The yacht at the centre of New Zealand’s first America’s Cup challenge returns to racing at Italy’s Imperia Sailing Week, reuniting with rivals from the 1987 Louis Vuitton Cup.
The yacht at the centre of New Zealand’s first America’s Cup challenge is back on a start line. Kiwi Magic, KZ7, is entered in the 12mR GP World Championship at Imperia Sailing Week 2026. The wider event runs from 28 August to 6 September on Italy’s Ligurian coast, while the 12 Metre racing itself is scheduled for 29 August to 1 September. Thirty-nine years after Fremantle, she will do it alongside several of the boats she raced against in 1987.
New Zealand’s pioneering fibreglass twelve
KZ7 was built at McMullen & Wing’s Auckland yard for Sir Michael Fay’s New Zealand Challenge syndicate, drawing on a design group that brought together Bruce Farr, Laurie Davidson and Ron Holland. She was one of three fibreglass-hulled 12 Metres New Zealand built for the campaign, alongside sister boats KZ3 and KZ5. Together the three were the first 12 Metres built with fibreglass composite hulls rather than aluminium, a stiffness advantage that earned the fleet its “Plastic Fantastic” nickname. Dennis Conner’s camp challenged the legality of the construction, in a dispute that became known as Glassgate, but Lloyd’s Register inspected the hulls and confirmed they met the class rule. The argument did little to slow KZ7, which went on to dominate the challenger round robins.
Thirty-three wins from thirty-four round robin starts
Skippered by a 25 year old Chris Dickson, Kiwi Magic won 33 of her 34 races through the three Louis Vuitton Cup round robins, the best qualifying record in the regatta. She then swept French Kiss 4 to 0 in the semi-finals, a result that put her at 37 wins from 38 matches heading into the final. There, Dennis Conner’s Stars and Stripes 87 beat her 4 to 1, on the way to reclaiming the America’s Cup for the United States. Kiwi Magic never sailed in the Match itself, but the campaign was enough to establish New Zealand as a genuine Cup nation in a single summer.
An ownership trail through three America’s Cup winners
Sir Michael Fay owned Kiwi Magic from 1986 to 2002. During that time she was leased by Patrizio Bertelli, who sailed her to the 1999 12 Metre World Championship title at Saint-Tropez. She passed to the America³ Foundation and Bill Koch in 2003, and won a second world title under Koch’s ownership at Newport in 2009. The US Merchant Marine Academy Sailing Foundation held her from 2012 to 2015, and since January 2016 she has raced under the Danish flag for owner Johan Blach Petersen.
The fleet gathering at Imperia
| Yacht | Built | America’s Cup pedigree |
|---|---|---|
| Kiwi Magic | 1986 | Yacht of New Zealand’s first America’s Cup challenge, 1987 |
| French Kiss | 1986 | France’s 1987 Louis Vuitton Cup entry, beaten 4-0 by Kiwi Magic in the semi-finals |
| Kookaburra III | 1986 | Australia’s actual 1987 America’s Cup defender, beaten 4-0 by Stars and Stripes 87 |
| Kookaburra II | 1986 | Ran in Australia’s 1987 defender trials; now owned by Patrizio Bertelli and reigning 12 Metre world champion (2024) |
| South Australia | 1985 | Ben Lexcen design, also from Australia’s 1987 defender trials |
| France | 1970 | France’s first America’s Cup yacht, built for Marcel Bich |
Back among old rivals
Kookaburra II, now the reigning 12 Metre world champion, and Kookaburra III, the boat that actually carried Australia’s defence in 1987, are both in the Imperia fleet, alongside French Kiss and South Australia from the same defender trials. The reunion falls in the host event’s own milestone year: Vele d’Epoca di Imperia, founded in 1986, marks its 40th anniversary in 2026, and has expanded into a combined 12 Metre World Championship and classic yacht regatta for the occasion. KZ7 was the boat that announced New Zealand as a serious America’s Cup nation, beginning a Cup involvement that has now lasted almost four decades.
