Yachting: Tauranga stopover in doubt

1.00pm

Tauranga's ability to host future international yacht race stopovers has been plunged into doubt after disclosures the Around Alone organising company still owes considerable amounts of money.

This was despite the stopover being hailed as a success when measured against every other yardstick, Tauranga District councillors were told yesterday.

Port of Tauranga chairman Jon Mayson, a driving force behind the Around Alone bid, said funding was a hurdle that the city had to overcome if it was to be successful with future stopover bids.

His comments come as powerful figures behind the Around Alone race plug for Tauranga to bid for the 2004-05 Global Challenge.

The main competition was expected to come from Wellington, which has twice hosted the Global Challenge fleet and Auckland's Viaduct Basin. Global Challenge officials are in Tauranga on April 8.

Mr Mayson would not say by how much Tauranga Around Alone Ltd fell short of recouping the $750,000 cost of staging the event, except to say it was substantial.

They were still finalising the accounts and while the company had met all its commitments, it had not finally worked out how the debt on its books would be repaid.

However, sources have put the figure at between $80,000 and $100,000.

Mr Mayson said fundraising in Tauranga was difficult because there were not enough corporates.

If Tauranga wanted to bid for more events like this, it would have to address the issue of finding sufficient sponsors and underwriters, he said.

"There was no such thing as a free lunch ... It is something for the city fathers to think through and make happen."

Costs had increased $50,000 to $100,000 over budget.

If Tauranga was to capitalise on the expertise built up from Around Alone, Mr Mayson said, it must have the ability to bid for stopovers.

Despite the pressures behind Tauranga's bid for Around Alone -- it was eight months from start to finish -- things went incredibly well, he said.

Economic spin-offs from the stopover totalled at least $7.2 million, not including personal spending by the shore crews.

The 11 skippers spent an average of about $64,000 on boat repairs and living costs while in port; Tauranga's boat building industry benefited by about $5 million; New Zealand-born skipper Alan Paris bought a $600,000 house in Pyes Pa; $750,000 was spent to host the stopover; Tauranga Marina sales were $130,000; and the 71 international journalists and photographers spent about $40,000.

Stopover co-ordinator Mandy Scott-Mackie said Hexagon's builder, Southern Ocean Marine, has quoted to build another four Open-60 class boats worth $4.5 million and there had been huge spin-offs for lead sponsor Western Bay Finance.

A big unknown was the potential amount of international business generated from worldwide publicity.

Stopover communication manager Julie Chadwick said the international publications which mentioned Tauranga in its Around Alone features were read by nearly 13 million people.

International TV coverage in at least 10 countries totalled 590 hours and was viewed by about 10 million.

Around Alone website's pages were viewed an average of 700,000 times a day and Tauranga featured every day for 35 days.

English-based printing company magnate Andrew Pindar wrote glowingly of the Tauranga stopover, saying the "can do" attitude was refreshing and the start was the best in the race so far - even exceeding New York.

"I travel the world extensively and can safely say I have never experienced such a well put together approach to an event like this ... I didn't want to leave and I want to come back," he said.

Former ocean racer, author and Around Alone's website writer, Brian Hancock, has offered to help Tauranga with other sailing events: "I think the future is bright and with the current momentum, the opportunity is not to be missed."

- BAY OF PLENTY TIMES