Light winds greeted the 2025 PIC Coastal Classic, but the mood across the fleet was anything but subdued. With an 8-knot breeze and clear skies overhead, the scene at Devonport Wharf on Labour Weekend morning had the relaxed energy that has come to define this race. More than ninety boats left the line between 9:30 and 10:00 a.m., ocean racers and family cruisers alike pointing north toward Russell.
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The start sequence unfolded without drama. Category 1A boats, the top monohull division, rounded North Head cleanly and were tracking past Rangitoto Island not long after. Within seventeen minutes, Callisto had carved out a lead over Mayhem, Wired, and Lucky, with Equilibrium and Duchess pressing close behind.
By Narrow Neck Beach, the 1A and 1B fleets had converged into a tight cluster. Viewed from above, the staggered start times made the separate divisions almost indistinguishable, the whole gathering resembling one sprawling super-fleet rather than a collection of distinct categories.
One boat generating particular warmth among followers was Thistle, the sole entrant in Category 8, the family-friendly division. The crew had turned the start into something of a celebration, with a chef on board and breakfast served around 10:30. Foresails and frying pans coexisted cheerfully, and the crew shared videos and updates throughout the day, offering readers an inside view of what the Coastal looks like when enjoyment matters as much as elapsed time.
As the fleet spread out across the Hauraki Gulf, light conditions placed a premium on good tactics and precise timing. Margins between boats were already tight, and with the passage to Russell expected to take anywhere between 12 and 20 hours, the battle for line honours was only just beginning to take shape. The sound of sails filling and the faint aroma drifting from Thistle's galley said it plainly enough: the Coastal Classic was well and truly underway.
