The Clipper Round the World Race fleet is crossing the Colville Channel looking for sea room after steady progress up the Coromandel coast overnight.

De Lage Landen is leading, shadowed by overall race leader Gold Coast Australia.

Visit Finland leading Gold Coast Australia to the first mark with Welcome to Yorkshire following.

Gold Coast Australia's crew desperately want to win this leg, making them the first team in the current Round the World Race to win a home port victory.

'Normally we make our ground and get ahead through tactics and we don't really have those options during this race,” says Gold Coast Australia skipper Tasmanian Richard Hewson.

'But there's some interesting weather coming across the Tasman Sea and I've got some local knowledge as I've been across there a few times before – so hopefully that will help us out.

'It's going to be interesting to see where people go with this big high pressure system that's coming across in the next few days.”

With five out of five wins so far, victory for Gold Coast Australia will equal the most consecutive wins in the event; a record set by Alex Thomson in Clipper 98.

The Clipper fleet eases past Mount Maunganui heading for its offshore race start.

The 10 yacht fleet restarted from A Beacon outside Tauranga at 2.30pm on Sunday.

The fleet was divided equally on port and starboard tack.

Welcome to Yorkshire was first across, followed in short order by De Lage Landen, Visit Finland, New York and Gold Coast Australia.

Geraldton Western Australia, was mid-fleet at the start, but seized the advantage and was first to round the windward turning mark north of Rabbit Island.

Qingdao, Derry-Londonderry, Singapore and Edinburgh Inspiring Capital completed the order over the start line.

The 1300-mile leg to Southport on Queensland's Gold Coast is expected to take the 10 internationally backed teams 7-10 days to complete.

The fleet is expected to arrive in Southport Yacht Club between December 11 and 13.
This is the first time the Clipper Round the World Race has visited New Zealand since its inception in 1996.

New York and Singapore prepare to round the first mark.

During the Tauranga stopover, organisers have met with business and government representatives to strengthen links and demonstrate how partners use the event as a global platform to promote trade, tourism, culture and social inclusion.

Each yacht is sponsored by an international city, region, country or company, with many visiting Tauranga to host events and engage with New Zealand businesses, trade contacts and media.
Hundreds of Tauranga residents visited the yachts during the stopover, meeting crew and discovering for themselves what life is like onboard.

Presentations in Wellington, Auckland and in Tauranga for those interested in taking part in Clipper 13-14, when the new fleet of 12 70-foot yachts will be introduced, were also well attended. Several Kiwis have been offered berths on the next race.