Krisis again at coastal race

Krisis displays rare multihull action with only the rudder in the water. The picture was taken as Cookie Stuart and his crew were racing back to Auckland from Kawau in 1977. The trip took just 1 hour 55 minutes.

It all began with a bet between a small bunch of dedicated multihull sailors. Twenty-five years on it is the biggest coastal race in the country, possibly in Australasia.

On Labour Weekend the 2006 HSBC Coastal Classic will be raced. The event has grown into the one that marks the start of the summer season in this part of the world. The 119 nautical mile sprint from Auckland to Russell in the Bay of Islands is expected to have up to 250 boats on the start line.

Some of the sailors taking part are there for the challenging racing. Some are there for the legendary post-race party. Others are just keen to share in the tens of thousands of dollars worth of prizes on offer. The field will include high-tech grand prix racers, the fastest multihulls on the water, family cruising keelers and vintage and classic yachts.

It all started in the early 1980s when Roger Dilley proposed a no-holds-barred drag race. Any type of boat could take part, including diesel, petrol or sail powered and the first to complete the course would be the winner. A similar challenge for powerboats had been held in the 1920s.

That was the idea. In 1982 the Auckland Multi-hull Sailing Association (now the New Zealand Multihull Yacht Club) made the event a reality, albeit without the power division. Twelve intrepid skippers and their crews took part, among them Duncan (Cookie) Stuart, who was the association's commodore.

He won that first race sailing Krisis, his 42-foot trimaran. Cookie and Krisis will be back again this year and he is amazed at how quickly the event caught on with the go-fast sailing fraternity as well as those who just want to sail and have fun.

"The catch Coastal Classic title helped," he says. "Today everything is a classic, but back then it proved an excellent marketing tool. I was really amazed when the field grew to 100 and we never dreamed of anything like today's big fleets."

Today it is the HSBC Coastal Classic. It is a big event run by professionals. In the early days everything was done by volunteers with the Devonport Yacht Club doing the starting honours.

On the finish line at the Russell wharf in those early years would be the intrepid Ted Jones, who took the finish times day and night no matter what the weather or how long it took the stragglers to make it. Then came the prizegiving at Russell Tavern, where the 25th anniversary celebrations will be held.

Race veteran Cookie particularly remembers the 1996 race. "It was wet, fast and terrifying. We had planned to finish in 12 hrs and we did it in under 10. The record, set that year by Split Enz, still stands at 7hrs 21m 51s. It will be hard to beat."

The fastest time for a monohull of 9hrs 22m was set last year by the 30m (98ft) super maxi Konica Minolta. With this country's super maxis racing in Europe this year it is unlikely that record will be broken at Labour Weekend. As with all yacht racing, the weather will largely decide what records if any will fall this year.

Only one thing is certain. The party in Russell, when New Zealand sailing celebrates an important historical milestone, will be a big one. Sailors who haven't done the Coastal Classic still have plenty of time to enter. The only rule is that your boat must be rated Category 2.