Cup Briefs: Maori welcome

Ngati Whatua will welcome the "other" Polynesian America's Cup crew, Abracadabra 2000, to Auckland tomorrow. The crew will receive a Maori welcome at the Royal Akarana Yacht Club at 4pm, after some of the team are taken on to the marae.

"We're extending 'hands across the water' from the Polynesians of the north to the Polynesians of the south," said Aloha spokeswoman DJ Cathcart. The welcome will be followed by a Hawaiian-style dinner with the crew.

Same wavelength

Curious boaties are being asked to tune into the radio if they want to motor into the busy America's Cup village. Public boats are welcome in the Viaduct Basin, but they must now obtain clearance to enter and exit, using the VHF Channel 73. Syndicate boats will be the first priority traffic, ahead of fishing boats, superyachts and then spectator craft.