Tonight on Close Up ` the Pike River mine might be in new hands,... The work that is being done at the mine at the moment will continue. ...but how do the miners' families feel about it? We're live to Greymouth. What does it take to be a loving parent when you're in an ocean race on the other side of the world? And could you handle going from engagement to wedding in just six hours? Due to the live nature of Close Up, captions for some items may be incomplete. ONE News captions by Richard Edmunds and Angela Alice. Close Up captions by Faith Hamblyn and Desney Thorogood. There is new hope in Greymouth tonight that the families of the men killed at the Pike River mine are a step closer to recovering the bodies of their loved ones. As you saw on the news, Solid Energy have bought the mine. New owners mean new management, and it's hoped a new focus on getting into the mine. So, what's the mood in Greymouth tonight, and what do the families think? With us, Greymouth mayor Tony Kokshorn and Martin Palmer, the father of one of the 29 and a man who until Wednesday was still employed at the mine. Great news, Mike. The cash flow ` that's what Pike River near the head. They said if they were the owner of this mine, they would put a body recovery plan in place. There's no timeframe or agenda as yet. He's eager to put an agenda and the timeframe together. It's a good look at them if they get this mine operative again. It's going to be good for everybody. Martin, what do you make of it? It's the most positive news I've had lately. I'm pleased Solid Energy are going to go ahead with this. Losing my job did come as a shock to me. The receiver came in on Wednesday and said 'you're going.' It was a shock. We will still keep battling. Was there any whisper of a sale? We were kept in the dark about any progress about a sale of the mine. Solid Energy will be the ones to carry this out. Solid Energy will be looking to reopen the mine? I feel I'm best in the mine. Tony, is there any link to the government? Has solid energy just purchased this because it's a purchase they wanted to make? The overseas people have put It in the too-hard basket. Solid Energy know about the people here and they know about the West Coast. WE'll work with them. It was all hanging off the new owner. We can work a plan out. We can go off into the old workings and keep what we've always wanted. Did we need the new owner? The trust is something we've always worked to get started. Solid Energy has been behind that all the way through. They always said that they were only going to regain the 2.3km tunnel. It came as no surprise yesterday that they laid off 10 people. Solid energy will move in. Martin, are you prepared that it might not be possible to get your son back? I think Solid Energy have got the experts to do this. We can get in that mine and attempt to get people back. We will get back on that line. Does this expunge for you as a minor and a dad some of the stuff within hearing in the last year? Does it help? It's been very hard for everybody concerned. As far as I'm concerned, it should never have happened. It's going to be a major change in health and safety. It's been hard. I wish you all the very best in Australia. So what do you think about this development for the Pike River families? We'd like to hear your views. Go to our website or email us at closeup@tvnz.co.nz and we're on Facebook too ` facebook.com/closeup Coming up ` a truly whirlwind romance, from engagement to wedding in six hours. And the high seas can't separate this father from the kids he loves. Hello, Daddy. I can see you, Daddy. (BARKS) (SNIFFS) (BARKS) Is it broken? Is it broken? No, just old. Won't go digital. Sure it will! All you need is this. With a few simple additions, almost every TV can go digital. Sorry, folks. Off the market. If you're on Freeview, SKY or TelstraClear, you're already there. To find out how you can see more and enjoy more, visit goingdigital.co.nz. The life of a round-the-world yachtie sounds pretty glamorous, doesn't it? Travelling the globe, being paid to do what you love, exotic locations and the wind in your hair. But what's the life for the family left on shore like? A constant stream of goodbyes and missed dad days. The Bannatyne family know the routine, mum Amanda and four kids used to the nomad life. Dad Stu is on his sixth race, due into Auckland within days. But even when you're on the water, family's never far away. Here's Michael Holland. DRAMATIC MUSIC He is pretty brave to go out and sail in the oceans, where it's a risk of life and death. His name is Stuart Bannatyne. He is co-skipper and watch captain. Is he a big, burly, sort of muscly guy? Yeah, sort of. He's out there, somewhere, doing what he's always done, a heady mix of adventure and earning a crust, when out of the depths, a small voice. Daddy, will you be here to watch my ballet? An angelic reminder, if one was needed, of those at home, waiting ever so patiently, counting the days, as Dad counts the nautical miles. Hello, Daddy. I can see you, Daddy. Newfangled technology leaving Stu Bannatyne in no doubt he's required as soon as possible. His brood have plans. Did you know the Kumeu show is on Saturday and Sunday, and if you are home early enough, you are going? We were all hoping to be in time to be there, giving these guys an experience of our local country show, but it looks like we are going to miss it, unfortunately. It must be hard having a dad who's away all the time. No, not really. I'm just really used to him being away. This will be his sixth, and he doesn't think he's stopping there, either. There's more in him? > I think there is more in him. To be clear, that's six times round the world, starting way back in 1993 with Grant Dalton on NZ Endeavour. Years of preparation for each event, then the nine or 10 months of actual racing. What drives him? The motivation to win, adrenalin, on the edge the whole time. How fast are you going right now? Right now, 14 and a half knots. Beautiful trade winds sailing, shorts and T-shirts conditions. It's all very very nice. When he comes in after all those days at sea, does he, you know what I mean, smell a bit? Yeah, kind of. All his gear stinks. Mum always growls at him because he puts it in the same load as the washing. Definitely smelly. Everyone on here is pretty smelly. Can you imagine, no one's really had a shower for a few weeks. Are the kids missing out or getting something others don't? Getting something others don't. I don't think they have missed out on anything. It also gives us a really good opportunity go to other countries, What country are we in now? NZ. Cos you have been round the world, haven't you? Almost. And you're how old? 9. Anna's on her fourth trip around the world, Lucy three and two and one. 'I will take you all to London,' she said. And junior jetsetters aplenty at the race's special travelling school now in session on the Auckland waterfront. 9-year-old Georgina's Kiwi dad, Richard Mason, is on the Chinese entry, Sanya, and there ain't much, it seems, she hasn't seen. Spain, South Africa, China, NZ. I'm going to go to France and Norway. Have you had any sleep? Sometimes we get some sleep, but not very much. How many births has he been present at? > Three, thankfully due to, dare I say it, elective Caesars. If they were natural, I think he would have missed them all. He missed Felicity. He was here for me and Lucy and Angus. But he didn't get here in time for Felicity. And finally after battling the Southern Ocean, Stuart Bannatyne got to hold his new daughter for the first time. You could say today is the day of days. So when he gets in port here, has he got lots of jobs to do at home? > Yeah, Mum makes a list over the time he is away, and she makes a jobs list for him for all the stuff she can't be bothered to do. Did you know Mama and Papa are coming? I know they're coming up. They will be looking forward to seeing the boats come in again too. As for the Kumeu show this weekend and Felicity's ballet, well, a rain check's the best Dad can offer. I certainly hope we are home by Monday. If it drags on much longer, I don't think anyone here can bare it. We will get there as soon as we can. ALL: Bye, Dad. See you soon... Bye-bye. ...hopefully. And we've just had an update on Stu's location from Amanda and family. His yacht, Camper, is 440 nautical miles from Auckland in fourth place and now likely to arrive on Sunday afternoon. And you can bet there will be four excited kids waiting on the dock. Six hours from fiancee to bride ` if you discount Las Vegas elopements, that must be some kind of record. And Lynore Daniels made it because, well, basically, her husband, Greg, is very good at keeping the secrets. Yes, Greg sorted the entire thing behind Lynore's back ` dress, guests, food, the whole shebang. And having been involved in the old marriage business recently myself, I can tell you that can't have been easy. So Matt McLean went to find out how this marital madness was achieved. And since that day that you asked a staring stranger if he was picturing you as his wife, I have been. Will you marry me? Yes! So, guys, this is where it happened, right? Not exactly this pristine, but, yeah. The weather was a little bit worse than it is today. It was Saturday, the day of the North Island's weather bomb. And as it turns out, the day Lynore Daniels had wished for all her life. This is the Daniels family. Canadian Greg and Kiwi Lynore met while Greg was travelling the country for work. When I made the decision to follow my heart and move to Canada to be with Greg, I knew that my life wouldn't be ordinary and it would probably be extraordinary. And I think Saturday confirmed that. The move to NZ happened in '07. Greg decided the next obvious step was marriage. And I said, 'I think it's going to be this year, so when?' And then it just snowballed. And honestly, in the hour-long commute to work, I had a plan by the time I parked my car. That plan was to organise not just a proposal, but a wedding ` all without Lynore knowing anything. Greg, it turns out, is a smart man, figuring out very clever ways to find out what Lynore liked. I was invited to a Tupperware party at my friend's house, and when I arrived, she said, 'I've been dying to call you, 'because I'm having a fashion shoot to model all my Voon wedding dresses for my website for Paperdoll.' And so she asked me to model some dresses for her fashion shoot. Come Saturday, did you have any idea that anything was going down? Absolutely no idea. Despite the weather bomb, Greg knew he wanted to propose on the beach with their friends and family waiting just around the corner. I just sat in the back and waited. And then he suddenly stopped, got out of the car, came round, opened the door` ...in the horizontal rain. I was in quite a bit of shock, though. I didn't really` I think I thought the whole thing was a bit strange, because I wondered why he didn't pick a sunny day. (LAUGHS) The proposal had to be that day because the wedding was just a few hours away. And then I said, 'Well, the rabbit hole goes a little deeper, and if you're willing...' I got down on one knee, and I pulled out the other ring, and I said, 'Will you marry me today?' I said OK. Was there ever a moment that you thought, 'You bastard, I did want to try cakes, > 'and I did want to pick out the napkins.' > No, definitely not. It was absolutely amazing. I was blown away by what Greg had done. Totally impressed. The guy's a legend. Yeah, I just love him so much, and when he said to trust me, I did. He seems to have thought of everything. I tried. Really did. Apart for one thing. If I had known,... (LAUGHS) I would've gone lingerie shopping. Despite the lack of lingerie, though, the wedding, they both agree, was everything they could have wanted and more. Lynore got her big day, and Greg went from fiancee to husband in just six hours. I'm a lucky girl. Coming up ` the inter-college rivalry proving that a bit of competition never hurt anyone. McEvedy is about school spirit, school pride and winning. This week, battle was done in Wellington. The field ` Newtown Park, the weapons ` fitness and guts, the combatants ` schoolboys. Think that doesn't make for a bloodthirsty rivalry? You'd be wrong. Pride is on the line at the McEvedy Shield athletics competition and bragging rights between the biggest boys colleges in the capital. And it's a reminder that a bit of testosterone and a bit of competition never hurt anyone. Here's Jehan Casinader. BELL DINGS That sounds like the school bell. ALL CHANT But today school is out as four colleges do battle for a hallowed shield. ALL SING Today on Close Up we're at Newtown Park in Wellington watching the McEvedy Shield between Wellington, St Pat's Town, St Pat's Silverstream and Rongotai College. We are black and yellow! ALL: We are black and yellow! I think it's, like, the biggest track meet in the Southern Hemisphere. I don't know what I've been told! ALL: I don't know what I've been told! Wellington College is the best I know! ALL: Wellington College is the best I know! McEvedy is about school spirit, school pride and winning. All right! ALL: All right! OK! ALL: OK! All blue! ALL: All blue! All day! ALL: All day! Tough competition, but I think we got it this year. I think we got it. Your mothers don't care about you. They don't want to see you on Close Up. Shut up. But if you think this is just a day of fun and games, think again. FUNKY MUSIC The McEvedy Shield is serious business. The athletes have trained for weeks, and for some, victory is sweet. You're real nervous. You get shaky and tired. Others push it a little too hard. It's pretty amazing, you know. All the chants and stuff, it's pretty good. The shield is in its 90th year, and in this park, records are made and broken. Sometimes the feet are a little hesitant, but these young athletes are getting to grips with the highs,... CHEERING ...and the lows. FUNKY MUSIC CONTINUES Often there's double disappointment, but sometimes ` just sometimes ` the third time's a charm. CHEERING Most of these boys will never be professional athletes, but this is their day in the sun. 198. That makes it extraordinary. The record is 1.95, so he's` ...so he's well and truly cleared the record. Well and truly cleared the record. What was it like beating that record? > Oh, it was amazing. And by the end of the final race, the winner is clear. CHEERING It gives me great pleasure to present the McEvedy shield to the captain` athletics captain of St Pat's Town, Daniel Hunt. ALL CHEER Time for your feedback now, and on the Pike River sale, Katie Louise says... Joe says... Andy writes... Mike emailed... Emma has the final word here. Now, we were hoping to bring you the story of a woman whose truck got turned into a party bus without her permission. We'll have that for you next week. That's NZ close up. Captions were made possible with funding from NZ On Air.