A muckle dram and a slice of haggis marked the celebration of St Andrew's Day onboard the Clipper Round the World Race yacht Edinburgh Inspiring Capital today.
St Andrew is the patron saint of Scotland.
Tauranga City Council CEO Ken Paterson is surrounded by kilt clad crew from a clipper. Photo: Cody Stevens. See video of their St Andrew's Day festivities below.
The crew of Edinburgh donned their City of Edinburgh tartan kilts and welcomed aboard Tauranga City Council CEO Ken Paterson, a Scot who lived and studied in Edinburgh.
'It gives me great pleasure to welcome the Edinburgh Inspiring Capital crew to New Zealand, and even more pleasure to have some fellow Scots with me to toast St Andrew's Day,” says Ken.
'I know the crew had to battle the elements over the past three weeks to get here and we are all delighted they made it safe and sound.
'As a former student of Heriot Watt University I am thrilled to see Edinburgh being promoted around the world in this way, and I know the team will continue to do well as the journey progresses. I will be rooting for them every step of the way.”
Born and raised in Perthshire before moving to New Zealand in 1992, Ken joined local piper Warren Aitken to welcome the 17 Edinburgh Inspiring Capital crew members to Tauranga.
Edinburgh Inspiring Capital is among 10 identical 20.7 metre masthead cutters based at Tauranga for a brief rest-up before the race restarts on Sunday.
The Edinburgh Inspiring Capital crew arrived at Tauranga Bridge Marina on Sunday morning following 21 days racing across the Southern Ocean from Western Australia.
'To be welcomed to this beautiful city by a fellow Scotsman on St Andrew's Day is pretty surreal, but absolutely fantastic,” says Edinburgh Inspiring Capital skipper Gordon Reid.
'The crew have worked really hard in pretty terrifying conditions over the past few weeks and we are certainly going to enjoy the celebrations tonight.”
Rugby fans among the Clipper Round the World Race crews are meeting tonight at a Tauranga bar to watch a replay of the Rugby World Cup final.
While they know the outcome, the crews have been at sea since July, and they want to be able to say they saw the final in New Zealand, says event organiser Tony Arnold.
The Clipper Round the World Race yachts on the bridge marina A pier are open to the public on Thursday from 4-7pm and Saturday 1-4pm.
5 comments
Yacht seems to have more buoyancy than SS Tauranga
Posted on 30-11-2011 19:33 | By POCO O POCO
Sign on the crew Kenny with any luck could even be a press gang snatch and waft your way back to Mull of Kintyre.Both places would be winners and grinners laddie if that ever eventuated.
EYE MATE
Posted on 30-11-2011 23:02 | By YOGI
Clipping the ticket and wearing a dress, whattle it be next eye.
On ya bike laddie
Posted on 01-12-2011 12:39 | By Hebegeebies
Looking at the ST ANDREWS day type festivities I ask who paid for the food and drink and it brings to mind a little Scottish joke " A Scotsman and a Jewish man were having a magnificent meal at a Tauranga restaurant.At the end of the evening the waiter came over with the bill and a Scottish voice said it's all right laddie just gae the bill to me.Headlines next day in local paper read 'Jewish ventriloquist found beaten to death'. " Be warned.
EDINBURGH ( Ed-in-burr-a )
Posted on 01-12-2011 16:43 | By MINDER
The Scottish Parliamentary capital is reputed to be the poor mans cross or mix between Athens, Copenhagen and Barcelona only they speak better English in those cities. It is probably not all they have in common either wait for the austerity bailout.
A DRAFT UP YA FREAKLE
Posted on 01-12-2011 23:21 | By MASSA KISSED
ya forgot ta ask wart is undee that err dress, the mind maybe can nah cope with dat.
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