In a fleet dominated by giants, Gizmo carries a story built on grit, generosity, and one of the most unexpected Kiwi challenges in this year's Sydney Hobart.
When the first article on Kiwi boats racing in the 2025 Rolex Sydney to Hobart Yacht Race was published, four entries made the list: Callisto, Rum Bucket, V5, and Vixen Racing. Those were the boats registered as New Zealand entries. Gizmo, by contrast, appeared as a NSW boat sailing under the CYCA flag, sitting unremarkably among the Australian contingent. Her backstory kept her out of the picture entirely, and it was only after Marc Michel made contact that the full story came to light.
*A small boat with a story that refused to stay quiet*
Sydney Harbour on Boxing Day has a way of making anything under sixty feet look small. The maxis tower above the rest of the fleet. Their rigs climb high above the dock. Their crews carry the assurance of deep programmes and long seasons together. The cameras, the noise, and the spectacle all tilt in their direction.
Somewhere on that same dock sits a 36-foot Jeanneau Sun Fast with a Kiwi skipper, a Kiwi backstory, and a campaign that came close to never getting off the ground.
Gizmo will not command attention at the start. She will not drag the fleet through the Heads. But she may well carry the most heartfelt story in the 80th edition of the Rolex Sydney Hobart.
Her road to Boxing Day bears no resemblance to the polished, well-funded build-ups of the big campaigns. It is a story shaped by chance, resilience, and one quietly remarkable act of generosity.
*A partnership tested early and reshaped by reality*
Gizmo's owner, Robert Drury, had committed to a Rolex Sydney to Hobart Yacht Race campaign alongside experienced Kiwi sailor Marc Michel as co-skipper. Michel is well known across New Zealand's offshore scene through his work with Niksen and time spent aboard the supermaxi Zana. Together, the pair chose the Bird Island Race as their first significant outing in the Audi Centre Sydney Blue Water Pointscore.
Because they had not yet accumulated their qualifying miles together, the race committee required Gizmo to start five minutes behind the rest of the fleet. A frustrating position, but the kind of hurdle offshore sailors learn to absorb and move past.
The race itself proved demanding from the moment the boat cleared the Heads. A long beat north with easing and building pressure, followed by squalls and a swift run home under a firm northeaster. Gizmo handled every phase with quiet assurance. She completed the race cleanly, finishing at 1am on Sunday in the way offshore races tend to finish, and beat her fully crewed sistership Wyuna into the bargain.
The result looked encouraging on paper, but behind it lay a turning point.
After that long, punishing race, Drury arrived at the kind of conclusion that only experienced sailors can reach with genuine honesty. The desire for the challenge remained intact. The body, however, was no longer willing to absorb the demands of extended offshore miles. It was a hard admission, but a clear-eyed and fair one.
What he chose to do next shaped everything that followed.
Drury offered to charter Gizmo to Michel so the Hobart campaign could continue without him. No conditions. No drama. A straightforward gesture that blended generosity with respect for the project both men had begun together.
Michel accepted, choosing to represent SSANZ/RNZYS, and the entire direction of the campaign changed.
*A crew formed late but anchored in miles*
With Drury's support confirmed and the calendar pressing, Michel faced a fresh problem. Many of the regular SSANZ two-handed sailors had already committed to Christmas plans well in advance. A double-handed campaign was no longer a practical option. Gizmo would race fully crewed, a decision driven not by ambition but by the desire to spread the load, protect the boat, and keep the whole experience worthwhile.
Out of that constraint came a capable team. Sailors from varied backgrounds, with roughly fifty Hobarts between them. Not a squad assembled over a long season, but a practical, Kiwi-style solution to a late-forming campaign. Good sailors, good chemistry, and a collective appetite for offshore miles.
To avoid any confusion mid-campaign, Michel asked CYCA to keep Gizmo listed as a NSW entry until the incoming crew had completed their qualification. The club agreed, and Gizmo remained quietly off the radar on paper while the real work continued on the water.
*Cabbage Tree Island: the qualifying race that lit the fuse*
The opportunity to prove themselves came in the Cabbage Tree Island Race, the last major offshore event before the Sydney Hobart and a well-earned reputation as a thorough test of readiness. Long enough to reveal any weaknesses, and short enough to punish anyone who loses focus.
The goal for Gizmo was straightforward. Finish safely. Keep the boat whole. Earn the qualification needed to line up on Boxing Day.
Gizmo went considerably further than that.
She beat both other Sun Fast 3600s in the race, Wyuna and Beautemps, on both line honours and corrected time. For a boat that had only recently assembled its full crew, it was a bold result. In a fleet that featured maxis and mini maxis setting the pace, Gizmo showed the composure and balance that pointed toward something promising in Hobart.
For a campaign stitched together under time pressure, it was exactly the signal needed. The boat had pace. The crew had found their rhythm. The path to the start line was clear.
*Racing among giants but carving her own line*
To understand Gizmo's position in this fleet, it helps to consider her surroundings. The Rolex Sydney to Hobart Yacht Race is Australia's premier offshore race, and the front of the fleet is stacked with formidable boats. These programmes set the tempo of the series, claim line honours, attract the coverage, and race with the precision that professional teams bring. They are the story that most people follow.
Gizmo races in an entirely different part of that picture. She is a mid-sizer with modest waterline length and a compact crew, and that contrast is what gives her story its shape. In a race where the giants drive hard down the coast, Gizmo represents the seamanship and commitment that tend to sit further back in the pack, well away from the spotlights but no less real.
Her result in the Cabbage Tree Island Race, her resilience during the Bird Island Race, and her place on the start line for the 2025 Sydney Hobart are all reminders that offshore racing still rewards determination as much as it rewards raw boat speed.
