Family boat, champion spirit
When Casey and Justine Bellingham bought Fez in 2021, it was meant to be a family cruiser. Yet three PIC Coastal Classics later, their dependable cruiser has become a race-winning all-rounder.
The Warwick 50, designed and built in Kerikeri in the mid-1980s by Alan and Bruce Warwick, respectively, is a slice of Kiwi sailing history — long, narrow, and surprisingly quick to windward. Casey remembers seeing her being planked as a boy. “Dad took me out to Alan Warwick’s shed when I was about nine,” he recalls. “I watched them stapling the planks upside-down. It’s funny how life comes full circle.”
That full circle culminated last year when Fez stormed to victory in the 2024 PIC Coastal Classic — not first across the line, but first where it mattered most: on handicap.
A sailmaker’s edge
Casey’s skills as a sailmaker gives Fez a subtle advantage. Over the winter, he built a new Spectra-paneled mainsail — not the flashiest design, but built to last. “The main we won with last year was 30 years old,” he says. “This one should hold its shape for another decade. I could’ve gone high-performance, but I wanted something that’ll keep performing for years.”
The new setup includes a spinnaker staysail, a half-ounce gennaker, and a freshly recut genoa for reaching. “We’ve now got sails for every direction,” he laughs. “It’s all about being ready for whatever the coast throws at us.”
Crew, camaraderie, and a touch of chaos
The Bellinghams have assembled a diverse 11-person crew — a mix of seasoned sailors and new recruits from the Gulf Harbour Yacht Club’s training programme.
“About half the crew are women,” says Justine. “We’ve got Flick Barry from the North loft, her daughter Madison who’s 17, and another apprentice, Natasha Eccles, plus her partner Josh. Then there are a few of our old mates and a couple of people we’ve trained from scratch.”
Casey admits the training process has been long but rewarding. “We’ve worked hard to build a capable team. Some of them are learning the ropes — literally — but they’re keen, and that’s what matters.”
At home, teamwork is second nature. “Justine usually steers,” Casey grins, “and I run around pulling ropes.”
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New division, same determination
Fez’s 2024 victory came with a price: a higher handicap and a bump from Division 2 up to Division 1b, where the competition is faster and fiercer.
“We were expecting to get moved up. Now we’ll be racing against Assassin and Clockwork — we won’t see which way they go, but that’s fine. It’s a handicap race for us.”
This year’s goal is to perform consistently across a range of conditions. Fez’s sweet spot is upwind in a breeze — long hull, narrow beam, steady in a chop — but Casey’s prepared for anything. “If I could choose, I’d take 15 to 25 knots from the northeast. That’d be a perfect lay, quick and clean.”
Two-handed dreams
Despite the size of their current crew, the Bellinghams are already planning to go smaller. “If we have another good run this year,” Casey says, “maybe next year Justine and I will do it two-handed.”
It wouldn’t be their first ambitious challenge. Casey has won multiple Coastals on other boats — Thunder, Attitude, Charleston — and still holds the 8.5 catamaran record. But sailing Fez together is different. “This boat’s ours,” Justine says. “It’s the one that feels right.”
Racing for the right reasons
For the Bellinghams, racing isn’t about rivalries. “My biggest competition is against myself,” says Casey. “It’s a time-on-time race, so you know pretty quickly if you’ve sailed well. The camaraderie is what keeps us coming back.”
That spirit, they feel, is what makes the Coastal Classic special — an event where competition blends with community. “It’s still the one race that brings everyone together,” says Casey. “From the top pros to the family crews, we’re all chasing the same horizon.”
And they’ll be there again this year, when the fleet heads north on October 24, just before Labour Weekend. With fresh sails, new crew, and the same quiet determination that made Fez a champion, they’re ready for another run. “People think the race is huge,” Justine smiles, “but it’s really just like going to Great Barrier and back. You just have to give it a go.”
