Ocean Race to have New Zealand entry as Aotearoa Ocean Racing launched

For the first time in more than a decade, a New Zealand-flagged boat is set to be on the starting line for the Ocean Race.

While there have been plenty of Kiwis involved in the famed around-the-world sailing race in recent editions, not since Camper made the voyage in 2012 has a New Zealand boat been involved.

For the 2027 edition, Kiwi duo Conrad Colman and Rowan Gyde have founded Aotearoa Ocean Racing, which they hope can become something of a national team in the pinnacle event.

“The goal is to create a national sailing team and to open the doors as wide as we possibly can to get as many Kiwi sailors on board the boat, also technicians and members of the marine industry,” Colman told the Herald.

“It’s a big, big team sport, not only on the water, but clearly the technicians and the mechanics that work on the boat have a direct impact on how successful we can be on the water as well.

“It’s not a sailing team and a shore team, it’s one team altogether, and we’re trying to get as many Kiwis as we can into that.”

Plans are under way for a new foiling IMOCA boat to be designed and built with as much Kiwi involvement as possible, with bases planned for New Zealand and France, while they are also working on assembling a sailing team.

That team is expected to feature plenty of Kiwis, although it is not expected to exclusively involve New Zealanders. As for how the squad will be comprised, Colman was hopeful of bringing in some younger athletes as well as more experienced heads.

Colman, who grew up in Auckland inspired by the then-Whitbread round-the-world race and is now based in France, launches the team after completing his second Vendee Globe race – a non-stop solo around-the-world event sailed on IMOCA 60s, the same class now used in the Ocean Race.

The commitment to launching a New Zealand-flagged team comes as the Ocean Race is set to return to New Zealand in 2027, with a two-week stopover in Auckland in March.

A call was made in 2021 that New Zealand would not feature in the most recent edition of the event due to the unpredictable nature of the Covid-19 pandemic at the time.

The group has already secured some support from corporate sponsors but is seeking further interest as it looks to build a competitive outfit.

“It’s not binary go or woe. We will be there, we will be present, and then what we’re doing is trying to create the resources which will allow us to be successful and create a really high-quality team, which Kiwis are used to,” Colman said.

“We’ve got a terrible habit of winning things and we’d like to maintain that connection. I’ve talked about how inspired I was by years gone by of New Zealanders coming and winning this race, and that is absolutely our overall ambition.

“I kind of feel like I’m standing on the shoulders of giants that have come before me, and I’ve got a lot of respect for our history as a country and as a culture of doing this event.

“It’s not something that we take lightly to launch a team to come and do this as Kiwis, because there is that expectation that it is their history and we want to honour that as well as we can.”

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