Welcome party awaits guests of honour

By BERNARD ORSMAN AND NZPA

Auckland's Viaduct Harbour is hyped up for the Volvo Ocean Race stopover - now it's a matter of waiting for all the yachts.

Still waters and lack of wind becalmed the race leaders as they rounded Cape Reinga for the final leg to Auckland.

But by late yesterday Amer Sports One skipper Grant Dalton had cut the lead of rival Assa Abloy to 19 nautical miles.

Assa Abloy was expected in Auckland about 4 am and Amer Sports One mid-morning.

The last yacht is expected on Sunday.

The Viaduct Harbour has taken on a mini-America's Cup atmosphere, with a giant television screen, speakers blaring music, syndicates' hospitality tents, merchandising outlets and a media centre for some of the 481 international journalists covering the nine-month race at 10 port stopovers.

There are even a few superyachts berthed in the Viaduct Harbour to drool over.

Dalton yesterday pronounced himself satisfied with his probable second placing.

"Second in this company is really good because the race is a points race. We're building points and are now clearly second, and have taken a point or two off the leading boat [illbruck], which is now behind us.

"From a regatta point of view, we can be very pleased. It's a campaign which is coming on. I always said when I accepted the job with this campaign, which was not that long ago, that this campaign would not come right until nearly Auckland.

"We can't beat years and years of training. There are four boats - Assa, illbruck, Tyco and News Corp- who have already run this leg last year as part of their training.

"They were racing the Sydney-Hobart race and then came up, while I was just starting training in Barcelona.

"I think we are coming on strong."

Dalton was determined to enjoy a hometown welcome.

"This is always a very special day, the run down the coast.

"There are the helicopters and the private planes following you and people coming out in their boats and waving. It's really special."

Tomorrow at noon, the Auckland City Council is staging a free eight-hour concert at the Viaduct featuring Dave Dobbyn, Che Fu, the Mutton Birds, Stellar* and Greg Johnson.

A stage has been built on a barge off the eastern viaduct to provide a wide view for up to 50,000 people.

Seven of the eight yachts in the race - Swedish entry Team SEB pulled out of this leg after damaging its rudder - will be moored at the inner viaduct near the restaurants and cafes until Monday, when they will be moved across the viaduct to some of the America's Cup bases to be worked on out of the water.

They are due back at the inner viaduct on January 21 and leave Auckland on January 27 for Rio de Janeiro.

A programme of free events will run over the next three weeks at the Viaduct Harbour, including a kidzone for children, with buskers, clowns and face painters, tomorrow's concert and the Montana Viaduct Jazz Festival on the weekend of January 12 and 13.

The Starlight Symphony at the Domain on January 26 will double as a prizegiving ceremony.

The cost of the three-week event is $3.6 million, of which Auckland City ratepayers are contributing $1.5 million, including $235,000 for 30 yachting officials to stay at the Ascot Metropolis all-suite hotel for a month.

The council is also contributing $600,000 it is receiving from Team New Zealand to promote the Viaduct Harbour.

That leaves a gap of $1.5 million to be paid from sponsorship, hospitality and other sources.

Without significant private sector sponsorship, the stopover could be the last in Auckland.

The new council, led by Mayor John Banks, plans to reduce the $1.5 million budget for privately run events.

This would affect big attractions like the Volvo Ocean Race, the ASB and Heineken men's and women's tennis opens and the NZ Rally.