This week marks sixty-five-years since New Zealand was gripped by an unfolding tragedy on the sea off the east coast of the country. The 1951 Canterbury Centennial Yacht Race had started on January 23rd, with 20 yachts racing from Wellington to Lyttelton, to celebrate the Canterbury Centenary. The race was hit by a southerly storm, and ten men were eventually declared lost at sea in what is still our greatest yachting disaster. Two recordings in the sound archives of Nga Taonga Sound & Vision tell the story and Sarah Johnston is here to tell us about them today.
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