Auckland-based Fairview being lowered to a berth outside the Napier Sailing Club last year. It is expected to return for this year's Napier Offshore 100 on March 10. PHOTO/FILE
Auckland-based Fairview being lowered to a berth outside the Napier Sailing Club last year. It is expected to return for this year's Napier Offshore 100 on March 10. PHOTO/FILE
Napier's annual offshore power boat race will go ahead on March 10 despite a clash with a major fishing competition being held over the same weekend.
The Hawke's Bay Sports Fishing Club's Napier Port Classic is being held on March 10-11, but the club did not object to the boatrace, highlighting that both events took place on the same day last year without problem.
Race stalwart Colleen Carson said there had been some doubt after regional harbourmaster Martin Moore advised the two events could not go ahead at the same time. It was understood there was also a later-than-usual application from the New Zealand Offshore Power Boat Association for a notice restricting movement of non-race boats in the area off Ahuriri and Westshore around the race times.
Fishing club captain Neil Price was surprised to hear the timing of the two events was an issue, and said those in the fishing competition "work around" the boat race arrangements, heading out to sea before the closure and returning after the waterway is reopened, some "sitting" offshore and watching the race from their boats.
The Napier Offshore 100 is the third leg of the NZOPBA national drivers' championship, following Round 1 on Lake Taupo a fortnight ago and the next race off New Plymouth next Saturday.
About 20 boats are expected in Napier, including Superboat 1000 racers Fairview, a 35ft Skater catamaran, and Outboard Pro, a 34ft Phantom, races being over 100 miles for the bigger boats and 60 miles for the smaller classes. Formerly raced over one-hour, the racing will this year be in two 30-minute segments.
