Neither sunny nor picturesque for the Bay of Islands Classic

THEY'RE OFF: THe elite field in the annual Bay of Islands Classic begins the 3.3km swim from Russel to Paihia in gloomy conditions on Saturday morning. PICTURE/STEPHEN WESTERN

As predicted, the top seeds in the Bay of Islands Classic finished as predicted with Kane Radford the first man across, completing the 3.3km I'm Going Long swim in 37:13s, and Penny Hayes in 41:42 as the first woman home.

Even organisers had to admit Paihia didn't quite live up to the billing given for the opening leg of the 2015/16 New Zealand Ocean Swim Series on the event website.

"Embrace the start of summer with the season opener in the 'eternally sunny' Bay of Islands this Saturday," the Classic preview invited. "Do you like warm and sunny weather? Then... take part in a challenging swim across the picturesque harbour," were among some of the comments on the site.

The weather was anything but sunny and the venue certainly wasn't its usual (widely perceived) "picturesque" self under Saturday's industrial grey conditions. But it wasn't cold, and at least the hype could claim some degree of accuracy by reminding those who did take on the event they could still, "revel in your glory and achievements with friends and family at a restaurant or bar on the waterfront".

Series organiser Scott Rice agreed conditions weren't as hoped for but said this eventually did little to put anybody off, with everyone employing an "In for a penny, in for a pound!" optimism on the day.

"It was great. It was a tough day from a wind and rain and showers point-of-view. Pretty grim grey morning. But still a really positive feeling, before and especially after, like the weather wasn't bothering them."

He noted a total of 760 registered in all three events, the I'm Going Long 3.3km swim (which attracted a field of 670), along with the 200m Ocean Swim Kids and the 300m Give it a Go events held later in the morning.

If anything, Rice said the weather was relatively favourable with the wind "slightly behind" the I'm Going Long field while the incoming tide over the first hour favoured the elite and faster swimmers in particular. Everyone, Rice said, came in before the cut-off time and the grey conditions didn't prevent spectators from coming down to watch the swimmers arrive.