When The Ocean Race makes its 2027 stopover in Auckland, New Zealand will have a genuine stake in proceedings. That ambition will be visible well before the fleet arrives, with Conrad Colman set to appear at the 25th Auckland Boat Show alongside representatives from the Aotearoa Ocean Racing campaign and environmental partner Ocean Regeneration Aotearoa.
For anyone who has followed solo offshore racing over the past decade, Colman requires no preamble. Two Vendée Globe campaigns, four circumnavigations in total, and sustained involvement in the IMOCA fleet, where the competition sits at the absolute peak of offshore racing. Few New Zealanders have earned that kind of standing in the discipline.
What has distinguished his recent campaigns is as much about philosophy as performance. Colman raced his Vendée Globe projects without burning fossil fuels, relying instead on renewable energy generation and rigorous power management aboard. It was not a marketing position or a badge on the hull. It shaped real decisions offshore, from how systems were run to how situations were managed at sea. The compromises were genuine, and so was the commitment.
Building toward The Ocean Race 2027
The Aotearoa Ocean Racing campaign is working toward a foiling IMOCA entry for The Ocean Race 2027, with genuine New Zealand involvement in the design, construction and technology behind the boat. Europe remains the operational centre of IMOCA racing, so a French base is a practical necessity. The programme nonetheless intends to maintain meaningful capability and presence in New Zealand throughout the build-up.
The campaign's stated goals go beyond competitive results. Youth development, greater female participation, stronger Māori engagement in offshore sailing and the broader marine sector, and a clear sustainability framework all form part of what the team has outlined. These are not unusual ambitions for a modern offshore programme, but they carry particular weight given the home stopover context.
New Zealand has a long record of producing sailors who reach the highest levels of ocean racing. Translating that into a sustained, well-resourced IMOCA programme has consistently proved more difficult. The 2027 Auckland stopover provides both the motivation and the deadline to push further than before.
A fitting stage at the Auckland Boat Show
The Auckland Boat Show runs from 5 to 8 March 2026 at the Viaduct Events Centre. Reaching its 25th edition this year, the event draws strong domestic and international participation, with more than a kilometre of boats on display on the water.
Stacey Cook from the Auckland Boat Show has spoken to why the team's appearance at the show carries significance.
“With more than 200 boats and many thousands of visitors expected, the 25th Auckland Boat Show provides a great platform to showcase Team Aotearoa Racing and its vision.”
For visitors, the opportunity to hear directly from Colman is worth taking seriously. Foiling IMOCA monohulls have fundamentally changed what offshore racing demands of sailors and their teams. Managing these boats requires a different approach to systems, preparation and decision-making at sea. First-hand perspective on how the modern IMOCA environment actually operates is not easily found outside the race circuit itself.
The show will again feature dedicated areas covering careers in the marine industry, sustainability initiatives, charter operations and on-water demonstrations. A New Zealand-led offshore campaign with an eye on 2027 fits naturally within that context.
A long game for offshore sailing
Headlines will come when the 2027 fleet arrives in Auckland. The groundwork that determines how competitive New Zealand can be is being laid right now, through design choices, funding structures and the development of the people who will sail and support the campaign.
Colman's presence at the Auckland Boat Show marks a visible point in that process, confirmation that the project is moving and that its ambitions are being taken seriously. For those who follow offshore sailing closely, it signals intent. For the wider marine industry, it raises the question that always surfaces around these campaigns: whether New Zealand can convert its offshore heritage into something modern, sustained and properly resourced at the IMOCA level.
The next twelve months will begin to provide an answer.
