The Bay of Plenty IRB Long Haul is celebrating its 10th anniversary today with a race from Ohope Beach to Mount Maunganui.

This event calls upon some of the best IRB Teams in the region as well as those from further afield to join the ‘stage race' and battle it out along the magnificent Bay of Plenty coastline.

This year, there are a whopping 25 teams competing, and to top it all off, the weather looks fantastic.

The 2023 Stage Race, will set off from Ohope Beach at 9am with location tasks set at Thornton Beach, Matatā, Pukehina, Papamoa, Omanu and concluding around 3pm at Mount Maunganui.

All teams will begin as a mass start, racing to the next destination, where they will receive instructions to complete each challenge before making their way to the next location and stage challenge.

The five divisions in the race are Open Male. Open Female, Open Mixed, U19 Male, and U19 Female.

Each IRB must have a crew of three current and refreshed SLSNZ members. Of the three crew there must be one refreshed IRB Driver, and at minimum two qualified IRB Crewperson.

PFD's and helmets are compulsory and must be worn by each crew member. All equipment must comply with the SLSNZ Equipment Specifications Manual.

Crews must carry a VHF radio (capable of VHF Ch16) and a cell phone contained within a waterproof bag.Crews can use two fuel bladders per IRB, however only one bladder is to be carried at any one time.

Each team is required to have a support crew and support crew vehicles do not travel along the beach or have access to the beach. In the event of an IRB suffering mechanical breakdown, access may be approved by the event organisers for the support crew to come down onto the beach.