A new generation takes the helm of New Zealand’s great race north.
Each Labour Weekend, the PIC Coastal Classic bursts into life as more than a hundred boats surge north from Auckland to Russell. The air hums with anticipation as crews size up their competition and prepare for the long haul north. It is one of New Zealand’s great sporting traditions, but this year the spotlight falls on a new generation of sailors eager to prove themselves.
Max and Harry Jameson will be sailing onboard Kick, while Luke Tucker will be sailing onboard Wild Thing. Photo: Kick Elliott 1050 Yachting (Facebook)Max and Harry Jameson will be sailing onboard Kick, while Luke Tucker will be sailing onboard Wild Thing. Photo: Kick Elliott 1050 Yachting (Facebook)
Among them are crews with familiar names. Josh Tucker and Phil Jameson first met as teenagers in Wellington, racing together in the local Two-Handed Series. At just sixteen they won it, full of confidence and saltwater ambition. Phil left school at seventeen to join Team New Zealand, later lifting the Volvo Ocean Race trophy with Ericsson 4. Josh built a career that has logged more than 150,000 nautical miles and spanned every corner of the globe.
Now their sons are carving their own wake. On the Elliott 1050 Kick, Phil’s boys Harry (15) and Max (12) are back in Division 2 for another PIC Coastal Coastal after tackling last year’s brutal upwind slog alongside Luke Tucker (15). That race tested every hand on deck and showed the young crew what real offshore sailing feels like. This year, the Jameson brothers will again help steer Kick north under the eye of skipper Brendan Sands, while Luke joins Dave Meads in Division 4 on board the unmistakable Young 8.4 Wild Thing with his best friend Cayden and a handful of teenage sailors aged 15 to 17. These crews are not passengers; they are grinding, trimming, helming, and calling tactics. Nearby, Josh Tucker will be onboard Motorboat III, keeping a proud and watchful eye as the next wave takes charge.
The Coastal Classic has always been a launchpad for young talent. In 2009, two rising names, Peter Burling and Blair Tuke, hurtled up the course in their 49er, matching pace with 50-footers, capsizing four times and pitchpoling twice, yet finishing among the frontrunners. That wild run helped shape the sailors who would go on to win Olympic medals and the America’s Cup.
A decade later, another young Kiwi made her mark. Sixteen-year-old Carrington Brady joined her father Gavin Brady onboard the 70-foot trimaran Beau Geste, navigating her first offshore race, completed the race in 5 hours and 37 seconds, setting a course record that still stands today.
That same energy drives this year’s youthful crews. The PIC Coastal Classic remains the proving ground for Kiwi sailors with salt in their blood and something to prove.
The full list of entries is available from the PIC Coastal Classic website.
