A new single handed division is part of the 2016 PIC Insurance Brokers Coastal Classic, which launched its 2016 event today.
“We can see that more and more people are keen on short handed sailing. By recognising single handed sailors with their own division, we hope that more will decide to take up the challenge”, says race director Matthew Flynn.
With a mass start and coastal race course, this will be a challenging exercise in endurance for single handed sailors.
“At 119 nautical miles it’s a long enough race that as a solo sailor you need to think through feeding, sleeping, navigating and helming very carefully,” says Flynn.
There are 16 official divisions in total, with individual classes acknowledged if more than five boats of one type enter, and an overall prize for the winning keelboat on PHRF - introduced several years ago to recognise the prestige of the overall winner.
A new website has been launched this year that is packed with informative advice for new and returning entrants, and clinics will be held to help provide boat owners with the necessary advice and support to get to the startline, and to make the race a successful one.
“We are very pleased to welcome PIC Insurance Brokers back for their fifth year as headline sponsor of the race,” says Matthew Flynn. “PIC are a company that are genuinely interested in supporting the race, and the New Zealand Multihull Yacht Club is thrilled to have a long standing relationship with this business,” he says.
In Coastal tradition, more than 150 entrants are expected, making this one of the biggest races of its type in the Southern Hemisphere. The race starts from 930am on Friday 21 October off Devonport Wharf in Auckland, and finishes at Russell Wharf in the Bay of Islands. The fastest boats will reach Russell in as little as six hours, but the slowest can take up to two days.
Principal sponsors are PIC Insurance Brokers, Primero Profiles, Zhik, Railblaza, Mt Gay Rum, PredictWind, B&G and Yachting New Zealand. Jerry Clayton BMW and Jackson Electrical also contribute prizes to the event.