Wired and Equilibrium finished last year’s Bay of Islands Sailing Week on opposite sides of the Racing A ledger. The Bakewell-White TP52 took line honours in every race. The Marten 55 won both the EHC and PHRF series on corrected time. In January they meet again, this time without a windward mark in sight, because both have entered Island Racing for 2027.
They head an early list of 21 boats for the 24th edition, sailed out of Opua from 24 to 28 January. The organisers have said they want more than 100.
Rescued by private donors
There was a stretch this year when nobody could say for certain that 2027 would happen. The 2026 regatta left the organisation in real financial trouble. It took a small group of private donors, who paid from their own pockets and asked to stay anonymous, to put it back on its feet.
“The willingness of individuals to personally step forward and support the event financially was incredibly humbling,” BOISW chair Andrew Kearney said at the time. “That commitment has reinvigorated the team.”
The money came after a rough run for the committee. In the lead-up to 2026, a new chair and a new treasurer came on within weeks of each other, and then the secretary’s role fell vacant three weeks before racing. The society has since adopted a new constitution, with the 25th edition due in 2028.
The regatta goes back to 2003. Nina and Tony Kiff came out from the United Kingdom with Cowes Week as their yardstick, and they got the first one away with the help of local sailors.
Last year: rain first, racing later
The 23rd edition was sailed out of the Opua Cruising Club, and it rained. The opening day was lost, the first time that had happened in the regatta’s history, and the conditions kept the Magic 25s ashore altogether. Thirty crews stuck it out. By Friday the forecast had swung to a 16 to 18 knot westerly with sunshine, about as good as the week got.
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Rob Bassett and Brett Russell had Wired first across the line every time. On corrected time, though, Graham Matthews’ Equilibrium was the steadier boat. John Muir’s Farr 43 Georgia One kept chipping away at the handicap results and won the series finale.
Racing B came down to seconds. Matt Gottard’s Shaw 7 Daisy Duke was usually first home. Graeme Lucas’s Elliott 1050 Chain Reaction won the EHC series, and Hans Wehmeyer’s Thompson 850 Men At Work 3 took PHRF on a string of narrow margins. Paul Rudling’s Farr X2 Radix picked up its first EHC win in the final race.
In Racing C, Paul King’s Beneteau First 36 Nautilass took line honours in every race. Even so, she couldn’t shake Giovanni Belgrano’s Young 88 Young Magic, which finished on top of both handicap tables. Ian Templeman’s Farr 920 Farr South won the last race on EHC.
Who’s entered so far
Chain Reaction has followed Wired and Equilibrium into the Island Racing spinnaker fleet, and so has a second TP52. Brian Petersen’s Alan Andrews-designed V5 rates 1.065 on PHRF against Wired’s 1.100. Robert McClelland has entered the Jeanneau 57 First Picasso.
Mark Malpass brings the Cookson 12 Akatea, and Hamish Ivey the Chico 40 Mako II. There are three Ross boats: Kevin Peet’s Blackout, Craig Gardner’s Blarzay and Sinisa Grujicic’s Hotdogger. Jamie Caisley’s Elliott 7.8 Ex Machina and Lode Missiaen’s J88 Juniper fill out the spinnaker list. Anthony Browne’s Zindabar is the first boat into the non-spinnaker division.
Georgia One is staying with Open Racing, which means windward/leeward courses with a bay race thrown in. Mike Sanderson has entered the Shaw 35 Rehab there, and Farr South is back as well.
The Magic 25s get their chance this time. The 2027 regatta doubles as the Sports Boat Class Championship, and both Cliff Gordon’s Cliff Hanger and Brent Gribble’s Magic Dragon are in. They’ll race two Shaws, Craig Partridge’s Animal Biscuits and Grant McInnes’s Orange Peeler, as well as Phil Houghton’s Houghton/Dibley 7.5 Weapon of Choice.
That makes five sportsboats, and five is a number that counts here. Under the Notice of Race, a division needs five starters before a second prize is awarded, and eight before there is a third.
A new base ashore
The race village has moved from the Opua Cruising Club to the Opua clubrooms of the Bay of Islands Swordfish Club, with the action on the lawn alongside. Bay of Islands Sailing Week Inc runs the regatta with the Bay of Islands Yacht Club, Kerikeri Cruising Club, Opua Cruising Club and Russell Boating Club.
Monday is a bay race day for the whole fleet, with up to two races from a combined start. After that the fleets split. Open Racing sails up to three windward/leeward races a day, or two and a bay race, and finishes on Thursday with two windward/leewards and a bay race. Island Racing gets up to two bay races a day.
First warning each day is 11am. Prizegiving on Thursday will be no earlier than 5pm.
There are seven divisions. Boats in A, B and C can choose either format. D takes trailer yachts as well, and N is for non-spinnaker boats in Island Racing. S is for sportsboats and Y for Young 88s, both on the Open course.
Racing takes place inside the Pewhairangi Marine Mammal Sanctuary. Organisers have asked the Department of Conservation for a permit that would exempt competing boats from the sanctuary rules on the start area and while racing.
Early bird closes 1 November
Entry is $299 until 1 November. “We have significantly reduced the Early Bird entry fees to encourage as many boats as possible to register early and be part of the fun on and off the water,” Kearney said when the Notice of Race came out.
After that the fee goes to $449 through November and December, then $549 in January. Entries close at 5pm on 18 January, and PHRF certificates are due by 5pm on the 21st.
Partners
North Sails and Explore Group are the gold partners for 2027. B&G, Bay of Islands Marina, Quality Marine Clothing/SLAM, the Bay of Islands Whangaroa Community Board, Mount Gay Rum, The Opua General Store, Insight Media and Maritime Events are also on board.
Ferry to Ōtehei Bay
Explore also puts its name to the big night out. The Explore Beach Party takes crews by ferry across to Ōtehei Bay for live music, food and drinks as the sun goes down over the Bay. Ferry and party tickets aren’t on sale yet, and the beach party page will have them when they are.
The Notice of Race and entry list are on the event website. Our earlier reports are in the Bay of Islands Sailing Week archive.
