Sail and power ready to Clash

Whangarei's Marsden Cove will be the venue for next weekend's races which will feature both sail and powerboats. Photo / Supplied

Whangarei's Marsden Cove will be the venue for next weekend's races which will feature both sail and powerboats.

Virtually any type or class of yacht is welcome to enter the regatta - keelboats, multihulls and trailer sailers can all take part. "Wind bludgers". "Stink merchants". There's not normally a lot of love to spare when yachties and power boaties get together. Indeed, those are some of the more moderate terms of endearment one is likely to hear.

"Yachties get the wind for free and expect everything else to be, too"; "Buggers never care when we're racing and park right on top of us in the bay." Understanding is about as common as affection.

However, for a couple of days next weekend, a lot of that good natured (and sometimes less than good) banter is likely to be set aside.

Next Saturday and Sunday (March 26-27) the first Clash of the Cove will be staged at Whangarei's Marsden Cove marina. Designed to attract anyone with even the slightest interest in boating, the Clash will consist of a sailing regatta, an offshore powerboat race and a boat show.

The event is the brainchild of Marsden Cove marina owners Hopper Developments. These are the same people that created the Pauanui and Whitianga waterways and they are no strangers to running water-based, fun and attention-grabbing events (think long distance poker runs, jet ski races off the beach, big boat races, helicopters versus powerboats).

Given the Hoppers are still in business and many of their fellow developers are not, it is apparently a successful formula: stage a high action event, attract the crowds and hope the crucial few like the place enough to invest.

Next weekend's Clash of the Cove looks to be no exception. Things are scheduled to get under way on Friday, March 25 with a feeder yacht race from Whangaparaoa's Gulf Harbour to the Marsden Cove marina. The gun is set to go at 10am and the race has been designed to get the fleet into the marina in the late afternoon.

The Clash of the Cove begins at 10am on Saturday, March 26 with a series of windward/leeward races for the "racing keelboats". Once these are complete, the fleet sets sail in an "island race" to the Hen and Chickens.

The cruising yachts, meanwhile, dispense with all that tiresome to and fro racing and set off on their own island race at 10.30am.

Event organiser Paul Shanahan says all the races have been designed to get the yachts back to the marina by about 4.30pm, in plenty of time for the skippers and crews to enjoy the evening's festivities.

Virtually any type or class of yacht is welcome to enter the regatta - keelboats, multihulls and trailer sailers can all take part and there is a flat fee of $120 for each participating yacht.

Those competing get free berthage at Marsden Cove for the duration of the regatta and Shanahan says skippers who want to return home by car can, without charge, leave their yachts in the marina for another week if that is more convenient for them.

He also says the marina is "reasonably flexible" and will do their best to accommodate those who wish to arrive early or stay on for longer.

While the racing and cruising yachts are navigating their way to and from the nearby islands, the offshore powerboats will be warming up for their battle.

The Marsden Cove round of the offshore powerboat season will start at 1pm and take about an hour. Ensuring spectators get a good view of these 160km/h-plus speedsters, organisers will stage this, the sixth round of the Rayglass New Zealand Offshore Powerboat Championship, entirely within Whangarei Harbour.

Shanahan says it will be an exciting occasion with the inner harbour "resonating to the thunderous sounds" of New Zealand's fastest offshore powerboats.

For those who love to see these powerful race boats up close, it will be a special occasion. Because both of the event's races (the 96km and the 160km) will be within the harbour, spectators will be able to see all the action from the marina. This is a rarity in a sport where much of the action usually takes place out of sight.

After going their separate ways for most of the day, the yachties and powerboat racers will come together in the evening for the prizegiving and what Shanahan describes as a major social event.

Friends, family and spectators will be welcome to join the skippers and their crews for the evening, although there is a $35 entry fee to cover the cost of the meal and the entertainment.

For yachties not too badly affected by the previous night's activities, there will be more races on Sunday. The format again sees the racing yachts complete a series of windward/leeward events (starting at 9.30am) before setting off for the islands.

The cruising yachts begin their island race at 10am. Both events are scheduled to finish early in the afternoon.

In between the races, spectators will be able to enjoy the annual Northland Boat Show. Because the show is staged on a working marina, potential buyers can literally "try before they buy". If the owner or broker is willing, the buyer can simply conduct the sea trial on their favoured yacht, launch or trailer boat without leaving the show.

Shanahan says there will be displays in a large marquee, on the surrounding land and in the marina.

There will also be, in true Hoppers' style, lots of entertainment. According to Shanahan, this will include a cable wakeboarding operation on which there will be trick displays and on which those interested can "have a go"; there will be jetski stunts and aerial displays involving helicopters, sky divers and "swoopers".

The show is open from 9am to 5pm both days and entry is free.

He says the organisers are still accepting entries into both the racing and cruising regattas, although these are due to officially close on Wednesday, March 23.

Clash of the Cove

Where: Marsden Cove Marina, Whangarei

When: March 26-27

Timetable

Racing yachts

Saturday: 10am, windward/leeward races, then island race

Sunday: 9.30am, windward/leeward races, then island race

Cruising yachts

Saturday: 10.30am, island race

Sunday: 10am, island race

Offshore powerboats

Saturday: 1pm, Round 6, Rayglass NNZ Offshore Powerboat Championship