KEY POINTS:
Four adventurous Australians were on their own at sea off the west coast of Northland last night in the initial stage of an attempt to row across the Tasman Sea to Sydney.
The quartet, all from Sydney, cleared Customs and left Opononi in the Hokianga Harbour yesterday afternoon in their 11m "row boat" Sarag under tow by a Hokianga coastguard rescue boat.
Accompanied by a small flotilla of other local boats, the rowers were given a Maori blessing and waiata as they crossed the treacherous harbour bar and were towed into the open sea.
"Once we got through the entrance and over the bar, they got into the swing of things," Opononi campground proprietor Harry Barlow said.
Mr Barlow, in his own boat, said the Sarag was met by a lazy sea swell of up to 1.5m, sunshine and a light southwesterly winds of about 6 knots.
"They were going well. They were making about 3 or 4 knots and were really enjoying their work when we last saw them," he said. The two men and two women - Steve Gapes, 38, Andrew Johnson, 30, Kerry Tozer, 34, and Sally Macready, 25 - hope to row their purpose-built boat to Sydney "or somewhere near there" on the Australian east coast by New Year.
Mr Johnson told the Herald in Opononi this week that they had food and water for a journey of at least 30 days and would take turns rowing the 400kg Sarag which, when fully loaded, was expected to weigh about 1300kg.
The boat has a balsa-wood interior with a fibreglass shell.
"We're fighting fit and raring to go," Mr Johnson said.
He described the attempt as an adventure but the group also hoped to better New Zealander Colin Quincey's 1978 row across the Tasman to Australia in 63 days - the first Tasman crossing under oars.
Maritime authorities in New Zealand and Australia are aware of the rowers' crossing and the Sarag was inspected by Maritime New Zealand officials before the Australians departed.
