How to catch the action

By Louisa Cleave

Where will you be when Team New Zealand defends the America's Cup? Well, there are a few options to consider. One of the best places to watch the racing is in front of the television, although live coverage will not start until next January and there is the Louis Vuitton Cup challenger series to whet our appetites before then.

TVNZ will show daily highlights of the Louis Vuitton Cup from October 18, wrapping up each day of the first three rounds in an hour-long special after the late news.

Its live coverage of the racing starts in January with the Louis Vuitton semi-finals, finals and the America's Cup races.

For those people who want to feel the ocean spray on their face and the wind in their hair the best viewing place has to be out on the race course.

With up to 5000 water craft expected at the height of racing, the Auckland Regional Council has produced a guide to the America's Cup to give boaties information on the race track areas, speed restrictions, hazards and safe boating rules.

Harbourmaster James McPetrie believes there will be a huge turn-out for the first day of the Louis Vuitton Cup, but numbers will decline until Christmas then pick up again when the semi-finals start on January 2.

With the owners of small pleasure craft vying with luxury yachts, launches, charter boats and ferries for the best vantage point there is the potential for people to miss out on the action, said Mr McPetrie. Some boaties could find themselves three to five kilometres away from the racing and land-lubbers with a pair of binoculars would have a better view.

The big race area is between Whangaparaoa in the north, the East Coast Bays in the west, and Rangitoto Island.

Mr McPetrie suggests Long Bay and Shakespeare Bay as top viewing spots. From here, spectators could be less than 2km from the action if the nearest of three potential race courses is being used. "I think a picnic up there watching the race will be a lot more comfortable than being out on a boat, and you can control your arrival and departure," Mr McPetrie said.

One way to combine comfort with good views while being in the thick of the action is on a charter boat. There are spectator boats to suit all budgets and many will also have televisions onboard, said Andrea Birtwistle, co-ordinator of the New Zealand Visitor Centre at the viaduct.

Among the 30 craft on the centre's data base are ferry companies putting on special services for the racing, with seats starting at $48 each for the Louis Vuitton round-robin races. At the upper end of the scale, the Spirit of New Zealand sailing ship is taking spectators willing to pay $480 each for a day on the water, lunch, champagne, a polo shirt and cocktails and nibbles on the journey back to land.

"We think we've got a pretty good range, price wise, and we can find something that fits into people's budget," said Birtwistle, who advises people to book fast for the America's Cup race days.

Apart from being on the water, there is another way to view the action live — over the Internet.

Enthusiasts who want to pay for it will be able to watch the Louis Vuitton series from day one using www.virtualspectator.com, specially designed software limited to 100,000 subscribers. The sophisticated package will show 3D animation of races as they happen.

There are plenty of other web sites which will provide free information on the racing, including the official America's Cup 2000, Team New Zealand, the NZ Cup Village and the America's Cup Challenge Association sites.

Visitors to the American Express New Zealand Cup Village will be able to watch the action on a giant billboard-sized screen.

TVNZ's racing footage will be played on the big screen and it will also have live links to the water through the Virtual Spectator software.

In between, "village tv'' will be screening special events going on around the viaduct and footage from police-operated cameras out on the water.


n Louisa Cleave -is our specialist reporter on all the big events affecting Auckland and New Zealand in 1999 - 2000. She will be reporting on the social side of the America's Cup.