In a fleet crowded with giants, Gizmo carries a story built on grit, generosity, and one of the most unexpected Kiwi challenges in this year’s Sydney Hobart.
When we wrote our first article on the Kiwi boats that were racing in the 2025 Rolex Sydney to Hobart Yacht Race, we counted four: Callisto, Rum Bucket, V5, and Vixen Racing. Those were the entries listed as New Zealand boats. Gizmo, meanwhile, appeared as a NSW boat flying the CYCA flag, sitting naturally among the Australian entries. Her backstory kept her tucked out of sight, and it was only when Marc Michel reached out that we learned there was much more to the story.
Read on to see how Gizmo’s real story unfolds.
A small boat with a story that refused to stay quiet
Sydney Harbour on Boxing Day has a way of shrinking anything under sixty feet. The maxis loom above everything. Their rigs rise like towers. Their crews move with the confidence of long seasons and deep programmes. The noise, the cameras, and the spectacle all bend toward them.
Yet down on the same dock will sit a 36 foot Jeanneau Sun Fast with a Kiwi skipper, a Kiwi backstory, and a campaign that very nearly never happened. Gizmo will not take the spotlight at the start. She will not drag the fleet out of the Heads. But she may well bring the most heartfelt story in the 80th edition of the Rolex Sydney Hobart.
Her road to Boxing Day is not the polished, choreographed build up of the big campaigns. Instead it is a tale shaped by chance, resilience, and one remarkable act of generosity.
A partnership tested early and reshaped by reality
Gizmo’s owner, Robert Drury, had committed to a Rolex Sydney to Hobart Yacht Race challenge with experienced Kiwi sailor Marc Michel as co skipper. Michel is known across New Zealand’s offshore scene for his work with Niksen and time aboard the supermaxi Zana. The pair settled on the Bird Island Race as their first major step in the Audi Centre Sydney Blue Water Pointscore.
Because they had not completed their qualifying miles together, the race committee ordered Gizmo to start five minutes behind the fleet. A frustrating handicap, but also the sort of twist that offshore sailors take in their stride.
The race proved demanding from the moment they cleared the Heads. A long beat north, easing and building pressure, then squalls and a fast run home under a firm northeaster. Gizmo handled it all with quiet confidence. She not only completed the race cleanly — finishing at 1am on Sunday, an hour familiar to offshore sailors alone — but also beat her fully crewed sistership Wyuna.
The result looked positive on paper but masked a turning point.
After the long demanding race, Drury recognised something that only seasoned sailors can admit with real clarity. The desire remained, but the body no longer wanted the punishment of extended offshore miles. It was a hard moment but a fair one.
What he did next shaped the entire story.
Drury offered to charter Gizmo to Michel so the Hobart campaign could continue. No expectation. No drama. Just a straightforward gesture that blended generosity and respect.
Michel accepted, proceeding to represent SSANZ/RNZYS, and the whole path forward shifted.
A crew formed late but anchored in miles
With Drury’s blessing and the clock ticking, Michel faced a new challenge. Many of the usual SSANZ two handed sailors had already locked in Christmas plans. A double handed campaign was no longer possible. Gizmo would go fully crewed, not for a glory push but to reduce load, protect the boat, and ensure the campaign stayed enjoyable.
From that constraint emerged a surprisingly strong team. A mix of sailors with varied backgrounds and about fifty Hobarts among them. Not a polished season long squad, but a practical Kiwi style answer. Good sailors, good chemistry, and a shared love of offshore miles.
To avoid mid campaign confusion, Michel asked CYCA to leave Gizmo listed temporarily as a NSW entry until the new crew had qualified. The club agreed. Gizmo stayed under the radar on paper while the real groundwork happened on the water.
Cabbage Tree Island: the qualifying race that lit the fuse
The chance to prove themselves arrived in the Cabbage Tree Island Race, the final major offshore event before the Sydney Hobart and a notorious test of readiness. It is long enough to expose weaknesses and short enough to punish any lapse in focus.
The objective for Gizmo was simple. Finish safely. Keep the boat intact. Earn qualification.
Gizmo did far more.
She beat both other Sun Fast 3600s in the race, Wyuna and Beautemps, on line and corrected. It was a bold statement from a boat that had only recently pieced together its full crew. In a fleet dominated by maxis and mini maxis, Gizmo showed a level of composure and balance that pointed toward something promising.
For a campaign stitched together late, it was the perfect signal. The boat was fast. The crew understood each other. And the path toward Hobart was clear.
Racing among giants but carving her own line
To understand Gizmo’s place in this fleet, you need to look at her surroundings. The Rolex Sydney to Hobart Yacht Race is Australia’s premier offshore race. The front of the pack is stacked with titans. These boats dictate the rhythm of the series. They claim the early line honours. They collect the headlines. They race with the precision of professional programmes.
Gizmo operates in a very different corridor. She is a mid sizer with modest waterline length and a compact crew. But that contrast gives her story shape. In a fleet where giants roar down the coast at pace, Gizmo represents the seamanship and heart that often sit deeper in the pack, away from the spotlights.
Her qualification in the Cabbage Tree Race, her resilience in Bird Island, and her place inside the 2025 Sydney Hobart are reminders that the offshore world still values determination as much as raw boat speed.
