Port2Port Rally in Tsunami scare

10:18 PM Thu 8 Oct 2009 GMT

'Port2Port yachts lined up in the marina in Bundaberg in a previous Port2Port rally.' .

About 50 boats anchored in Vanuatu in preparation the 10th Annual Port2Port Rally to Bundaberg were given a scare yesterday morning when yet another earthquake struck in the Pacific Ocean, this time closer to Vanuatu.

Residents of Vanuatu were put on alert by the Pacific Tsunami Warning Centre when the powerful quake struck, and told to quickly flee to higher ground. However, the tsunami warning was soon called off.

Lesley Grimminck, organiser of Port2Port Rally - .. .

Port2Port organiser, and president of the Bundaberg Cruising Yacht Club, Lesley Grimminck said she had spoken to sailers in Vanuatu yesterday, and the yachts were preparing to leave.

The 50 yachts belonging to sailors from 10 different countries have been docked at Port Villa and Luganville in Vanuatu in anticipation for the Port2Port rally, which is a popular rally for circumnavigating cruising yachts. The yachts will travel more than 1000 nautical miles to reach their destination. It is a challenging sail in the sense that there are plenty of reefs to negotiate. Finally the boats will pass through breaks in the Great Barrier Reef before arriving in Bundaberg.

The first of the boats will depart on October 17 to start arriving Bundaberg by October 26. Many of the Australian boats who sailed up the east coast of Australia when they left home will cross their outbound paths on this leg and so complete a world circumnavigation.

And Grimminck said international interest in the event had grown since last year, but the event must keep yacht numbers below 50 because of a lack of space at the Burnett Heads Marina.

'If we had more booths in Bundaberg we would be able to bring a lot more people into the town,' Grimminck said.

Grimminck said the event was an international promotion for the Port of Bundaberg, and when the yachts arrive there will be an open day at the port. As part of the festivities Dragon boats will race and Volunteer Marine Rescue will do presentations on water safety. The Bundaberg Cruising Yacht Club was set up specifically to operate the Rally, and all of the organisation is done by hard-working volunteers.

The rally for 2009 is full, but for more information go to their website .

by BW Media

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