Bad weather could prevent boat racing

ORGANISERS hope the bad weather will not wash out today’s scheduled marathon boat race on Lake Waihola.

New Zealand Boat Marathon Commission president Ian Spencer said the organising committee would wait to see what the day brought, but safety would be the priority.

The Waihola leg of the New Zealand Powerboat Marathon series is scheduled to be held today and there is no opportunity to reschedule the event.

If today’s weather was too bad, there was a possibility the event could be cancelled, Mr Spencer said.

Waihola’s weather could be ‘‘unpredictable and horrible’’, he said.

The boat marathon at Waihola has been cancelled only twice in its 30year history.

Mr Spencer said the decision would be made this morning.

The committee would be there at 8am to set the course and assess the situation.

‘‘I would think that at 10 o’clock . . . if the weather conditions weren’t good, we would tell our guys to keep warm and we’d call another briefing at 12 o’clock.’’

There were options such as changing the times of the two main races to accommodate the weather.

Mr Spencer said the weather had been ideal the past few days and it was a shame it was not looking the same for the weekend.

Competitors were travelling from as far away as Auckland for the event.

Race events are anticipated to start at 11am and the main race is scheduled to be held at 2pm.

The final marathon in the boating series is scheduled to be held on August 5, on the Oreti River estuary, near Invercargill.