With just one month to go, Kawau Race Week 2026 is shaping up as a timely new option for sailors looking for a proper regatta without the time and cost of heading further north over Anniversary Weekend.

Set for Friday 23 to Sunday 25 January, the event is a joint initiative between Ponsonby Cruising Club and Kawau Boating Club, created when uncertainty around Bay of Islands Sailing Week opened the door for something local, practical, and community led.

The format is deliberately simple. One race on Friday afternoon allows boats to arrive without pressure, followed by two races each on Saturday and Sunday. Monday is left clear for an easy sail home. A separate two race regatta on Sunday is planned for classic yachts finishing Mahurangi Weekend, allowing them to join without disrupting their own series.

Organiser Mark Roberts, known to most as Moulët, sums it up simply: good racing on the water and even better times ashore. Kawau Boating Club will host nightly gatherings with live music, happy hours, and an easy raft up and wander ashore feel designed to get crews mixing off their boats.

Racing will rotate between windward leeward and passage courses, all using Kawau’s islands as features. Divisions will be set once entries are received, with strong early interest across 50, 40, and 30 foot fleets, multihulls, sports boats, and two handed entries if numbers allow.

Title sponsor Evolution Sails brings strong local backing, with owner Rodney Keenan calling the regatta realistic for sailors who cannot take nine days off work.

Entries are open now, with a flat $195 fee or $65 per day. All keelboats, multihulls, sports boats, classics, and trailer yachts are welcome.