The Sydney to Auckland Ocean Race proved it; fast boats bring big drama and even bigger fun. This Labour Weekend’s PIC Coastal Classic, with more than one hundred yachts already entered, promises plenty more of both. Entries remain open until 20 October, and more boats are sure to join the lineup. But as always, the race is as much about camaraderie as it is about speed, and of course, the thrill of winning.
At the front of the fleet sits Lucky, the record-breaking winner of the trans-Tasman race, which she completed in almost half the previous best time. Her arrival lifts the bar for everyone else. You can feel the anticipation tightening across the fleet.
The PIC Coastal Classic covers 119 nautical miles from Auckland’s Waitematā Harbour to Russell in the Bay of Islands. The race record of 5 hours and 37 minutes, set by the MOD70 trimaran Beau Geste, in 2019 still stands. That year delivered near-perfect offshore racing conditions, with steady south-westerlies around 20 knots and gusts touching 30, along with moderate seas. Beau Geste has not returned since, leaving both the finish line and the record wide open for the taking.
That same year produced notably fast times across the fleet. Cat+Ion (a Roger Hill 18.5-metre multihull) placed third in 7 hours 42 minutes 49 seconds, while Mayhem (a TP52) finished tenth in 9 hours 4 minutes 4 seconds, followed closely by Attitude, Wired, and Freedom — all back on the start line this year.
Fez, last year’s handicap winner, is back for another shot. Owners Casey and Justine Bellingham are racing their own time from last year and hoping for a classic sou’wester. As luck would have it, a recent check of PredictWind’s weather models for 24 October show just that, a south-westerly breeze of 10–14 knots, gusting into the low twenties, with short, contrary seas from the north-west at five to six seconds apart. That’s at Waitematā, with variable conditions expected further north. Not quite the ideal conditions of 2019, sit’s shaping up to be a messy reach up the coast, one where skill, not just speed, will decide the winners.
Lucky, the Juan K maxi skippered by Bryon Ehrhart with Brad Butterworth calling tactics, is my line-honours favourite. My thinking is, give her a clean start and a steady breeze through Kawau, and she’ll average around 14 knots to Bream Bay, holding 11–12 knots past Bream Head. That’s about eight and a half hours to Russell — quick, quicker if the breeze builds — though still short of Beau Geste’s 2019 record of just under six hours. Some might call that an unfair comparison, given Beau Geste is a trimaran, but it remains the benchmark to chase.
Boating New Zealand talks one-on-one with Brad Butterworth: calm seas, steady hand
Beyond Lucky, the trio of fifty-footers — Mayhem, Wired, and Callisto — look sharp. Callisto’s New Zealand–American mixed crew brings serious grand-prix pedigree, with Transpac, Bermuda, and the Caribbean 600 on their record — plus this year’s Admiral’s Cup, where they won the Channel Race and competed in the Rolex Fastnet.
It’s worth noting that the Callisto racing in the PIC Coastal Classic is their Pac 52, not the Botin 42 campaigned at the Admiral’s Cup, though the core team remains the same. If the south-wester holds, this trio could post times near nine and a half hours (or less) snapping at Lucky’s wake and well in the hunt for the handicap crown.
Close behind are the long-waterline chargers: Equilibrium, with her Botin-Carkeek pedigree; Rum Bucket, the globe-trotting More 55; and Wave, a Grand Soleil 50 fresh from a 19,000-mile family delivery from Italy, arriving only days before the start. If the breeze softens north of Whangārei, this trio could potentially fill the second-place frame.
If the sea-state turns kinder, the fast-forty class could decide who really reaches Russell second on elapsed time. Clockwork (Steve Mair’s Shaw 12) has more air miles than most crews — Round North Island, Fiji, Nouméa, and Groupama races all in the logbook.
Vixen Racing, Sharon Ferris-Choat’s Verdier 40, brings Olympic-level polish, serious off-shore experience, and a tight plan. That will be a tight battle.
Sassinate, the Melges 40, and Alegre, the Soto 40, will thrive if the sea-state pipes up. Add Power Play, the Cookson 12 that loves a reach, and you have five crews capable of 10½-knot averages. Of course, no one wants to just settle for an average speed. That projects to roughly 11 to 12 hours elapsed in this forecast, not far behind the fifty footers if conditions ease.
So far, 12 multis have entered this year’s race. Several have pedigree. Attitude, an 8.5-metre box-rule weapon, holds multiple course records — Auckland to Tauranga (10 hours 11 minutes 10 seconds) and the 8.5 Coastal record (8 hours 1 minute). Smooth seas could see her challenge the bigger boats again.
Cat+Ion returns again for the Coastal. Konbreo, a Freydis 46 cat bound for Alaska after a recent refit, will be quick offwind. Ocean’s Tribute, a Crowther 40 trimaran with OSTAR and Solo Tasman history, and Superbad II, a Grainger Barefoot 40, both have pace to upset the order.
If the waves stretch to seven or eight seconds, these cats could average in the low teens and threaten the monohull leaderboard. If the sea stays short, they’ll sail to the conditions, still fast, but measured.
Four Elliott 1050s monos line up — Kick celebrating its 31st birthday, with Motorboat II, Second Nature, and Day Tripper in pursuit. Expect 15–16 hours elapsed, finishing before dawn if the wind holds.
Five Young 88s bring the biggest one-design clash. Babe, Driving Force, Smokey, Paddy Wagon (the first Y88 ever launched), and Young Mischief could see 18–19 hours on the log. The class rarely finishes far apart.
Four Ross 930s — Grunt Machine, Hotdogger, Drop Dead Fred, and Wasted Away — keep old-school Kiwi pace alive. Six-knot averages mean 19–20 hours, still proud work in a sloppy sea.
The mid-fleet is where character thrives. Akonga, Nick Roberts’ Dehler 41, comes straight from victory in the RNZYS Three Kings Two-Handed Race. Indis, the Verdier-influenced Sun Fast 3300, is purpose-built for this weather.
Kaizen and Rehab, both Farr 36 ODs, are proven campaigners. Katana, a Sun Fast 3600 veteran of the RNI, races fully crewed this time. Add Savante (a Beneteau 44.7, crewed they say by Young 88 sailors who prefer to stay dry), Pretty Boy Floyd (Murray Ross 12m), Radix (Farr X2, fresh and fast), Noumenon (Dehler 37, in its first ever race in New Zealand), and Legacy, whose logbook simply says “back for a promised downwind joyride.”
The cruisers, classics and heart-boats are the storytellers of the fleet. Ilex, a Brin Wilson kauri sloop, Shimmer (Townson Talent Mk2), Starmaker (Farr 1020), La Camargue, Highline (Dufour 455), SV Thistle (a Lambert 52 ketch racing with a live-aboard family who recently circumnavigated the North Island), and Winslow (Hanse 455, crewed by ex-1020 sailors now chasing comfort). They’ll likely average around 5½ knots, faster if possible, reaching Russell late Saturday morning if the dawn wind fades.
Saturday’s 10 a.m. high tide will give the fleet an ebb-assisted run out of the Gulf.
One of the best spots to watch the start will be from the Devonport area, while the North Shore coastline, stretching up past the Whangaparāoa Peninsula, will also offer great vantage points. If you can make it out to Tiritiri Matangi, take advantage of the views as there is likely to be plenty of action as the fleet squeezes through the channel there, and again further north towards Kawau Island.
The PIC Coastal Classic starts at 09:30 a.m., so get to your vantage point early. It’ll be warmish so be prepared with a flask and a bite to eat while you wait for the yachts to start. Then send us your photos! We’d love to see them.
Assuming the weather forecast holds (and let’s be honest, it rarely does), here’s my fridge-door summary. You’re, of course, welcome to disagree.
- Lucky: 8–9 hours
- TP52s / Callisto: 9–10 hours
- Fast forties: 11–12 hours
- Elliott 1050s: 15–16 hours
- Young 88s: 18–19 hours
- Ross 930s: 19–20 hours
- Cruisers / classics: 21–23 hours
Add up to three hours if a sou’easter sneaks in before 10 a.m. on Saturday morning.
