Super maxi Zana due in from NZ this morning

by Peter Campbell on 18 Dec 2003 The super maxi yacht Zana from New Zealand is due to enter Sydney Harbour shortly before 8 o’clock this morning for her transTasman duel with Australian yacht Skandia for line honours in next week’s Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race.

Boat captain Peter Sutton reported at 6am that the yacht was 26 nautical miles south-east of Sydney Heads, making 13 knots in a moderate south-easterly breeze.

Zana and Skandia are state-of-the-art 98-footers, the largest racing yachts ever built in their countries, and the biggest to have ever contested the 627 nautical mile ocean classic.

Zana will be met at the Heads by the Commodore of the Cruising Yacht Club of Australia, John Messenger, and the owner Stewart Thwaites from Wellington, who flew in last night to meet the delivery crew.

Whilst the crew of the as-yet unbeaten Skandia have been given the week off after four days of intensive racing in Sydney, the racing crew of Zana, including America’s Cup and Volvo Ocean Race sailors, will fly in over the next few days to begin an intensive crew training and sail evaluation for the Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race which starts tomorrow week, Boxing Day, 26 December.

Zana left Auckland six days ago on the 1200 nautical mile TransTasman crossing.