Kawau Race Week 2026 delivers racing and resilience

The Evolution Sails Kawau Race Week 2026 was established to provide Auckland sailors with an accessible, community focused alternative to travelling north for the peak summer regattas. Developed through a partnership between the Ponsonby Cruising Club and the Kawau Boating Club, the new event was scheduled for Friday 23 to Sunday 25 January and designed to combine competitive racing with a strong social programme.

The concept gained momentum during a period of uncertainty around the running of Bay of Islands Sailing Week, which ultimately proceeded as scheduled later in January. In that window, organisers identified an opportunity to deliver a local regatta offering structured racing and organised onshore entertainment.

Interest was strong. A total of 37 boats were listed as entries on the Kawau Race Week Facebook page, representing a broad cross section of the Auckland fleet. The entry list included established race boats alongside less regular campaigners, reflecting the event’s open approach.

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Severe weather that had already forced the cancellation of the opening day of Bay of Islands Sailing Week earlier in the week then moved south, leading to the cancellation of Kawau Race Week’s originally scheduled racing. Persistent rain and strong winds led organisers to make a safety first decision, cancelling the debut event dates.

Kawau racing to run alongside Squadron Weekend in late January

With conditions improving the following week, a revised programme was confirmed. Kawau Race Week was successfully run alongside the Royal New Zealand Yacht Squadron Squadron Weekend, allowing the regatta to proceed in a condensed format: a coastal race on Friday evening followed by an island course on Saturday.

Results are now out, and we take a closer look.

A fleet reduced

The fleet was effectively halved, though a handful of late entries lifted numbers to 22, some coming from the Bay of Islands Sailing Week, now a week-and-a-half earlier.

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DivM

There was a single multihull in DivM, Push Play.

DivA

DivA featured seven of the bigger boats: the Davidson 59 Another Duchess, skippered by Rodney Keenan; Geoff Harden’s Ross 40 Big Don’t Argue; Clockwork, the Shaw 40 sailed by Steve Mair; Longfellow, the Alan Warwick design sailed by Kyle Bryant; Kathryn Hobcraft’s Farr 46 Mustang Sally; Pace, Ian Russell’s Elan GT6; and Tawera, the A Class Logan with Mike Mahoney aboard.

DivB

DivB opened with a compact fleet of smaller boats in the first race. That group included Elliphunk, the Elliott 9.5 skippered by Brian Trubovich; Extreme, Mark Roberts’ 9.1 Rocket; Indis, the Jeanneau Sun Fast 3300 sailed by Andrew Benton; Legless, a Young 88 sailed by Karen Reid and Grant Crawford; Motorboat, Nick Charles’ Gary Lambert SR26; Patrician, the Stewart 34 skippered by Wendy Muir; and Prince Hal, Paul Stroobant’s Stewart 34.

The division expanded significantly for the second race, growing to twelve boats. New arrivals included Babe, Aaron Wharton’s Young 88; Integrite, Clark Maddren’s Anastasia designed day sailor; MisMatch, a Bavaria 35 skippered by Neil; Princess, sailed by Chris Dickson; Share Delight, a Farr 1020 sailed by Mike; and Near & Farr, another Farr 1020 sailed by Matt, which retired during the second race.

Another Duchess does it again

Race 1: Westhaven to Kawau, Friday 30 January

Race 1 started from Westhaven with a 6pm warning signal and a mass start off the Westhaven start tower. Fifteen boats crossed the line and headed north into the Hauraki Gulf, finishing between Te Kouma, from the RNZYS committee boat, and Momona Point (Kawau Island.)

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In DivM, Push Play was the sole multihull and completed the course unchallenged in an corrected time of 03:16:57.

DivA featured seven boats and had the smallest gaps of the night. Another Duchess took a clear corrected time win in 3:14:25, a little more than two minutes ahead of the multihull, Push Play, and a little under 16 minutes ahead of Mustang Sally with Big Don’t Argue close on third, 1 minute and 43 seconds delayed. The closest battle in the division was for fourth, with Clockwork finishing just 17 seconds ahead of Pace on corrected time. On corrected time, there was 47:57 between the first and last boat.

Another Duchess brings pedigree to Kawau Race Week

DivB delivered the tightest racing of the night. Indis won on corrected time in 3:21:13, 9 minutes and 28 seconds ahead of Prince Hal and a further 1 minute and 40 seconds until Extreme. Just 57 seconds separated third and fourth, while the overall corrected time spread across the division was under 30 minutes.

Race 2: Island course, Saturday 31 January

On Saturday, a shorter island course was run, starting at 12.16pm.

Fleet numbers shifted significantly. DivA reduced to five boats, loosing Pace and Longfellow, while DivB expanded to thirteen starters.

Push Play again completed the course as the only multihull, recording a corrected time of 02:20:50.

In DivA, Another Duchess claimed her second corrected time win in 1:44:54, extending her series lead. Clockwork finished second, followed by Big Don’t Argue. Although the gaps between places was fairly even, the corrected time spread from first to last was 29 minutes.

DivB produced the closest finish of the regatta. Extreme won on corrected time in 1:53:52, just 13 seconds ahead of Motorboat. Babe finished third, 1 minute and 41 seconds further behind. The smallest margin in the division was 11 seconds, separating Indis and Elliphunk in fourth and fifth.

Finally, in the end, success

By Saturday afternoon, the mood at the Kawau Boating Club showed the success of the weekend. As the sun dropped and the breeze softened, the lawns outside the Kawau Boating Club filled with crews and supporters. The images on Facebook show a packed Bon Accord Harbour, with a multitude of boats (Kawau Race Week, Commodore’s Cup who were celebrating at Lidgaard House, supporters) quietly at anchor basking in the sun. Drinks were poured. It was the kind of calm, golden end to a regatta that cannot be manufactured.

What stood out was not just the racing but the determination behind the event itself. Faced with challenging weather and a forced reset, organisers resisted the easy option of cancellation. Instead, they rethought the format, partnered smartly with the Squadron Weekend (and the Commodore’s Cup), and delivered a compact but meaningful programme that kept boats racing and people engaged.

The flexibility paid off. Kawau Race Week 2026 may not have unfolded exactly as planned, but it delivered competitive sailing, a strong sense of community, and a reminder that good regattas are built as much in the planning as they are on the water.

As organisers put it in their closing message:

“As the sun sets on the very first Evolution Sails Kawau Island Race Week, I just want to say massive thanks to everyone who made this revamped version such an epic weekend.”

Final Standings

Div M

DivA

DivB