Round two of the New Zealand Offshore Powerboat Championship brings the raceboats to Marsden Cove on Saturday 14 November, with racing close to shore, open pits and both races run before lunch.
The racing at Marsden Cove is short and easy to follow from the shore, and make a good day out for the family. The second round of the New Zealand Offshore Powerboat Championship takes place on Saturday 14 November, four weeks after the season opened at Gulf Harbour. The first race starts at 11am and the second at noon, with racing expected to be finished by 1pm.
Spectators can meet the crews before a boat goes in the water. NZOPA is holding a team meet and greet at the Marsden Cove Fishing Club from 5pm on Friday 13 November.
On Saturday the pits are open to visitors as well. NZOPA is inviting people in to see the boats up close, in the race pits on the grass beside Rauiri Drive, near the marina buildings.
Day entries can still be made on the morning, starting at 7am and closing at 9am, with the drivers’ briefing at 9.30am. Prizegiving is back at the fishing club at 4pm.
Where to watch
NZOPA has named the shore in front of the Marsden Cove Yacht Club as the spectator viewing area. Its course map shows five marks laid off the Marsden Cove shore, with two viewing points along the waterfront. (Those watching from their own boats should expect to be kept well clear. At Gulf Harbour last month, patrol boats kept recreational traffic off the course while spectator boats lined the outside of it. Give the course plenty of room and follow the directions of the patrol crews.)
Expected conditions
Saturday looks like a pleasant day to be on the shore. The forecast for One Tree Point is mostly fine and warming to around 20°C, with only a light breeze of 6 to 10 knots, and a southerly in the morning.
The crews should find a much kinder sea than at Gulf Harbour, where they raced in swells of close to a metre. The easterly swell forecast for Saturday is around half a metre. The tide turns in the middle of the programme. High water is forecast at 11.40am, so the first race runs on the last of the incoming tide and the second starts just as it begins to go out.
Anyone settling in to watch will want a hat and sunscreen with a UV index forecast to reach 9 in the morning and 10 in the afternoon.
How the championship stands
Finishing was the challenge at Gulf Harbour. In swells our report from the opener estimated at close to a metre, seven of the 23 starters failed to finish the first race, and 13 of the 18 that started the second made it to the end. Four boats won both their class races: Gen 2 in 200HP, Cougar in Sports 70mph, Hidromek in Sports 80mph and Subway Mangawhai in Family Class.
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Two familiar names lead the points. Cougar and Gen 2 both won their classes last season, and NZOPA’s points tables now have each 200 points clear. Cougar leads Sports 70 on 950, while Gen 2 leads Sports 200 on 950 and also heads the 60 Mile standings.
The other classes are closer. In Sports 140, Gipsy Danger leads Coranto by 175 points, 850 to 675, after finishing second to Goldship in the first race and winning the second when Goldship did not finish. Among the biggest boats, Rainbow Haulage won the first race but retired from the second, leaving Espresso Engineers ahead in both Superboat 600 and the 100 Mile category on 850, with Rainbow Haulage on 550.
NZOPA championship points
2027 championship season · Gulf Harbour · After Race 2
| Class / boat | Race 1 | Race 2 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sports 140 | |||
| Gipsy Danger | 375 | 475 | 850 |
| Coranto | 300 | 375 | 675 |
| Gold Ship | 475 | 75 | 550 |
| Nakita | 75 | 75 | |
| Sports 200 | |||
| Gen 2 | 475 | 475 | 950 |
| Supersonic | 375 | 375 | 750 |
| SKR | 300 | 300 | 600 |
| Mark Helms Marine | 75 | 75 | |
| Sports 70 | |||
| Cougar | 475 | 475 | 950 |
| Chindit | 375 | 375 | 750 |
| Sports 80mph | |||
| Fury | 75 | 75 | 150 |
| Captain Caveman | 75 | 75 | |
| Superboat 600 | |||
| Espresso Engineers | 375 | 475 | 850 |
| Rainbow Haulage | 475 | 75 | 550 |
| Langslow Engineering | 300 | 75 | 375 |
| 100 Mile | |||
| Espresso Engineers | 375 | 475 | 850 |
| Rainbow Haulage | 475 | 75 | 550 |
| Langslow Engineering | 300 | 75 | 375 |
| 60 Mile | |||
| Gen 2 | 475 | 475 | 950 |
| Cougar | 375 | 375 | 750 |
| Supersonic | 300 | 300 | 600 |
| SKR | 244 | 244 | 488 |
| Chindit | 202 | 202 | 404 |
| Gipsy Danger | 146 | 170 | 316 |
| Coranto | 128 | 146 | 274 |
| Gold Ship | 170 | 75 | 245 |
| Fury II | 75 | 75 | 150 |
| Mark Helms Marine | 75 | 75 | |
| Captain Caveman | 75 | 75 | |
| Nakita | 75 | 75 | |
Source: NZOPA’s supplied Gulf Harbour points sheet.
Boat names and blank scores follow the original.
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After Marsden Cove, the 2026/27 season moves to Napier on 30 and 31 January 2027, then Wellington on 27 February, with the Whitianga finale on 13 March.
