“We’ll be scanning it when we get down there,” Greenfield said.
The situation seems to have navigated past a repeat of last year’s dilemma in Napier, when several boats had gear breakages on the first day, leading to the abandonment of the second as winds and the swell increased on the Sunday.
Greenfield, who will be on Langslow Engineering, level pegging with defending champion boat Rainbow Haulage, with each crew having won two races, says 10-14 boats are expected in Napier.
But in Wairoa, where the storm has been more dominant, the unrelated Ian Reeves Memorial Ski Race on the Wairoa River, also scheduled for Saturday and Sunday, has been postponed with a tentative new date in February.
Today’s MetService marine forecast for Hawke’s Bay was for northwest winds up to 37km/h on Saturday, changing southwest to 27km/h in the morning, turning northwest to 18km/h in the evening, with an easterly swell of 1m diminishing.
On Sunday, northwest winds to 27km/h are expected early, changing easterly to 18km/h early, and southwest to 27km/h late, with a southerly swell of 1m developing.
On Wednesday, association vice-president Owen Mackay said it is never a single factor that leads to a cancellation – they can race in rain and in bigger swells.
“Two days ago it was looking a certainty we would cancel,” Mackay said.
The fleet, including the defending champion boat and race crew Colin Dunn and Darren Butterworth, will be arriving in Napier on Friday, and boats and trailers can be viewed on Te Karaka Reserve, near the Hawke’s Bay Sports Fishing Club, which has several members and their boats involved managing the racing and movements of craft which are not involved, and therefore not permitted across the course around the times of the racing.
Earlier rounds were held on Gulf Harbour in October and Lake Taupō in November. The Gisborne race on February 14 is threatened because of road damage in the region, and the last round is scheduled for Whitianga in March.
The Napier race is one of the longest-standing on the circuit, with a history dating back to the 1970s, and racing most years since a revival at the end of the 1980s.
Doug Laing is a Hawke’s Bay Today reporter based in Napier, with more than 50 years in the news industry, covering most aspects of local, regional and national news.