The 16th Solo Trans-Tasman Challenge got under way precisely on time, the multihull fleet crossing the start line off Opua Cruising Club into a northeast breeze at noon on Saturday.
Guy Chester was first away, pushing Oceans Tribute, his 35-year-old Crowther carbon fibre trimaran, clear of the line and into clean air almost immediately. She put 200 metres between herself and the rest of the fleet within moments, accelerating hard on the long haul toward Cape Reinga.
Giving chase is Electron, the heavy aluminium catamaran skippered by Australian James Foster. She had arrived in New Zealand a few weeks earlier and spent that time on the dock at Opua while Foster readied her for the passage home. As the pair tracked northwest together, Electron was steadily building speed.
The multihulls had barely cleared the line when the horn sounded the five-minute warning for the monohull fleet, with their start scheduled for 12:05.
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