onerahi yachtie Jack Lloyd is not entirely sure how he ended up directing the Volvo World Ocean Race but is relishing the role 100 per cent.
The longtime Onerahi Yacht Club member is in Auckland, where last weekend he greeted the Volvo Ocean Race fleet that arrived after a trying 20-day fourth leg. It is the first time he has been in New Zealand in two years, after taking the race director's role.
He said it felt good to be back, taking time out to help paint his mother's house in Onerahi and spend time with his children, in between directing a fleet of multimillion-dollar yachts in a race around the world.
He particularly enjoyed being involved in a race featuring several Northlanders, including Mike Sanderson (Team Sanya skipper), Brad Marsh (Groupama sailor/rigger) and Adam Minoprio (Camper sailor).
"Whangarei has always had a good grounding in sailing, it's cool to see these talents here racing," he said.
Lloyd has been sailing since he was a 9-year-old and his passion soon became a vocation - in the 90s, he was a member of the international jury for the Whitbread Round the World Yacht Race.
By 2000, the race had live hearings instead of a working via fax machine, and the jury flew into ports to hear cases, Lloyd said. When the race format changed and in-port racing began, a jury was necessary for the format, which Lloyd joined. Then a few years ago, he received a call from Volvo Ocean Race chief executive Knut Frostad, asking if he would fill the role of race director.
"I'm not 100 per cent sure how I got this job," he quipped. "I was down here in New Zealand judging a regatta and a week later I was in London to see about the job, before returning to NZ to wait six weeks for a work permit."
It had been a hectic time. These days, Lloyd does far more flying than sailing. He and wife Joss are based at Alicante, Spain, near the Volvo Ocean Race headquarters.
"I don't do much sailing with all the administration. My department (race management) make sure everything is in order while the fleet is getting ready for racing, we are in charge of running the race programme, and our presence in port is required," he said.
Lloyd is in charge of the port-based Try Sailing activities and the school youth programmes, and the Keep the Ocean Clean campaign.
When the boats leave Auckland on Sunday for the 18-day, 6700 nautical-mile leg-five journey to Itajai, Brazil, Lloyd will be preparing to fly back to Alicante to be on crises control while the fleet is racing.
He or Frostad will fly to Brazil two days before the fleet's arrival to take care of the race's in-port requirements.
The role is a challenging one but Lloyd has embraced it, saying the diversity of the position kept him interested.
"Being able to organise something like this and pull it off, and to deliver a good product at stopovers, is great," he said.
The previous Auckland stopover for the race was a decade ago, during 2001-2002, while there was a brief visit to these shores in 2005-6 with a 48-hour pitstop in Wellington. This year's race marked the eighth time it had ventured to Auckland, which was an ideal location for a stopover, Lloyd said.
"Sailing 5000 miles in a such a short period of time is very tough on both the crew and boats, and Auckland has the skills to draw on with the local marine industry. There is a confidence in the people and their experience - they understand boats," he said.
Organisers wondered if Auckland would have the same passion for this race as it did in the 80s and 90s, and Lloyd confirmed that passion was well and truly alive - with packed wharves day and night since the fleet arrived.
"We are in the middle of registering interest from cities for the next race, and I believe Auckland is keen again ... we would just like to have longer here - for crew to recover - an extra week would make a huge difference."
- Auckland Race Village at the Viaduct has free activities available until the fleet's departure, including stand-up paddling. Irish entertainment tomorrow for St Patrick's Day and the Volvo Experience yacht simulator are other activities on offer. A pro/am race will be held today and in-port racing tomorrow, in the inner harbour.
The six-boat race fleet departs the Viaduct at 12.40pm on Sunday, before the start of leg five at 2pm.