After a big Friday night in the Wellington bars,racers rolled up at Lyall bay in Wellington to a 3-4ft surf with the odd 6 footer and a 20-25kn offshore wind. The windy conditions and the surf proved a test for the crews and provided a spectacle for the onlookers. First to flip were the Plumbquick crew in heat 1 who were taken out from behind by another boat turning their yamaha motor into a collection of spare parts. They were able to continue due to the generosity of Tahiti Dark who loaned them their boat and motor for the remainder of the weekend.

Next was the turn of Scott Electrical on A Buoy (see photos ) who lost their engine cowl but found it later in the day washed ashore.

This was followed by spectacular antics by Signtech and PCI who both struck gusts of wind between c and d buoy returning to shore. PCI was 5m into the air when the copilot was flung from the boat and the boat could go nowhere but backwards and upside down in the 25kn headwind.

Placings in each heat were mixed with the lead changing on each lap making for even and exciting thundercat racing as a result of the conditions, except for Reaction Screenprint, who won their every heat by a comfortable margin and eventually won the day.

Prize giving was held that night at the Evans bay yacht club where a pre race briefing was also held for the Cook Strait Crossing. The prospect of 25kn Northwesterly winds, a 1 m Southerly swell plus a 1.5m NW sea swell was the following day ratified by most racers as being 'bloody rough'. However the coastguard had clarified these as ideal conditions in the strait.

After another big night in the Wellington bars (read CSI) racers were again on the beach at 8am to prepare for the crossing. Racing began at

10.13 with a Le mans start heading out of Lyall bay around a turn boat (Jonno"s (TOYO Tires) dad) and then around the coast to Cape Terawhihi then due west to the Tory Channel. A well known cook Strait hazard 'the karori rip' could not be distinguished from the rest of the strait as it was rough all the way. Those who took outside advice(Waikato Finance)and headed out to sea were disadvantaged by the fact the coastguard did not understand the capabilities of thundercats.

Both the maritime Police and Coastguard were impressed by both the boat's and racer's abilities, particularly that of TOYO tires (Diesel) who flipped after 20 minutes, had to swim to regain his boat then reinstated the motor in 25kn winds and motored home unassisted (Coastguard observers were impressed)

After nearly an hour and some intrepid navigation the first boats reached Tory channel. Reaction Screenprint, More fm and Plumbquick thought they were first into the channel but were shocked to see Ruff rider,Safari Print and Jungle Coffee leaving Okukari Bay as they entered. The race was on!

The final hour on the return journey resulted in often changing positions and despite the fact the boats covered in excess of 100km the first boat to the beach was Ruff Rider but they were denied first place on the sprint up the beach by Stacey Aitken of Reaction Screenprint.

Similarly Safari Print was beaten on the beach by More FM who were third with jungle coffee 5th.

Of the 17 racers who started 15 completed the course and the 2 who did not returned under their own power. For Keith from CSI it was his 1st visit to the South Island and his first swim (unintentional) in the middle of the Cook Strait. The comment from the pilot of the spotter plane was "looks like hard work for the competitors but great viewing"

Most racers vowed they would never do it again but in the Lyall Bay surf club bar later, their resolution started to dissolve as the individual stories were revealed.

At the end of the day a great weekend was had by all.

Thanks must go to AJ the Rd, Gary Morrison ,assistant RD and starter, Sandra Davis, Thundercat Secretary, race secretary and general organiser, Sarah and Relda for scoring, Barry from Inflatable boat Repairs for beach set up plus Jonno's dad Graham Salisbury, Central Region Coastguard, Maritime Police and Nigel Griffith (spotter plane) for their assistance. We hope to hold the event next year but the state of the Cook strait conditions means it could be a 1 in 5 year race.