The PIC Coastal Classic is one of the world’s iconic coastal sailing races, and is held during Labour Weekend.

It was the brainchild of Roger Dilley and began in 1982. It runs from Auckland to
Russell and was designed to be a full-on drag race of 199 nautical miles (370km) up the coast. That’s never changed in the past 40 years.

Twelve skippers and crews took up the initial challenge. Boats ranged in size from the Peter Williams-owned Fidelis at 62 feet to Alex and Mathew Flynn’s 24ft trimaran Gulf Chariot.

It’s organised by the New Zealand Multihull Yacht Club, which is something of a dichotomy because most of the boats entered are monohulls.

Record holders and line honours

First across the line was Krisis, skippered by Duncan Stuart in the first established record time of 18 hours. The number of minutes hasn’t been recorded but it was more than 49 because four years later, the then-new catamaran Split Enz stormed home for line honours in a time of 18 hours and 49 minutes.

The following year, 1987, Peter Blake used the race as an opportunity to gain multihull experience aboard Krisis, which eventually finished 11h. The event was won by Afterburner in a time of 12 hours 39 minutes, almost five hours quicker than the previous record. She set another record the following year.

Split Enz captured line honours in 1993 and 1996, but it was another 13 years before the race record was broken and it was done so by Neville Crichton, who owned and skippered Alfa Romeo, in 2009. They wiped 36 minutes off the record and came home in 6 hours 45 minutes 32 seconds.

Neville Crichton said at the time that they were so fast from Auckland the race organisers hadn’t even set the finishing buoys.

This record was broken by Team Vodafone twice, in 2011 and 2014, and it was another five years before the record was broken by Beau Geste, which holds the record of 5 hours and 37 seconds to this day.

In 2018, the New Zealand Sailing Trust offered two spots in the Coastal Classic on Lion New Zealand, Peter Blake’s former boat in which he came second in the Whitbred. He famously struck a whale, which caused damage to the rudder. The price for each spot was $575 a person and $275 for the return journey.

Out of the many years the race has been running, three notable years stand out for dissimilar reasons.

In 1997, the Keith Chapman Memorial trophy was awarded for the first time for an act of seamanship. Antaeus, helmed by Penny Whiting, received the trophy for going to the aid of Sundancer. Four yachts had serious casualties on board, Afterburner capsized off Kawau Island, Breeze Bender and Snark broke their masts, and Sundancer hit was what thought to be a log.

In 2020, only 26 boats finished thanks to extremely light airs and tricky tides, the other 106 are recorded as a DNF (did not finish).

Last year, for the first time in 39 years, the Coastal Classic was cancelled because of Covid restrictions.

Who are the likely winners for 2022? The multihulls Cation (Graham Catley), Romanza (Dougall Love) and Apache, skippered and owned by Okiato’s Erle Williams, will all be in with a very good chance. Of the monohulls, the likely front-runners are V5, Wired and Mayhem all sailing in division 1a.

The women:

The first all-women crew took part in 1984 on board a 1910 cutter called Maeva, and this team was awarded the Te Hoe o Wairaka trophy carved by Te Hau Tutua.

The trophy is named after Wairaka, daughter of the chief of the Matātua. The canoe she was in beached after it had accidentally been set adrift with only one woman on board.

In 1994, Gayle Melrose and Outward Bound crossed the line ahead of Teresa Borell’s Brightstone. In 2020, Bianca Cook (sharing the skipper duties with Daryl Wislang) won the monohull division with VO65 No. 6.

Tamsin Worsley competed in 2018 on Oro Rosa in a new solo challenge. She came second in this division.

This year, all the women who have entered are in monohulls. Olivia Christie has entered division 2 in her Elliott 12 Total Recall, Claudia Pierce (with Garry Joliffe) is on Kaimai Flyer in division 3, Helen Woods (with Andrew Pardington) is on Zero Tolerance in division 4, and Sarah Pratt is on Young at Heart in division 8.

Irene Muirhead (division 4) is on a Beale 33 called Bellatrix, which means Female Warrior. She purchased the boat in March. It’s her first yacht, her first coastal race, her 40th birthday and the 40th anniversary of the event itself.

For the 2022 event, there aren’t as many women entered as in previous years, but at the time of writing there were still quite a few entries yet to come in.

The Return of the Rally

It’s back. The 36″ Brokers Cruising Rally division has once again been included in the Coastal Classic. The Rally is open to all sailing yachts 6.5m and over.

It’s for the more casual yachties, those who are not hell-bent on getting to the finishing line first, second or even third. The rally starts before the actual race and crews can relax as the fastest of the race fleet sail past, but there are some rules and regulations.

For example, during the voyage the yachts are permitted to use their motor for up to and including four hours. Yachts are not required to carry a liferaft or a dinghy, although crews are advised to wear their lifejackets at all times. Even so, the rules say “there is no significant increase in the risk to safety to any person through not wearing a lifejacket …”

Presumably, they will be going slowly enough, with or without using a motor, that life and limb are not considered to be in jeopardy.

As at the end of September, there were 11 boats entered including the Bavaria 40 boat, Kia Kaha, and the Davidson 55 Starlight Express, both of which have had considerable success in the event over the years.

The after-party
With so many yachties in town and because the event is celebrating its 40th anniversary, the organisers are wanting to create a carnival atmosphere for post-event activity.

They will be hosting games between 1pm and 4pm on the Saturday at the Nauti Penguin, and included is what they call a “good old-fashioned barbecue”.

The games consist of:

Rain-gutter regatta. Yes, it sounds weird, and it is. Two rain-gutters are filled with water, with floating boats. The aim is to use a straw and blow your boat over the finish line. Boat owners and crew go head to head, and it’s open to anyone else who wants to give it a go.

Bean bag toss (or corn hole), which is self-explanatory, and there’s a boat rescue online game.

Josh Leys Band is playing at the after-party. That’s a one-man band and he has nearly 3000 followers on Facebook. On top of self-penning singles and a video, Josh is a hip-hop producer. He has also appeared in international films and a TV series and despite this busy schedule, he’s coming to Russell.