Please select your home edition
Edition
A+T Instruments 2024 Leaderboard

Volvo Ocean Race- Camper win golden points from hometown InPort Race

by Richard Gladwell on 18 Mar 2012
Camper closes in on the finish line Inport-Auckland Race Richard Gladwell www.photosport.co.nz

Camper skipper, Chris Nicholson, described their end to end win in the Auckland Inport Race, as a dream result for the team.

Nicholson led his crew of 11 sailors to an end to end win in the sprint event, which counted for five points.

'We treat the points like gold, said Nicholson after the race, welcoming the reduction in overall points margin between his team and overall leader, Telefonica which finished last in the six boat fleet.

Sailing in a moderate to fresh easterly breeze, which was gusting over 20kts at the entrance to the Waitemata harbour, Camper just pullled away from the rest of the fleet, demontrating her upwind ability. She is rated on this point of sailing as being the best in the six strong fleet.

The win was Camper's first in five InPort events, and was watched by a crowd that was impossible to estimate given that they lined the length of the Waitemata harbour, on the water, from the surrounding hills and buildings, and in the Viaduct harbour area itself, where the official counted estimate was 40,000 alone. It is expected that official estimates would top 100,000 spectators.

The event was also shown live on free to air television in a two hour program. Certainly Auckland lived up to its reputation as the City of Sails, and once again demonstrated its passion for the round the world racers - Volvo and Whitbread.

'The support we have had here, not just this week, but since the race began has just been great', said Nicholson. 'If you wrote the dream script for this race, this would be it.'


'The amphitheatre was restricted by spectator craft, so there wasn't a huge amount of local knowledge required, but it certainly didn't hurt us. The tide was a big factor, but I think everyone was onto it. We had a clear plan, but it was hard to exceute it - that was the difference.'

Nicholson was referring to the wharf hugging course adopted by Camper, to avoid the worst of the incoming Auckland tide which would have been flooding at two kts - significant even for these 70fters which sail upwind at 10-12kts.


Looking ahead to the start of Leg 5 to Brazil, and the weather expected for this first five days at least as the fleet gets away from the New Zealand coast, Nicholson said they expected to see 30-40kts if they headed south. 'It is all pretty high risk stuff. Where you go in the first five days won't win you the race, but it can certainly lose it. It will depend on how hard everyone is prepared to push their boats, I guess. But you have to have your eye on the big picture with this one.'

'We've taken a few knocks on the chin since the start at Alicante, and hopefully this result is something that we can build off. We are a solid program - that has not changed since Day 1. This result today shows what we can do,' he added.

Jeanneau Sun Odyssey 350Vetus-Maxwell 2021 v2 FOOTERSea Sure 2025

Related Articles

The X-Yachts Gold Cup Experience
A celebration of sailing, of X-Yachts and, most importantly of all, people Having just returned from Haderslev, Denmark - which is the home of X-Yachts and played host to the X-Yachts Gold Cup 2025 - I was left wondering if this was a racing event, a rally or a social celebration amongst close friends.
Posted on 10 Jun
Three Rivers Race bridge mast drop compilation!
Horning Sailing Club's event is iconic for many reasons The Yachtmaster Insurance Three Rivers Race at Horning Sailing Club is an iconic event for many reasons. The most unique scenes are at the bridges, where the sailors have to drop their masts and row underneath, often leaving it to the very last minute.
Posted on 10 Jun
2025 IRC National Championships preview
This year's event has teams racing from all over the world The 2025 IRC National Championship, part of the Royal Thames Yacht Club's 250th Anniversary Regatta, will bring together over 50 IRC-rated boats for three days of competitive inshore racing in the Solent.
Posted on 10 Jun
Loro Piana Giraglia Day 3: Capricorno rising
Upset on day three of the inshore racing The pecking order at maxi events is typically well defined with the largest, fastest yachts coming home first. However this was nearly upset on day three of the inshore racing at Loro Piana Giraglia, organised by the Yacht Club Italiano
Posted on 9 Jun
Freestyle Pro Tour Sardinia day 4
Caers, Huvermann and Pezetti win in full-power freestyle conditons Day 4 at FPT Sardinia delivered a full dose of high-wind freestyle, with Juniors, Women, and Men's fleets all completing full eliminations under the blasting winds.
Posted on 9 Jun
5.5 Metre World Championship Day 1
Strong winds delay the start of racing in Sopot No racing was possible on the opening day of the 2025 5.5 Metre World Championship in Sopot, Poland, with winds of 30 knots across the bay for most of the day.
Posted on 9 Jun
Black Foils into top three for SailGP Season 5
The Black Foils have moved into third place in the season long Rolex SailGP Championship The Black Foils have moved into third place in the season long Rolex SailGP Championship after a second place at the Mubadala New York Sail Grand Prix.
Posted on 9 Jun
Prize Round the Island Race for 84-year-old Peter
Taking line honours on the helm of his old boat Peter Cunningham hailed the Round the Island Race after taking line honours on the helm of his old boat. Peter, who was first to finish the 2021 race with his PowerPlay Racing Team, repeated the feat on the multihull MOD70, now Zoulou.
Posted on 9 Jun
Registration now open for GKA Youth events
Germany and Spain events will have U14, U16 and U19 divisions Registration is now open for the two upcoming GKA Youth events of the 2025 season. First up is the GKA Youth Big Air Kite World Championship in St. Peter Ording, Germany.
Posted on 9 Jun
Celebrating 50 Years of the Vintage Yacht Regatta
QCYC will host the event in July at Shorncliffe The Queensland Cruising Yacht Club (QCYC) will host the 50th Vintage Yacht Regatta from 18 to 20 July 2025 at Shorncliffe, celebrating five decades of timber yachts, traditional seamanship and spirited racing on Moreton Bay.
Posted on 9 Jun