Viaduct too busy for one more race

By WAYNE THOMPSON

A full house in Auckland's Viaduct Harbour is jeopardising the city's chance of being a stopover for a world sailing event.

Organisers of the next Around Alone yacht race want Auckland as a stopover again next January after the city's warm welcome to the skippers in January 1999.

The fleet's arrival provided the first test of how facilities in the Viaduct Harbour would cope with the crush of vessels and crowds for the America's Cup regatta later that year.

Aucklanders warmed to the heroism and stamina of the solo sailors, including Frenchwoman Isabelle Autissier, who was 63 days at sea to reach New Zealand.

But next time in the race's four-yearly cycle, its 25 or so competitors will find a vastly busier and, perhaps, distracted place.

The next scheduled visit of the fleet to Auckland coincides with the height of America's Cup activity in next January.

"I'm keen for the race to call in again, but there is the problem of trying to match the needs of two events," said British sailing veteran Sir Robin Knox-Johnston, whose company Clipper Ventures now owns the Around Alone event.

"We understand most of the berthage is taken up for the America's Cup."

Sir Robin was co-skipper of Enza New Zealand with Sir Peter Blake on its record-breaking world circumnavigation in 1994.

He said his representatives would try to sort out the question of berths with Auckland authorities.

"If there's a will we can find a way," he said.

Sponsors for Around Alone vessels were keen for the event to come to Auckland because of its reputation as a sailing centre, said Sir Robin.

The race starts and finishes at Newport, Rhode Island, after stopovers in the United Kingdom, South Africa, New Zealand, and Brazil.

A New Zealander among the confirmed starters, Graham Dalton, said he was worried that the organisers would switch the stopover to Sydney.

This would mean the loss of one of the biggest international races in the world, and one which drew mass media attention and multi-million-dollar sponsorships.

Dalton, brother of round-the-world sailor Grant, said Auckland could ill afford to lose such a race.

It would never return, and the Viaduct Harbour would need such a high-profile event to sustain it if New Zealand did not retain the America's Cup.

"Berthage is not an easy one to solve. But I thought a legacy of Sir Peter Blake was a can-do attitude, where you pull it off and bring it back for New Zealand," he said.

"At the very least, we could create berthage by putting in floating pontoons."

All superyacht berths in Viaduct Harbour were booked throughout the America's Cup period, said the chairman of America's Cup Village Ltd, Peter Kiely.

The event facilitator and manager for Auckland City Council, Tara Pradahn, said the council was awaiting details from Clipper about its needs for space in the events areas of the harbour.

And Ports of Auckland says all efforts would be made to accommodate the Around Alone fleet.

The manager of the company's Westhaven Marina, Jane Cameron, said berthage was tight at Hobson wharf.

But there was a possibility that marina owners would lend their berths for the offshore boats.

Berths were hired during the last America's Cup.