News
- Kawau regatta merges with RNZYS Squadron Weekend for late January racing
Next weekend’s Kawau racing will now run alongside the Royal New Zealand Yacht Squadron’s Squadron Weekend, after organisers confirmed a combined format with RNZYS. KRWSquadron The change follows a decision made after recent uncertainty, with both fleets now sharing start lines and courses across Friday and Saturday. The organisers say the move creates a clearer… Read more: Kawau regatta merges with RNZYS Squadron Weekend for late January racing - Inaugural Kawau Race Week postponed as severe weather closes in
The first running of Kawau Race Week has been postponed, with organisers shifting the event back a week as the weather forecast for the original window deteriorated. This week has already been rough around the upper North Island and the outlook for the weekend was worse, with strong winds expected to hit during the period… Read more: Inaugural Kawau Race Week postponed as severe weather closes in - Kawau Race Week as the perfect Farr 1020 playgroundFive Farr 1020 yachts have entered the inaugural Kawau Race Week, highlighting the design’s ongoing suitability for mixed format coastal racing. As a first time event, Kawau Race Week presents an unknown test for competitors. Racing around Kawau and surrounding islands introduces a demanding mix of conditions, with a single lap involving sailing in all… Read more: Kawau Race Week as the perfect Farr 1020 playground
- Attitude: a JT 8.5 built to be sailed hard
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… Read more: Attitude: a JT 8.5 built to be sailed hard - Three GBR’s to line up at Kawau Race Week
Three Great Barrier Express catamarans sharing a startline is always a moment of note. When Malcolm Tennant sketched the Great Barrier Express in the late 1970s, the brief was not complicated. Get across the Hauraki Gulf quickly and do it without fuss. At 8.5 metres long and roughly five metres wide, the boat relied on… Read more: Three GBR’s to line up at Kawau Race Week - Having a hoot with Hooters
Hooters arrives at Kawau Island Race Week as one of those boats that quietly embodies what the week is about. Campaigned by Craig Haslip, the silver Sele Open 8.5 catamaran sits firmly at the sharp end of the grassroots multihull fleet, light, simple, and built purely to race. We caught up with them soon after… Read more: Having a hoot with Hooters - Harken Fosters Chandlery confirmed as sponsor of Kawau Island Sailing Week
Harken Fosters Chandlery has been confirmed as a key sponsor of this year’s Evolution Sails Kawau Island Sailing Week, providing industry support for the inaugural running of the event. Harken Fosters Chandlery is a well-established supplier of marine hardware, rigging equipment, and deck systems, servicing both performance racing programmes and cruising yachts throughout New Zealand.… Read more: Harken Fosters Chandlery confirmed as sponsor of Kawau Island Sailing Week - Cadillac lines up for Kawau Race Week with proven Beale pedigree
Cadillac may not arrive at Kawau Race Week with a long list of recent results, but her credentials are clear before the first start gun fires. The 32 foot yacht is a Beale 32, drawn by respected New Zealand designer Ray Beale, whose boats have built a reputation for punching above their length in local… Read more: Cadillac lines up for Kawau Race Week with proven Beale pedigree - Frank Racing foiling catamaran joins Evolution Sails Kawau Race Week fleetThe Evolution Sails Kawau Race Week will include a high-speed foiling catamaran in its fleet for the first time this summer, with Frank Racing confirmed as a late entry ahead of the inaugural regatta. Event organisers confirmed the entry, noting that Frank Racing will be the first foiling multihull to compete at the event. “We… Read more: Frank Racing foiling catamaran joins Evolution Sails Kawau Race Week fleet
- Carrera 3 brings MC31 muscle to Kawau Race Week
MC31 Carrera 3, owned by well-known Auckland sailor John Meadowcroft, is on the entry list for the inaugural Kawau Race Week. The entry continues the Carrera name in local racing. Meadowcroft’s previous boat, Ker 40 Carrera 2, has since been sold and relocated offshore, but the programme has remained active in New Zealand waters. Carrera… Read more: Carrera 3 brings MC31 muscle to Kawau Race Week - Refreshed Threema enters 2026 Kawau Race Week
Threema will line up at the 2026 Kawau Race Week as a well sorted and familiar offshore cruiser racer, entered under owner Scott Sheppard, a well-known figure in New Zealand sailing circles. A Jeanneau Sunfast 39i launched in 1991, Threema sits firmly in the proven fast cruiser category. The design has a long history of… Read more: Refreshed Threema enters 2026 Kawau Race Week - Another Duchess brings pedigree to Kawau Race Week
Another Duchess was among the first yachts to enter the inaugural Kawau Race Week. The decision to enter was made quickly. The timing filled a natural gap in the summer calendar. Kawau Race Week offered a new offshore-focused sailing event, delivering genuine offshore conditions within a few hours’ sail of central Auckland. The prospect of… Read more: Another Duchess brings pedigree to Kawau Race Week - Hot off the biggest offshore yacht race in the Southern Hemisphere, will Rum Bucket make it back for Kawau Race Week?
Fresh from completing the 2025 Rolex Sydney to Hobart Yacht Race, the More 55 cruiser racer adds real offshore weight to the Kawau Race Week fleet. For owner driver Quintin Fowler and his crew, Kawau is the natural next chapter. Rum Bucket’s Sydney-Hobart campaign was built from years of delays, border closures, compliance hurdles, and… Read more: Hot off the biggest offshore yacht race in the Southern Hemisphere, will Rum Bucket make it back for Kawau Race Week? - History in the making: One month to go until the inaugural Kawau Race Week
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.