Dates set, NOR out, entries open: Oceanbridge Sail Auckland 2027 is go!
Entries Open for Oceanbridge Sail Auckland 2027
Article by Suellen Hurling, Live Sail Die
Dust off the trailer and check your measurement certificate: New Zealand's premier youth and Olympic classes regatta is locked in for February 2027, the Notice of Race has dropped, and entries are open now.
Oceanbridge Sail Auckland returns to Torbay Sailing Club on Auckland's North Shore, with registration on Wednesday 10 February and four days of racing from Thursday 11 to Sunday 14 February 2027. Yachting New Zealand is the organising authority, and entries close at 5pm on Thursday 28 January 2027.
Who can enter - More than 100 sailors from New Zealand and overseas are expected across twelve classes.
Single-handed: ILCA 6, ILCA 7, Waszp, kitefoil, wingfoil, iQFOiL 7.3m and iQFOiL 8m.
Double-handed: 420, mixed 470, 29er, 49er and 49erFX.
That's the full Olympic pathway on one racecourse: youth sailors in 420s, 29ers and ILCA 6s sharing a venue with the people they're trying to become. The Waszp is on the class list this time, giving the foiling dinghy crowd a proper national-level stage.
Last summer: the world came to Torbay
The 2026 edition was the strongest international field the regatta has seen in years: more than 160 sailors from 14 countries, including a stack of Paris 2024 Olympians, racing over four (mostly light) days.
Seb Menzies and George Lee Rush defended their 49er title by more than 30 points, with Switzerland's Sebastian Schneiter and Arno De Planta second and Mattias Coutts and Oscar Gunn third. Since then the pair have been named finalists for Team of the Year at the 2026 World Sailing Awards, and with Paris silver medallists Isaac McHardie and Will McKenzie stepping back from the class, the race for New Zealand's LA 2028 49er spot is going to be an epic watch.
The ILCA 6 came down to a single point, with Switzerland's Maud Jayet edging American Olympian Erika Reineke. Greta Pilkington was the top Kiwi woman in fourth, her younger brother Tom finished third overall, and up and comer Chloe Turner was in the mix and will be ready to pounce at the next event. In the ILCA 7, George Gautrey crossed the line to win the final race and the regatta, only to lose the title to Britain's Micky Beckett in the protest room.
Germany's Jannis Maus won the kitefoil grand final in a fleet that included Paris Olympic Gold Medalist Ellie Aldridge. In the iQFOiL, Aimee Bright beat a field including Veerle ten Have, then went on to win the iQFOiL Under-23 World Championship in Poland in October. Nicola and Rebecca Hume took the 49erFX, 2025 RS Feva girls world champions Zofia Wells and Charlotte Handley won seven of ten races in the 420, and Blake Batten and Hugo Smith won the 29er after only a few weeks sailing together.
Why it's a must-do on the Kiwi calendar
For youth sailors, it's the rare chance to line up against Olympians and world champions without buying a plane ticket. You learn more chasing a Paris medallist round a windward mark for four days than you will from a season of club racing.
For Olympic campaigners, it lands right before the European season, so it's the last hit-out at home against real international opposition. With LA 2028 selection heating up across several classes, results here get noticed.
And for everyone else, it's a great few days to watch the best of New Zealand sailing up close at Torbay. Yachting New Zealand chief executive Steve Armitage summed up last year's event by noting it isn't every day so many Olympic sailors and world champions race "in our backyard". Get in for February, then stick around: The Ocean Race fleet is due into Auckland the following week.
Key details
- Event: 2027 Oceanbridge Sail Auckland
- Venue: Torbay Sailing Club, Auckland
- Registration: Wednesday 10 February 2027
- Racing: Thursday 11 – Sunday 14 February 2027
- Entries close: 5pm, Thursday 28 January 2027
- Notice of Race and entry form: yachtingnz.org.nz/2027-oceanbridge-sail-auckland
- Enquiries: Samantha Knights, samantha@yachtingnz.org.nz
Get amongst it sports fans!
This article was originally published by Suellen Hurling on Live Sail Die
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