Tidelines: Back building

Solo sailor Chris Sayer is at it again, building a new 6.5m flier to replace the yacht he lost sailing back from Sydney to Auckland in May. The new boat is again being built at the Henderson yard of Vaudrey Miller Yachts and the designer is Brett Bakewell-White. Sayer says the design has been tweaked and the boat will be all carbon fibre. By eliminating kevlar it will be lighter and more flexible. He has not yet managed to land a naming sponsor for the 2003 Mini Transat.

New at BITO

The Boating Industry Training Organisation has added Mike Birdsall to its field team. Formerly with Yachting Developments, Birdsall joins Jim Adams and BITO general manager Robert Brooke on the road nationally to liaise between apprentices and their employers.

Waikato awards

Awards at the National Boat Show at Mystery Creek indicate that the judges at two of the other shows got it right. The Christchurch-built Reflex Haines Signature 670 won the best fibreglass boat title to add to the similar gong it won at the 2002 New Zealand show in Auckland. The McLay 680 hardtop cruiser was judged best aluminium boat, the same category it won at this year's Christchurch show.

Rental deal

A new hire package for plasma screens has been introduced to allow Louis Vuitton and America's Cup spectators to catch the action live on the water or on land. The Tech-Rentals deal consists of a 42-inch plasma screen and connections to Virtual Spectator's non-stop coverage via Telecom's high-speed mobile jet-stream. Details on Tech Rentals

WaterWatch

The Murray's Bay Yacht Club Icebreaker junior series at Lake Pupuke is where the competitive yachting action is this weekend.

* Clubs and organisations planning events on the Waitemata and Manukau harbours should ensure their details are included in the Harbour Events Calendar. Call Hans Swete at the Auckland Regional Council Maritime Operations Centre on 09 361 2405 or Enviroline 0800 80 60 40.