Family time after neck-and-neck Tasman battle

Stuart Bannatyne with daughters Lucy, 3 (left), and Anna, 4, on the dock in Wellington yesterday. Picture / Mark Mitchell

It was one of the tightest finishes in round-the-world yacht racing but that meant little to Lucy and Anna Bannatyne.

All the sisters wanted was to see their father, movistar watch captain Stuart Bannatyne.

The Wellington yachtie played a key role in the Spanish team's 9sec win over ABN Amro One in the third leg of the Volvo Ocean Race from Melbourne to Wellington.

After trailing the dominant ABN Amro One, skippered by New Zealander Mike Sanderson, around Cape Farewell, movistar made their move in Cook Strait when their opponents found themselves parked up in light air. The two ocean racers fought it out all the way into Wellington Harbour after a 2000km four-day dash across the Tasman.

"It was pretty relaxed on board," said Bannatyne, a round-the-world yacht race veteran.

"We made a nice little jump on them coming around the south coast of the North Island.

"We managed to get in front and managed to hold them off."

The six-boat fleet, which includes a number of Kiwis, had been expected to reach Wellington overnight on Wednesday but light patchy breezes delayed the yachts.

In the past the fleet have enjoyed had a long stopover in Auckland but in the revamped race format Wellington took over as the stop.

The move may have paid off as spectators lined the waterfront to watch the spectacular 20m yachts make their way to the dock. The most intriguing is Disney entry Pirates of the Caribbean, with skulls and crossbones painted across it.

The American entry skippered by veteran yachtie Paul Cayard is promoting the sequel to the movie Pirates of the Caribbean. For Bannatyne, the brief stopover is a chance to catch up with his wife, Amanda, daughters Anna, 4, Lucy, 3, and Felicity, 6 weeks, before the longest leg of the race, to Rio de Janeiro.

The yachts leave on Sunday afternoon.