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Squadron Coming Events
The mass starts of the Coastal Classic always make a great spectacle. – Ivor Wilkins Photo.
divide the fleet into one multihull division and several monohull divisions, determined by length, but no handicap (later to include handicaps).
And then there was the name. After seeing Bob Hope play a round of golf called the Bob Hope Classic, the Coastal Classic was born. And the rest, as they say, is history.
In just three years the Coastal Classic went from 12 entrants in 1982 to a just under a 100 in 1985. “This actually caused a bit of a headache,” says Roger. “Sailors were getting a little too raucous at the Russell prizegiving. I realised I needed some entertainment to keep things under control.
“It just so happened Billy T James was in Paihia, so I got him across on the boat, paid him some cash and within seconds Billy T had the crowd eating out of his hands. From then on, entertainment became an important part of the Classic.”
The yellow trimaran Krisis, skippered by Duncan (Cookie) Stewart, won the inaugural 1982 race in 18 hours, a time that was unbeaten for four years.
Lacking a sponsor, finding money for prizes was difficult. But, Roger owned a second-hand shop, so if you were one of the winners, you could find yourself with a Black & Decker drill – second-hand of course!
Many of New Zealand’s top professional sailors, including Sir Peter Blake and Grant Dalton, cut their teeth in the Coastal Classic, or used it as training runs for their campaigns. 1985 saw the 12-metre Ron Given catamaran, Split Enz – owned by syndicate of Neil Strong, Jason Price and Rudy Dekker – set a new race record of 17h 6m 48s. For the next couple of decades, the record seesawed between Split Enz and Afterburner, with Split Enz having the lion’s share of the honour, including a 14-year stretch from 1996.
In a stormy 1989 race, Graeme Woodroffe’s Emotional Rescue became the first monohull to take line honours, crossing the line after a 19-hours windward slog – with 50 knots around Cape Brett!
While Multihull New Zealand prides itself on its safety record, 1997 saw carnage as four boats were serious casualties of 30-knot winds. Alistair Russell’s Afterburner capsized off Kawau Island. Sundance struck a submerged object near Sail Rock and started to go under. The Snark, owned by Phil Hart, lost her mast off Takapuna and Breeze Bender followed suit off Kawau.
Huge waves, squally winds and torrential rain played havoc in 2008. A full 28 hours after the start, only 31 of 229 starters had finished the race. Taeping, skippered by Greg Roake, was the winner. 2003 heralded the entry of hi-tech canting and water ballasted keelers for the first time, presenting a greater challenge to multihulls than ever before, but Rogntudjuu, the big Noumea catamaran, managed to take line honours.
In 2005, the New Zealand supermaxi Konica Minolta became the first monohull to eclipse Split Enz’s long-standing record. However, despite her time of 8 hours and 29 minutes, she finished behind the first three multihulls: Rongtudjuu, Isis (Murray Ross’s yacht with America’s Cup ace Dennis Conner on board) and X-Factor.
Records tumbled in 2009 with Neville Crichton’s supermaxi Alfa Romeo setting a new outright race record of 6 hours, 43 minutes and 32 seconds. The Greg Elliott-designed canting keel 30 footer Overload set a new record for keelboats under 9.14m, finishing in 10 hours and 23 minutes. 2011 and 2014 saw Simon Hull’s Team Vodafone Sailing trimaran set new records. Its 2014 time of 5 hours, 13 mins and 21 seconds stood until 2019 when Karl Kwok’s Beau Geste took the honours in 5 hrs, 00 hours 37 seconds.
Although the Coastal Classic heralds the onset of summer, the wardrobe is more woollies and beanies than Hawaiian beachwear. It is often a chilly and boisterous ride. – Ivor Wilkins Photo.
It’s not all Springtime blasts up the coast: painfully light winds in 2020 meant the powerful Volvo 60 New Zealand Ocean Racing, skippered by Bianca Cook, took 18 hours to creep across the line; 135 boats retired.
Then there was Covid!
And now, 2022 sees the PIC Coastal Classic celebrate 40 years! So what is it about this race that keeps people coming back for more? Roger Dilly: “Yes, I wanted a race, but it was more than that. It’s about the camaraderie, the adventure, and the spirit of the event. This beautiful course is just far enough to be the longest sail most people will do. It a mental challenge, but a challenge worth doing.”
• To celebrate and mark this epic 40 year race, the Multihull New Zealand Yacht Club is offering the chance to win two return tickets to Barcelona in 2024 for the America’s Cup! All you have to do is enter, register your vessel and crew, compete, and attend the prizegiving, and you could jetting to Barcelona!
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