Line honours were settled early at the 2025 PIC Coastal Classic, with the leading yachts already tied up in Russell while much of the fleet was still threading its way north along the Northland coast. The 119 nautical mile race, run by the New Zealand Multihull Yacht Club (NZMYC), once again served up a demanding combination of calm patches, shifting winds, and an overnight slog that tested the patience and tactics of every crew on the water.
Friday morning's start was deceptively pleasant. A gentle south-westerly of around eight knots greeted the fleet at the 10.00 a.m. gun, and Lucky, the 27 metre Juan Kouyoumdjian-designed maxi owned and skippered by Bryon Ehrhart, made her intentions clear almost immediately. Off Kawau Island by early afternoon and moving at roughly 10 knots, she had opened up a comfortable buffer over the chasing pack by the time dusk settled over Bream Head. As evening wore on, the breeze softened and much of the fleet slowed to somewhere between 3 and 5 knots, picking their way carefully along the coast. At 1.00 a.m. Lucky was still closing in on Cape Brett in near-glassy conditions, but the forecast southerly materialised just after 2.00 a.m. and she was the first to feel it. The maxi accelerated past 10 knots, rounded the Cape, and drove hard for the finish.
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Lucky crossed the line in Russell at 3.22 a.m. on Saturday, posting a time of 17 hours, 22 minutes, and 55 seconds to claim line honours. Jim Murray's Pac52 Callisto had also found the new southerly and finished at 6.13 a.m., with Mayhem, the 15.8 metre TP52 co-skippered by Harry Dodson and Tony Bosnyak, completing the top three at 6.33 a.m. Wired, the Bakewell White TP52 campaigned by Rob Bassett and Brett Russell, crossed fourth at 7.23 a.m. Just minutes behind came Sassinate, Mikayla Plaw's 12 metre Melges 40, which finished fifth overall and first in Division 1B. Plaw and her crew had kept company with some of the quickest boats in the fleet throughout the race, making theirs one of the more impressive performances of the day.
As the morning progressed, a steady stream of boats made their way into Russell. Among the early arrivals were Explore Racing, William Goodfellow's Elliott 50 SS; Clockwork, Steve Mair's Shaw 12; Alegre, Vaughn Clarke's Soto 40; Blue Dude, Chris Hornell's Shaw 9; CAT+ION, Graham Catley's Roger Hill 18.5 metre catamaran; Rehab, Mike Sanderson's Shaw 35; Wild Card; and Ultraviolet, Laurent Lhermitte's Blade Runner. Further back, the bulk of the fleet was still making northward progress, carried along by a modest but reasonably consistent breeze.
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With Lucky, Callisto, and Mayhem clear at the top of the results, the battle for the positions behind them was anything but straightforward. Tight finishes and a course that constantly shifted in character meant that for the majority of competitors the race became as much about composure and decision-making as outright boat speed. The 2025 PIC Coastal Classic has again shown why it ranks among the most rewarding offshore challenges New Zealand has to offer.
