Wired Wins a War of Patience in the PIC Coastal Classic
By Suellen Hurling
Tenacity is the word of the day as the fleet in the 2026 PIC Coastal Classic races against the clock to finish what has been a tormenting and challenging race.
The good news? It hasn’t rained, and that’s a massive positive. The conditions may be light enough to make a feather look overpowered, but at least it’s warm and sunny!
Almost 25 hours after the start, Rob Bassett and his BW52 crew aboard Wired crossed the finish line in Russell at 10:58:25, recording a race time of 24 hours, 58 minutes and 25 seconds.
Cheers erupted aboard Wired as the boat crossed the line. There was undoubtedly plenty of relief at finally getting there, but also good reason to celebrate: 20 years of racing aboard Wired.
Bassett said the milestone had helped motivate the crew to keep going despite the painfully light conditions.
“It’s a 20-year-old boat, so this race was a bit of a celebration,” he said. “We’ve obviously won it before, and I told the guys before we started that we weren’t pulling out, no matter what. This is what it’s all about.
“We had a good game plan, got a really good start and came out of there quickly. We set the pace early, and it was a really good result.”
Bassett said light-air races were often much harder on crews than windy ones.
“As time goes on, tempers can start to fray. You’re constantly asking where you’re going, what you’re doing and how you’re going to keep the boat moving,” he said.
“I don’t know how many sail changes we did, but it was crazy. It comes down to the calibre of your crew and their ability to keep changing gears all the way up the coast.”
Knowing it would be a long race, Wired divided its crew into two watches, something Bassett said they would not normally do for a Coastal Classic.
“In the past, you can run out of energy and stop performing at your best,” he said. “We had some of the young colts on the other watch, with plenty of banter going on all night. You’d be lying in your bunk listening to all the smack. It was pretty hard case.”
Bassett hopes there are still plenty more Coastal Classics ahead of him.
“I absolutely enjoy it. I love sailing in a really competitive environment,” he said. “We always thought you might get 10 years out of a race boat, but Wired has performed way beyond that. She’s done so many miles and has been such a good boat for us.
“We’ve campaigned her hard, around the North Island, in Coastal Classics, to Fiji and everywhere else. We’ve had our share of wins, but this one is pretty special.”
For the remaining fleet, the race is now firmly against the clock. Unfortunately, most boats are unlikely to make the 2pm cut-off, but that doesn’t mean their efforts won’t count.
Under the race rules, every boat that does not reach the finish will still receive a recorded placing, although it will not be eligible for prizes. As yachties, we all start knowing this is a possible outcome, particularly given the forecast and the many warnings from the experts. Sometimes sailing really is about the journey, especially when the journey takes this long.
Wired is the only boat in Division 1A to finish. The remaining boats have called time on their races, withdrawing and either returning to Auckland or continuing to Russell to join the party and prizegiving at the Nauti Penguin this evening.
That means Wired claims overall line honours, Division 1A line honours and first place on PHRF.
A great battle is unfolding in Division 1B between General Lee, Revs, Blue Dude and Alegre. Leading the charge at the time of writing is the BW37 General Lee, skippered by Tim Holgate and Cameron Thorpe.
They are determined to reach the finish line and had just 3.2 nautical miles remaining while travelling at 5.2 knots. The breeze, albeit slight, is holding and could be enough to carry this group across the line. Nobody breathe too heavily near the sails.
Only two multihulls remained in the race: Erle Williams’ Apache crossing at 12:05:49 and Dougall Love’s trimaran Romanza not far behind finishing at 12.21.25.
In Division 2, Nosaka and Drinks Trolley are going hammer and tongs, with the lead continually changing between the two boats. It will be touch and go whether they finish in time, with both approximately 8.5 nautical miles from the line and travelling at around 6.5 knots.
They need the conditions to hold if they are to finish before 2pm. We have confidence in them, and would politely ask the wind not to clock off early.
The Cruising Rally fleet may have had the right idea, with competitors permitted an additional five hours of motoring, bringing the total allowance to 10 hours.
My Fix claimed rally line honours in the early hours of Saturday morning, finishing at 02:41:20. Lady Nada followed just minutes later, crossing at 02:45:18. Dream Weaver finished at 07:03:50, followed by Skysong at 09:14:37.
The race continues until 2pm. The breeze, meanwhile, appears to be considering its options.
More to come.
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