Few events on the New Zealand sailing calendar carry quite the same anticipation as the annual race north, and with fewer than three weeks to go, the countdown to this year's PIC Coastal Classic is well and truly under way. The first start is set for 09:30 on Friday, 24 October, off Devonport Wharf.
Billed as New Zealand's largest yacht race, the PIC Coastal Classic has become a Labour Weekend institution. Crews converge on Auckland each spring for the 119-nautical-mile charge to Russell, a course that demands sound tactics, solid seamanship, and no small measure of speed.
Sixty-six boats are already entered, with more anticipated before the 13 October deadline. Fifty-five of those are returning competitors, a figure that speaks volumes about the race's grip on the Kiwi sailing imagination.
Among those coming back is Fez, the 50-foot Warwick design built from Northland kauri by Bruce Warwick in 1986 and owned by Casey and Justine Bellingham. Genuinely quick yet unmistakably classic in character, Fez crossed the line ninth in 2024 but claimed first overall on handicap, and she returns in 2025 with a title to defend.
Wired is another familiar presence at the front of the fleet. The TP52, designed by Brett Bakewell-White and constructed by Lloyd Stevenson Boatbuilders, is owned by Rob Bassett and Brett Russell. With a track record spanning the PIC Coastal Classic, the Round North Island Race, and Bay of Islands Sailing Week, Wired won the event outright in 2023 and is firmly in the conversation again for 2025.
New names are adding their own colour to the entry list. Sassinate, a 2017 Melges 40, is skippered by Mikayla Plaw, who guided the boat to second overall back in 2022. Olympian Sharon Ferris-Choat is also returning to the race, taking the helm of Vixen Racing, a 12.2-metre Verdier 40 that consistently draws attention as one of the fleet's most striking contenders.
PIC Coastal Classic Commodore Adrian Percival says the breadth of the entry list reflects what makes the event so enduring.
“The Coastal always delivers — from glamour yachts to family crews and hard-driving race machines. It’s a celebration of Kiwi sailing, with something for everyone.”
When the cannon fires at 09:30 on Friday, 24 October, Auckland's waterfront will transform once again into a vivid display of sails, colour, and nervous energy. From that moment until the final boat clears the finish line in Russell, the challenge is unchanged: 119 nautical miles of shifting wind, moving tide, and ever-varying coastline, testing every crew from bow to stern.
