The trimaran Frank Racing approaches the finish line in Russell as it wins the Coastal Classic.
The trimaran Frank Racing approaches the finish line in Russell as it wins the Coastal Classic.
The trimaran Frank Racing has once again won the Coastal Classic, arriving at Russell at 5.08pm on Friday with a race time of 7 hours 8 minutes 33 seconds. The course record is 5 hours 13 minutes, set by Frank Racing (then Team Vodafone Sailing) in 2014.
It was theeighth Coastal win for Frank - including last year's victory and a series of wins when the boat was known as Team Vodafone.
Foiling kiteboarders Sam Bullock and Matt Taggart were the first to reach Russell but were not official competitors. The 20m Kia Kaha, skippered by Opua's Chris Hornell, was one of Northland's top contenders but suffered a snapped halyard late on Friday afternoon. A crew member was sent up the mast in a bid to carry out repairs.
Considering the fleet were on the wind for the entire race from Auckland to Russell, the PIC Coastal Classic was deemed "a good one" by competitors, who were enjoying the Bay of Islands sunshine after the race. As the annual event that marks the start of the summer boating season, it certainly didn't disappoint.
John Muir, ex-commodore of the Royal Akarana Yacht Club, gave an overview of the race on board his boat Georgia One, with provisional results placing them 7th in division 1b.
"It was a good sail, we were lucky with the weather really." Muir said.
"We came up on one board, there was no tacking, and we had Mojo and Titanium behind and in sight within a half-a-mile the whole way up. We did really well … until the last 20 minutes. We stayed in close to shore toward the finish line when we should have gone out. They both got us right on the finish line, and Cotton Blossom did too unfortunately."
Logan Fraser of C U Later said the exact same thing happened to them. Tactics came into play to the very end, which was difficult as many boats finished in the fog early on Saturday morning, it was difficult to pick where the breeze would best carry them in to the finish line.
Another boat, Carpe Diem, described the final run into the finish line from Cape Brett like "a turtle chasing its prey".
The race's first solo female entrant, Tamsin Worsley, persevered through 27 hours of racing without any self-steering devices before crossing the finish line in front of family and friends at 12.40pm on Saturday - just in time for her mum's birthday lunch at The Duke of Marlborough Hotel at1.30pm.
Last year, Tamsin's brother Matthew Flynn won the inaugural trophy for single-handed sailors. He was also the first solo sailor across the finish line this year.
