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8 - 9 March 2024

The PIC Harbour Classic

Bought to you by the organisers of the legendary coastal classic.

Be part of this one-of-a-kind experience

New Zealanders are never one to be left behind when it comes to new adventures, new challenges and yacht racing. Our philosophy is “if they can do it, so can we”. And so we are!

Introducing the PIC HARBOUR CLASSIC!

Based on the famous Barcolona Regatta in Trieste developed more than 50 years ago, this event combines a competitive yacht race, a bewitching spectacle, and a festival.

Just like the Coastal Classic the Barcolona Regatta started with a small number of boats.  It now holds the Guinness World Record as the largest regatta in the world with 2689 boats competing and is the biggest event for the city of Trieste.

And now it’s our turn!

Dedicated to all lovers of the sea and sailing and those who do not want to miss out on a one-of-a-kind experience, the PIC Harbour Classic will take place on 8th and 9th of March 2024.

On the same starting line expert sailors, sailing lovers, enthusiasts, and your simple family yachts race side by side on boats of different sizes divided into several divisions according to their overall length.

Wynyard Quarter and Jellicoe Wharf is our host venue where competing boats will be moored, and the party and prizegiving will be held.

More comprehensive details will be updated in due course.

Regatta Schedule

Schedule of events - monday 29 january 2024, dragon boat racing.

0930-1600hrs

Viaduct Harbour 360 Dragon Boaters will race throughout the day, with great viewing from around the Viaduct Harbour.

Tugboat Race & Display

1000-1045hrs

Westhaven Tugboats will race from Westhaven to Orakei and back, followed by a Tugboat Display off Westhaven at 1105hrs.

Classic Launch Race

Westhaven Classic Launches will race from Westhaven to Orakei and back.

Classic Yacht Races

Westhaven (start) The spectacular fleet of heritage A Class vessels start their race at Westhaven. Come and see one of the biggest fleets of authentically restored vessels in the world.

1300-1700hrs

Orakei Wharf (finish) Classic Yachts will finish at Resolution Buoy, best viewed from Orakei Wharf.

Modern Keelboat Races

Westhaven (start) Modern Classics start at 1205hrs, followed by the prestigious Division 1-3 keelboats, then B Classics, at 5 minute intervals.

Orakei Wharf (finish) Keelboats will finish at Resolution Buoy, best viewed from Orakei Wharf.

Waka Ama & Waka Hourua

Westhaven Waka Ama paddlers are scheduled to start their race off Westhaven.

Westhaven Waka Hourua are scheduled to start their race off Westhaven.

Keelboat Passage Races

Mahurangi (start) Keelboat passage races start from Mahurangi.

Rakino (start) Keelboat passage races start from Rakino.

Dinghy, Foiling & Skiff Racing

Royal Akarana Yacht Club Optimist & Starling 3 day Auckland Championships

Murrays Bay Sailing Club 420; 29er: 49er; 49erFX

Narrow Neck Beach Sea Scout Cutters; Navy Crown; Sunbursts

*Update 28 Jan, 2030hrs: Due to the forecast, Sea Scouts will relocate to Lake Pupuke

Northcote Birkenhead Yacht Club RS Quest; RS Aero

Manly Sailing Club O’pen Skiff; RS Feva; Zephyrs; Cherubs; Wingfoil

Takapuna Boating Club 27-29 January 2024 Two Day Event and One Day Event FOILING Classes: Windfoil; Kite foil; Nacra 15/17; Waszp; Moths; A Class DINGHY Classes: Farr 3.7

Tamaki Yacht Club Laser; Laser Radial; Laser 4.7

Radio Controlled Yacht Racing

Westhaven Marina Electron fleet

St Mary’s Bay International One Metre fleet

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PARTICIPANTS SPECTATORS NEWS RESULTS GALLERY ABOUT

© Copyright 2020 Auckland Anniversary Regatta Website by Karebou Web Design

Friday 25 October 2024

The organising club.

THE GREAT RACE NORTH

If there is one race that you do this year, make it the PIC Insurance Brokers Coastal Classic. This challenging coastal race is one of the biggest of its type in the world, and it's long marked the opening of the summer sailing season for many hundreds of Kiwi boaties. Whether you are aiming to compete for line honours, or to complete it because it's something you've always wanted to do, make this your year! 

Take a look at the three key stages of the race from Auckland to Russell.

THE HISTORY 

Check out our three decades of New Zealand sailing history. 

All yachts are invited, but this race is  c/0 the New Zealand Multihull Yacht Club. 

Win a trip to Barcelona for the 37th America's Cup and support the coastal at the same time!

Wrapping up PIC Coastal Classic, welcoming PIC Harbour Classic

Paying tribute to a remarkable man and an accomplished sailor

Melges 40 Clockwork takes top handicap honours and unofficial record in PIC Coastal Classic

Wired first boat home in 41st race

Startline shifted to Narrow Neck Beach

A2T POSTPONED UNTIL 2025

Read the announcement here.

View the 2023 race results here and photo gallery  here ! ​

ALTEX YACHT & BOAT PAINT

TYPBC is proud to have

Altex Yacht & Boat Paint

as the premier name sponsor of the Auckland to Tauranga Race.

Stay in the loop.

Why iconic Whitbread Round the World race boats are arriving in Auckland this week

Christopher Reive

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Sir Peter Blake skippered Steinlager 2 to a win in the 1989-90 edition of the Whitbread Round the World race. Photo / Photosport

Half a century ago, 19 yachts set out from Portsmouth, England, in a race around the world.

The race featured just three stops on the way, three sailors were swept overboard and lost their lives, and the winner crossed the finish line 152 days after setting sail.

Though it has many known by many names since, that first Whitbread Round the World race was the start of what has become an iconic event in the sailing world.

It’s an event that particularly resonates with Kiwis, following the success of Steinlager 2 in the 1989-90 edition. Skippered by Sir Peter Blake , and featuring an all-star crew including Brad Butterworth , Tony Rae and Kevin Shoebridge , Steinlager 2 won its edition of the race and is the only yacht to claim line honours in every leg of the race. It was the first year that the race had included more stopovers, with six legs instead of four. In the previous edition, Blake skippered Lion New Zealand to second place.

Kiwi successes continued in the following edition, which featured seven legs, when Grant Dalton skippered NZ Endeavour to victory. That edition also saw the arrival of the Whitbread 60 class, a smaller, purpose-built vessel, which ran alongside the maxis, and Japanese entry Yamaha, skippered by Kiwi Ross Field, was the first of the new class across the line.

This week, a race featuring boats designed before 1988 and celebrating the 50th anniversary of the first Whitbread Round the World event will sail into Auckland to complete its second leg. It comes at a welcome time for Auckland sailing fans, after the City of Sails missed out on hosting recent or upcoming editions of the America’s Cup , SailGP and The Ocean Race.

While The Ocean Race itself has moved with the times, the Ocean Globe Race is a tribute to its origins. Of the 13-strong fleet, seven of the vessels were raced during an edition of the Whitbread race.

The first boats are expected to arrive in the Waitematā Harbour between 8am and midday on Tuesday, with Italian entry Translated 9 leading the fleet ahead of Finland vessel Spirit of Helsinki, while the rest of the fleet is expected to filter in over the next couple of weeks.

The Ocean Globe Race follows a similar route to that of the early four-leg editions, with stops in Cape Town, Auckland and Punta del Este (Uruguay) before returning to Southampton in what is expected to be an eight-month voyage.

It is billed as a return to the spirit of the original race, with everyday sailors relying on sextants and paper charts. Ocean Globe Race founder Don McIntyre said he wanted to put together an event that gave ordinary sailors the chance to experience such an adventure with the current iteration of The Ocean Race dominated by professionals.

“I wanted to recreate that feeling, where ‘ordinary’ sailors could experience that special adventure, denied them ever since it became fully professional as the Volvo race. They were super exciting events, but left the average sailor behind 30 years ago,” McIntyre said.

During the stopover in Auckland – with the fleet scheduled to depart on leg three in mid-January – both Lion New Zealand and Steinlager 2 will berth alongside the Ocean Globe Race yachts in Wynyard Marina.

Christopher Reive joined the Herald sports team in 2017, bringing the same versatility to his coverage as he does to his sports viewing habits.

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Latest News: Translated 9 Finally Home – McIntyre OGR

days hrs mins secs

× The start/finish home port and prologue port will be announced soon.

Starting in Southampton in September 2023, the OGR is a 27,000-mile sprint around the globe, spread across four legs, taking in the Southern Ocean and the three Great Capes.

Stopovers will include Cape Town, Auckland and Punta del Este, before finishing back in the UK in April 2024.

To win the OGR challenge is to be first in class or handicap overall winner. In the spirit of adventure, the event will be sailed under International Collision Regulations.

• FIRST LEG: Start 10 September 2023. 7800 miles. First boats finish 9-21 October 2023.
• SECOND LEG: Start 5 November 2023. 7250 miles. First boats finish 14-23 December 2023.
• THIRD LEG: Start 14 January 2024. 6200 miles. First boats finish 9-18 February 2024.
• FOURTH LEG: Start 5 March. 6550 miles. Finish 1-10 April 2024.

Race Start: Ocean Village Marina, Southampton UK

By hosting the start of this retro edition of the historic race at our Ocean Village Marina, we’re hoping to recreate the jubilant atmosphere of the early races, welcoming crowds of supporters, capturing the imagination of visitors and inspiring the next generation of round the world sailors. Tim Mayer, MDL Marinas

Visit Ocean Village Marina

Cape Town, South Africa

Visit Cape Town Waterfront

Auckland, New Zealand

It is truly fitting that Auckland would host the race's third stopover in 2023. We look forward to formalising this arrangement in the coming weeks with the Ocean Globe Race organisers. Chris Simpson, Head of Major Events, Tātaki Auckland

Visit Auckland

Punta del Este, Uruguay

The Yacht Club Punta del Este is thrilled to welcome the Ocean Globe Race. We look forward to working with OGR's fantastic team and receiving the intrepid sailors whose courage and determination keep the spirit of the Whitbread alive. Juan Etcheverrito, Commodore of Yacht Club Punta del Este

Yacht Club Punta del Este

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Published on December 12th, 2023 | by Assoc Editor

Ocean Globe Race: Roaring into Auckland

Published on December 12th, 2023 by Assoc Editor -->

The Italian Swan 65 Translated 9, skippered by Vittorio Malingri, crossed the finish line on December 12 to take first in line honors, provisional IRC and Flyer Class in the 2023-24 Ocean Globe Race. The second leg of the race began on November 5 for the 7250nm course to Auckland, New Zealand.

This will herald their second IRC win, having taken the title in the Leg One race, Southampton to Cape Town. The ten-strong crew were determined to retain the prestigious title in the Cape Town to Auckland leg and their dogged determination paid off.

“We went south, you have to go south, that is how you sail around the world,” said Malingri. “Some days in the fog it was one degree, four degrees. We didn’t see the sun for two weeks! But we are so happy to be here. New Zealand is an amazing country.”

Vittiorio, whose father Franco, and uncle, Doi, took part in the first Whitbread Round the World Race in 1973. And now his son Nico, is the first mate on board Translated 9.

“It feels so good to be here,” noted Nico Malingri. “It feels just amazing. It was a technical leg and we didn’t have any big storms so we managed to push at the right time and keep cool when it was necessary. The crew performed amazingly.”

The OGR, a race celebrating the 50th Anniversary of Whitbread Round the World Race, means Translated 9’s triumphant return to Auckland is particularly poignant. The yacht and her crew have deep historical connections to the Whitbread and Auckland. In 1977, she sailed into the city under the name ADC Accutrac, skippered by Claire Francis, the first woman to skipper a Whitbread yacht.

“It was a very mild Indian Ocean,” observed Translated 9 navigator Simon Curwen. “Loads of high pressures, no big systems, not too much damage. We’re short a spinnaker pole that folded in half, but apart from that we’re in pretty good shape.”

Translated 9 took the most southerly route of the fleet only being forced north to round the third-way point enroute from Cape Town. They battled with Pen Duick VI throughout the leg with things getting particularly interesting when Pen Duick VI, skippered by Marie Tabarly, took the controversial decision to sail through the Bass Strait between Tasmania and Australia.

For a while, it looked like the gamble might have paid off but Translated 9’s position continued to offer the better winds, aiding her perfectly around the often difficult Cape Reinga. It’s notorious for producing some surprises for rounding the North Island but not so on this occasion.

Translated 9’s finish was followed by Pen Duick VI, Spirit of Helsinki, and Maiden.

The third leg will start January 14, taking the fleet 4980 nm to Punta del Este, Uruguay.

Event information – Race rules – Entry list – Tracker

No longer racing: • Swan 51 Godspeed (USA) – quit after Leg 1

The 2023-24 Ocean Globe Race (OGR) is a fully crewed, retro race, in the spirit of the 1973 Whitbread Round the World Race, marking the 50th Anniversary of the original event. Racing without computers, GPS, and high-tech materials, they navigate with sextants and paper charts. Seven of the fleet are former Whitbread competitors.

Starting in Southampton (UK) on September 10, the OGR is a 27,000-mile sprint around the Globe, divided into four legs that passes south of the three great Capes. The fleet is divided in three classes with stop-overs in Cape Town, South Africa; Auckland, New Zealand; and Punta del Este, Uruguay before returning to Southhampton in April 2024.

2023-24 Ocean Globe Race: FIRST LEG: Start 10 September 2023. 7670 miles. First boats finish 9-21 October 2023. SECOND LEG: Start 5 November 2023. 7250 miles. First boats finish 14-23 December 2023. THIRD LEG: Start 14 January 2024. 4980 miles. First boats finish 9-18 February 2024. FOURTH LEG: Start 5 March. 6550 miles. Finish 1-10 April 2024.

Source: OGR

Tags: Ocean Globe Race

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Maiden wins Ocean Globe Race →

Whitbread history comes full circle →

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By SuperyachtNews 22 Sep 2023

Superyacht racing returns to New Zealand

The new zealand millennium cup announces a number of new entries set to join the 2024 edition….

One of the world's most iconic, and southern, superyacht sailing regattas is returning with new entrants in 2024. Brand new to the racing is 60 metre Perini Navi, Perseus^3, with race watchers excited to see her unique features - including the tallest carbon fibre mast built and extensive sail area - put to use on the Auckland race course.

“Perseus^3 was built to race specification and we’ve enjoyed building her reputation on the course across the world’s great superyacht regattas. With a race crew which has become known for its spirit and camaraderie, we’re looking forward to bringing Perseus^3 to New Zealand’s waters and letting her show her ability during the New Zealand Millennium Cup,” says Burger van der Walt, captain of Perseus^3.

It will join other early entries to the race including Royal Huisman’s Sassafras, the crew of which is competing after the regatta’s two-year hiatus.

“The team on Sassafras is excited at the prospect of racing in the New Zealand Millennium Cup after a two-year hiatus. The Waitemata Harbour and Hauraki Gulf offer a world-class sailing venue, with the backdrop of the City of Sails, home of the holder of the America’s Cup. We look forward to competing with visiting yachts and crews, to make the New Zealand Millennium Cup 2024 the best yet,” says Matt Lovett, captain of S/Y Sassafras.  

Joining the race for the first time will be a fleet of multihulls. With a resurgence of cruising activity in the South Pacific, and growing numbers of the superyacht fleet forecast to arrive in the next seasons, this multihull class is set to offer a new aspect to the regatta’s racing with strong interest from Kiwi owners.

The regatta will take place from 23 to 26 February 2024 and will be raced on Auckland’s waters for the first time since 2013. It will form part of 2024’s inaugural Moana Auckland Festival; a celebration of the integral role of the sea in Auckland’s cultural and economic life.

The entry form and notice of race are available online now at millenniumcup.com. The regatta is comprised of New Zealand Millennium Cup, Multihull, and Corinthian divisions, with the role of principal race officer filled by Harold Bennett.

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The Royal New Zealand Yacht Squadron is New Zealand’s leading yacht club, with an illustrious history dating back to our formation in 1871. The RNZYS is still the official home of the America’s Cup after Emirates Team New Zealand, representing the RNZYS, defended the oldest sporting trophy in the world at the 36th America’s Cup in Auckland in 2021. The RNZYS has a wide range of events taking place to mark this momentous occasion. With thousands of races per calendar year, many social events and a Members Bar open seven days a week, we invite you to join us and enjoy what we have to offer.

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