The Evolution Sails Kawau Classic has reached 20 entries, with six Open 8.5 and GBE multihulls among the fleet. Familiar rivals, close racing and a boatbuilding story from two decades ago add to the occasion.
Twenty boats. That’s the latest milestone for the upcoming regatta, and the Open 8.5 multihulls have helped push the numbers along. Six are entered, representing several generations of New Zealand multihull design and some familiar Hauraki Gulf rivalries.
Craig Haslip’s Hooters, Coen Ursem’s Freedom and Ed Ayre’s Lucifer have all featured prominently in recent racing. They’re joined by Andrew Johnson’s Attitude, L Putan’s Buzz and Adrian Webster’s Smokin. Together, they bring several generations of multihull design and decades of racing history to the fleet.
From Great Barrier Express to Open 8.5
The Open 8.5 story begins with Malcolm Tennant’s Great Barrier Express, developed in the late 1970s for fast cruising around the Hauraki Gulf. These compact catamarans attracted sailors looking for performance without the expense of a much larger multihull. Racing soon became part of their appeal, encouraging further experimentation with hulls, rigs and sail plans. By 2004, the New Zealand Multihull Yacht Club had formalised the Open 8.5 rule.
Great Barrier Express: Inside the Hauraki Gulf’s 50-year-old catamaran cult
Designers could work within a maximum length of 8.5 metres, beam of 6.5 metres and air draught of 12.6 metres. The rules gave them considerable freedom in how they designed and built their boats, while allowing older GBEs to continue competing alongside newer designs.
Attitude offers a particularly good example of the class’s homegrown ingenuity. John Tetzlaff designed and built the catamaran with an ambitious budget of less than $25,000, using plywood rather than costly exotic materials. In October 2005, Boating New Zealand’s John Macfarlane featured the project in Thrills without bills. More than 20 years later, the boat remains on Auckland entry lists, with Andrew Johnson named as skipper for this regatta.
Familiar rivals and close racing
Recent results suggest the 8.5s could provide some close competition. At the 2025 PIC Coastal Classic, Hooters won Division 7 on both elapsed and corrected time, finishing ahead of Lucifer and Attitude. The following March, the margins were considerably tighter at the PIC Harbour Classic. Just 32 seconds separated Hooters and Freedom at the finish.
At Richmond Yacht Club’s Spring Regatta in September, Lucifer was first multihull home, while Hooters collected the Long Haul handicap honours. The two boats have shared some impressive results over the past year, with Freedom also showing she can push Hooters right to the finish.
The latest entry list also includes Buzz, a Tim Clissold design, and Smokin, another GBE. Both add to the mix of older and newer designs represented in the fleet.
Twenty entries and plenty of variety
The multihull contingent extends beyond the six Open 8.5 and GBE designs. Glenn Bartlett has entered the Farrier F82R trimaran Push Play, while Simon Hull’s GC32 foiling catamaran Frank Racing brings an entirely different proposition to the fleet. Adrian Percival’s Lavranos catamaran Lady Nada is entered in rally.
The keelboat entries are equally varied, from Steve Mair’s Shaw 12 Clockwork to Rodney Keenan’s 17.8 metre Davidson 59 Another Duchess. Quintin Fowler’s Rum Bucket and Gavin Brady’s Farr MRX North Sails are also on the list. Chris Dickson is named as skipper of the 6-metre yacht Princess, adding another distinctive design to the gathering. Seventeen boats are entered in the main fleet, with Lady Nada, Carla Bennett’s Mantra and Ben Plummer’s Noumenon bringing the rally entries to three.
Entries remain open for the Evolution Sails Kawau Classic: https://kawauclassic.co.nz/
