Port2Port Rally headed for Bundaberg

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.

The rally is popular for circumnavigating cruising yachts, leaving the Pacific as it does at the end of the cruising season, before the cyclone season gets started. 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 the Port of Bundaberg mid-way up the coast of Queensland.

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7:16 PM Fri 16 Oct 2009 GMT

'Lesley Grimminck, organiser of Port2Port Rally' .

The maximum number of allowed boats - 50 - are leaving Vanuatu today for the 10th Annual Port2Port Rally to Bundaberg.

The fleet is expected to start arriving in Bundaberg in about 10 days and President of the organising yacht club - The Bundaberg Cruising Yacht Club - Lesley Grimmick says there is a strong contingent of international entries.

'We have 50 yachts entered, approximately 18 of those boats are Australian boats,' she said.

'The rest are international boats. We have boats from New Zealand, Canada, United States, France, Germany, Holland, Britain, Norway and so the list goes on.'

Last week the boats waiting in the harbour at Port Vila were given a scare one of the devastating earthquakes struck in the Pacific Ocean, close to Vanuatu.