Yacht racing in the country is expected to hit a tailwind after ANZ Bank jumped on board to sponsor the much anticipated Auckland to Denarau Ocean Race.
The race will be officially called the ANZ Auckland to Denarau Race after the bank poured in a massive $25,000 sponsorship for the event.
Nigel Skeggs, who is Port Denarau Marina managing director and also the spokesperson of the race, said he was delighted with the support .
“They have been a consistent supporter of yachting in Fiji and were one of the founding sponsors of the first race to Denarau in 1997.
“This renewed sponsorship will allow a strong partnership to grow and helps ensure that the ANZ Auckland to Denarau Race 2010 is a success.”
Skeggs also paid tribute to their Platinum partner, Tourism Fiji and other race sponsors like Gold partner Air Pacific, Belligham Marine, Cardo’s, Sheraton and Westin for sharing the vision of the event.
And for their generous support as well as for being an integral part of revitalisation of Fijian yachting.
He said a key area of sponsorship for the race is the live on line tracking of the entire event.
All competing boats, Skeggs said, will have a small GPS tracker unit on board which transmits a satellite feed every 15 minutes.
The information will be downloaded to the race website where a simple easy to use race viewer will allow visitors to monitor the progress of individual boats throughout the race.
“The ability to track the fleet is an important safety feature but also allows a global online audience of friends, family, sailing fans, media representatives and web viewers world wide to watch the race progress online.”
Skeggs said the race will be an ongoing marketing tool for Fiji as the South Pacific’s premier sailing destination.
The Denarau Yacht Club, he said, has a vision of creating an internationally recognised calendar of yachting events.
ANZ Bank Head of Tourism and Regional Executive West Maikash Ali said the event will see the revitalising of yacht racing to Fiji while announcing their title sponsorship at the Denarau Marina yesterday.
“I wish the fleet owners and the crew who are entering the race the best of luck and I look forward to the yacht club celebrations at the end of the month,” Ali said.
Fiji Sun – EMOSI LASAQA
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