Attitude has never pretended to be anything other than what she is. A small, light 8.5-metre catamaran designed to get moving early, stay quick in marginal breeze, and reward crews prepared to keep her in the groove. Two decades on from her original build, she remains a regular reference point whenever Open 8.5s line up together.
Designed and built by John Tetzlaff in the early 2000s, Attitude was conceived as a counterpoint to rising costs in the class. Lightweight, simple, and built from compounded plywood, she traded comfort for acceleration and agility. That DNA still shows every time the breeze drops into the low teens or the course tightens up.
In 2009, under previous owners, Attitude set the Open 8.5 Coastal Classic record at 8 hours, 1 minute, and 6 seconds. In 2024, she added her name to the Sundreamer Cup, awarded for the shortest aggregate time in the SSANZ Triple Series.
Her modern racing record reflects that. In the 2022 PIC Coastal Classic, sailing with Steven Dunlop, Attitude finished third on line in Division 7 and first 8.5-metre multihull home, completing the 170-boat race in 14 hours and 42 minutes. Not a bad time, especially as conditions were mixed. The story sounds familiar: early gybing up the coast, fast running through Omaha Bay, then a long, painful fade north of the Poor Knights. For a time she stretched away from much larger boats before being reeled back in light air near Cape Brett. It was a Coastal that underlined both her strengths and her limits.
More recently, the 2025 season offered mixed results. In the Lewmar Triple Series race shared with Freedom and Hooters, Attitude retired. In the 2025 Coastal Classic, she finished fifth on handicap, behind Hooters.
Kawau Race Week sits comfortably in her wheelhouse. Short legs, frequent transitions, and an emphasis on boat handling suit a boat that has always been happiest when sailed actively. Attitude does not need novelty value. Her record speaks well enough on its own.
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