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In the morning, The Duke and Duchess heard firsthand about the
developments and details of the search operation looking for the
missing Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 after meeting a
member of the crew involved. The Duchess was particularly
interested about the search operation according to Flight
Lieutenant Andrew Fisher. “She was interested in how we found it.
It was intense flying; we flew around 110 hours in three weeks,” he
said.
They spent around half an hour with the families of around 100 Air
Force personnel before heading to Auckland’s Viaduct Basin to go
sailing. The Duchess, in a blue striped t-shirt, blue jeans and a
blazer, looked ready and in a competitive spirit for the race
planned on the harbour.
At the harbourside, there were thousands of people trying to get a
glimpse of the royals in Auckland. Some were proudly wearing Union
Jack coloured clothing and William and Kate masks.
One of the members of the public who got to talk to The Duchess was
Aimee Trist. She had been waiting on the harbour to see them since
6:30am. She shook hands with Catherine, and said it was certainly
worth the wait. Ms Trist joked, “I am going home now to watch the
Royal Wedding”.
Ms Trist wasn’t the earliest person to arrive at the harbour
however. Some people arrived as early as 3am to make sure they got
the best view of the action.
After meeting the crowds, the couple got on board separate yachts
ready to race each other in the harbour. The Duchess follows race
sailing keenly, and is a huge admirer of New Zealand’s sailing
achievements. Both her and William are extremely competitive, and
did not want to finish last.
Catherine raced with Team New Zealand skipper Dean Barker and
Prince William competed with team manager Grant Dalton. Both Royals
spent most of their time at the helm, but Catherine’s yacht came
out on top, winning the race two nil.
Back on dry land, The Duchess patted her husband’s back saying “I
am sorry”, showing she is a gracious winner.
Finally, the royals headed up to West Park Marina on the amphibious
Sealegs craft. As the name suggests, the New Zealand invention
‘Sealegs’ is a boat that can travel from land straight into
water.
Again, Catherine took the helm for a lot of the journey. They then
disembarked and shook hands with people at the marina who had been
waiting for them.
Photo Credit: Government House, New Zealand]]>
