The weekend kicked off at Hamilton's Classics Museum, where Scrutineering and the Show 'N Shine brought together polished chrome, local brews, and a crackle of anticipation ahead of racing on the Mighty Waikato. Among the highlights of the display, Nic de Mey Yachts' Phantom Powerboats unveiled their new F2 model, a clean debut that earned praise for its stiffness and balance after running without fault in testing. Event host Andrew Murphy set the mood early, promising "an absolutely epic weekend" as crews, families, and fans packed the forecourt.
Saturday arrived with heat shimmering off the river, and the 2025 NZ Bridge 2 Bridge Waterski Classic wasted no time. Team Sapphire, crewed by driver Tim Pickford, observer Jack Battye, and skiers Cameron and Lachlan Nix, took command from the outset. Their time-trial runs produced a downriver leg of 7 minutes 44 seconds and an upriver leg of 8 minutes 06 seconds, combining for a total of 15 minutes 50 seconds, enough to claim both Open Class honours and the overall title.
To put that performance in context, last year's winners Team Superman had set their benchmark at 15 minutes 23 seconds, meaning Sapphire finished just 27 seconds shy of the 2024 mark. Behind them, Messiah completed the course in 16 minutes 44 seconds, while Pumpindough rounded out the podium positions with a time of 17 minutes 11 seconds.
The Phantom-built contingent also made a strong impression across the time trials. War Machine, Grey Matter, and Lucifer each posted fault-free runs, a result that underlined the brand's expanding footprint in New Zealand ski racing.
Weather delays on Sunday disrupted the long race, and final results from that session were yet to be confirmed. The time-trial performances had already told the story clearly enough. Sapphire's sub-16-minute pace now stands as the reference point for precision teamwork and setup execution on the Waikato, a mark that will have every competing crew calculating over the off-season.
The river will be waiting again next year, same noise, same current, and the same unforgiving clock. Whether Sapphire can be caught remains the question worth coming back for.
