Rugby World Cup: City of Sails lives up to name with grand farewell for fans

About 200 entries are expected in the Coastal Classic yacht race at Labour Weekend. Photo / Paul Estcourt

International visitors in Auckland for the weekend of the Rugby World Cup final will get an appreciation of why the region is known as the City of Sails.

The sight of 200 yachts taking part in a mass start off Devonport Wharf for the annual Coastal Classic yacht race is expected to provide an impressive spectacle for the tens of thousands of visitors to Auckland for the final.

From the hot-rods of the water to the stately classic Iorangi, and a range of small boats and family cruisers, the New Zealand Multihull Yacht Club's Coastal Classic race has attracted entrants from across the spectrum.

Event director Jon Vincent said the timing of the regatta, which is held every Labour Weekend, was fortunate as Auckland was looking to putting on a good show then.

"The fleet is shaping up as a colourful demonstration of what's truly great about Kiwi sailing - that anyone can, and will, participate," Mr Vincent said.

The race fleet, which is expected to attract as many as 200 entries, will start at 10am on Friday, October 21, off Devonport Wharf in Auckland, and will finish 119 nautical miles up the coast at Russell, in the Bay of Islands.

Notable frontrunners include the Orma 60 trimaran TeamVodafoneSailing, fresh back from a blitzing Australian campaign, the Cookson 50 Akatea, former winner Wired, and Roger Pagani's Triple 8 catamaran.

Last year's winners, TeamVodafone, are back for another tilt at the record after fickle winds crushed hopes of a sub-six-hour race.

At the halfway point in that event, the big red trimaran was two hours ahead of record time and looked set to beat the mark supermaxi Alfa Romeo set in 2009.

But the breeze died down and progress slowed to an agonising halt as TeamVodafone approached Cape Brett. They missed the record by nearly an hour.

Entrants will race in eight divisions, reflecting size and relative speed of each boat.

The Coastal Classic is a race designed for speed: except at the beginning and the end, there are few opportunities to overtake, and success can often depend on getting a good tactical start with clear wind and room to manoeuvre.

The race can take as little as six or seven hours for the fastest boats, or as long as two days for the slowest.