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It wasn't a race for records but the PIC Coastal Classic was spectacular in its own way.
The annual event, which has been running for 35 years, typically marks the start of the summer boating season and the fleet of 165 boats started the 119-mile journey from Auckland to Russell in beautiful reaching weather.
Frank Racing once again took line honours, finishing in seven hours and eight minutes, which was well short of its race record of 5hrs 13mins. Awen was the first monohull another six hours behind. The conditions meant most of the fleet finished in darkness.
“It was pretty light the whole way up here,” said Simon Hull, owner and skipper of Frank Racing. “It got quite light off Kawau and then we had to do a couple sail changes up to our big Code Zero until the breeze filled in a bit.
“It’s not very often that you do the PIC Coastal Classic without having to put a reef in the sail. It was all pretty much as per forecast and there weren’t any surprises.”
V5 took overall honours on PHRF, finishing ahead of Mayhem and Wired, and Clockwork was first on IRC handicap.
There were many meritorious achievements, not least of all Saturday Night Special, helmed by 14-year-old Tim Roper. And the event’s first solo female entrant Tamsin Worsley also completed the race after 27 hours without the use of any self-steering devices.
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.
Results from the 2018 Coastal Classic:
Overall line honours: Frank Racing
First monohull: Awen (line), V5 (handicap / PHRF)
Multihull 8.5 Class: Tigre (line and handicap)
Division 1a: Awen (line), V5 (PHRF)
Division 1b: Ice Breaker (line and handicap)
Division 2: Zealous (line and handicap)
Division 3: Party Girl (line and handicap)
Division 4: E-Nine (line and handicap)
Division 5: Manga II (line and handicap)
Division 6: Frank Racing (line and handicap)
Division 7: Exodus (line and handicap)
Division 8: Infarred (line and handicap)
Division 9: Solo Entrants: Krakatoa II
Full results here.
